General visa information

Hungary is a Schengen country, therefore, if you have a valid Schengen visa, i.e. you have not surpassed its validity dates, the number of days and the number of entries allowed by it, then you can use it in order to travel to Hungary as well.

You can apply for a visa at the Embassy of Hungary if:

1) you are a Qatari citizen, or you have a Qatari residence permit, or in the country of your residence there is no Hungarian embassy/consulate and no other state represents Hungary

and

2/a) if you travel only to Hungary or during your visit to the Schengen territory your longest stay is in Hungary

or

2/b) if you travel only to Latvia or Denmark or during your visit to the Schengen territory your longest stay is in Latvia or Denmark

If you simply wish to transit through the Schengen territory please contact the Embassy to find out whether you need a visa or not.

Please note that starting from 2^nd October 2012, Hungary – in line with the relevant EU regulation, parallel to all the other Schengen Embassies in the GCC region – introduces the VIS and the biometric system. It means that all visa applicants (who are above the 12 year age limit, who are not members of high level official governmental or state delegation, and who are physically capable for that) have to let their fingerprints be taken – therefore have to appear in person at our embassy.

If you wish to apply for visa at our embassy please bring the following:

- valid passport (having at least 2 empty pages, issued in the last 10 years and valid for at least 3 months after the end of the planned stay)
- 60 EUR (cash)
- filled and signed application form
- one passport sized photo
- the original and a copy of a travel health insurance covering at least € 30,000 (financing urgent health services and homeward transportation due to medical reasons), which is valid for the entire period of stay and the whole territory of the Schengen area
- letter of the employer on your employment and salary
- bank statement covering the last three months
- airplane ticket
- hotel reservation

If you wish to attend a conference in Hungary, please bring a letter from the organizers of the conference and the approval that your application to the conference was accepted.

If your travel to Hungary upon invitation, please bring an invitation letter issued by the Office of Immigration and Nationality of Hungary.

Please note that the documents mentioned above do not guarantee that your visa application will be approved. The consul may ask for any further documents or even for a personal interview.

Please bring your visa application personally or send it with a family member.

The processing of the visa application is 15 days which can be prolonged to 30 or 60 days of needed. If your application is turned down you will receive a written resolution and a stamp will be placed in your passport. The visa processing fee cannot be refunded

YOU NEED TO KNOW that

• a visa is a conditional permission to enter Hungary. At the time of crossing the Hungarian border, the immigration officer has the right to check whether the foreigner still meets the criteria of entry and stay in Hungary. In case it is determined that those criteria are not met, the immigration officer shall have the right to refuse entry of the foreigner.
• a foreigner entering into Hungary without a visa, or with a visa type A or C shall not be eligible to obtain a residence permit in Hungary.
• foreigners whose continuous stay in Hungary exceeds 30 days and do not lodge in hotels, motels, or other public lodging facilities are required to register their address with the local police. Registration can be made by the foreigner or by the host.
• motorists must have a valid International Driver's License.
• a veterinary certificate shall be required to take pets into Hungary. In the certificate the vet shall specify that he examined the animal and found him free of diseases, and the animal has received the shots required by Qatari regulations, and that in the area (town, county) where the animal has been kept there has been no outbreak within 3 months of the issuance of the certificate of any contagious diseases characteristic of the breed.
• if you carry more than 10.000 EUR (cash, cheques, traveller's cheques, money orders, etc.) with you, you need to report it to the customs authorities
• Visas at Hungarian border crossing points are only issued in very exceptional cases.