Pursuant to the decision of the Government of the Republic of Hungary, Hungary applies the decisions No. 895/2006/EC and No. 896/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, L 167, 20.6.2006.) from 1 September 2006.
From 1 September 2006 foreigners who otherwise would be subject to visa obligation under Council Regulation No. 539/1001/EC, in possession of
- a valid 'B', 'C' or 'D' visa, or residence permit issued by one of the Contracting Party of the Schengen Agreement (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Norway), or
- a valid 'B', 'C' or 'D' visa, or residence permit issued by one of the 'new' Member State of the European Union (the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia), or
- a valid residence permit issued by Switzerland or Liechtenstein,
Republic of Hungary without Hungarian transit ('B') visa. The period of the transit cannot exceed 5 days. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary underlines, that visas and residence permits issued by the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as visas issued by Switzerland and Liechtenstein, do not entitle for visa-free transit.
The facilitated visa free regime is only applicable when the foreigner wishes to transit through Hungary, which means that the entry and exit cannot take place at the same borderline. With other words, transit means going from country A via Hungary to country B.
The validity of the visa / residence permit concerned equivalent to Hungarian transit visa, has to cover the whole duration of transit. In case it seems to be doubtful that the validity period of the visa / residence permit covers the whole duration of the planned Hungarian transit, especially the return trip, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requests all travellers to apply for a Hungarian transit visa.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs furthermore requests all travellers that particularly in the initial period of the changeover to the new transit regime, inquire at the Hungarian consulate whether their existing documents - with special attention to their validity, as well as the planned period and date/term of the transit - entitles them for a visa-free transit through Hungary.