VISA INFORMATION

Entry conditions for foreigners under visa obligation for up to 90 days

Visa free entry depends on the citizenship of the applicant. Citizens of many countries do not need a visa to visit Hungary for stays up to 90 days. A visa is only a preliminary permission for entry, which does not authorize its bearer automatically to enter the country.

Airport transit visa (A): authorizes its bearer to enter the international zone of the airport and to remain there until the time of the departure of the flight to the destination country. Only nationals of the following states are obliged to apply for an airport transit visa: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Syria

Should you move between Budapest Ferihegy 1 and Budapest Ferihegy 2 Airports you will need a transit visa.

Transit visa (B): authorizes its bearer to single, double or multiple transits, not exceeding 5 days.

Short stay visa (C): authorizes its bearer to single, double or multiple entries and, in case of an uninterrupted stay, to a stay of maximum 90 days, while in case of an interrupted stay, to a stay of altogether maximum 90 days within the 6 months counted from the date of the first entry.

Where to submit a visa application?

Schengen visa applications have to be submitted at the representation of the country which is the main destination of the visit. The country you spend the longest period of time is the main destination. (Are you planning to spend exactly same periods of time in different countries, you should contact that country’s representation that you are about to enter first.)

Practical examples: If you wish to travel around Europe for three weeks, spending two weeks in Austria and one in Hungary, you should apply for the Schengen visa at the Austrian consulate. OR A businessman plans a trip to Europe to meet business partners in various European capitals, in each of which he will stay for two days. He has booked a trip to Frankfurt, from which he will continue on his journey. In this case, the appropriate consulate is the German consulate.

Which of the Hungarian consulates is responsible for issuing a visa?

Once it has been established that a Hungarian consulate is responsible for issuing a Schengen visa, it has to be chosen which one of them. In the United States, the visa application shall be submitted to the Hungarian representation competent according to the place of residence.

You should contact the Hungarian Embassy in Washington D.C. if your residence is in the following states or territories: Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Virgin Islands.

You should contact the Hungarian Consulate General in New York if your residence is in the following states: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

You should contact the Hungarian Consulate General in Los Angeles if your residence is in the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming

The application shall be submitted in person. Parents can submit the applications of their minor children; under the condition they are travelling together.

Consulates may receive visa applications at the earliest 3 months before the beginning of the visit.

Visa Fees

Application for airport transit visa (A), transit visa (B) or short-term entry visa (C) $ 95

Negotiated fees for the citizens of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russian Federation, Serbia and the Ukraine $ 55

Visas issued for free of charge:
- children under the age of 14 and entered into the passport of the parent
- family members of EEA citizens
- children under the age of 6, traveling with their own passports
- school pupils and students and the accompanying teachers on study or educational trips, only for students involved in primary and secondary education, for group of more than 5 participants
- persons traveling to Hungary to conduct research.

The visa fee shall be paid when the application is submitted. The consulate does not charge any further fees other than the above for is. In case of a refusal of the visa, the visa processing fee cannot be refunded. The fee shall be paid in USD. The consulate can only accept payments in cash, money order or cashier's check.

All documents to be presented in connection with the visa application shall be original. No copies notarized or not, shall be accepted. Any request for waiving this requirement shall be rejected without further consideration.

Documents needed for visa applications

If you are planning to visit more Schengen States, then the documents submitted must also contain information on your stay in the other Schengen States. E.g. if you plan to visit Hungary and the Czech Republic, you must not only hand in proof of hotel reservation in Hungary, but also in the Czech Republic, the same applies to ticket reservations and so on.

I. General requirements:

Valid passport (the validity of which has to exceed that of the requested visa by at least 3 months)

2 passport-size color photos

Application form wholly, legibly completed (in printed letters) and signed

Original US alien registration card (residence permit, aka: green card) or valid US resident visa (type A, E, F, G, H, I, J, L, O, R)

A letter from your insurance company stating that you will be covered for at least $ 50.000 during your stay in Europe for any medical and repatriation expenses or a travel medical insurance (a travel insurance providing cover for at least $ 50.000 for financing urgent health services and homeward transportation due to medical reasons, valid for the whole period of stay and for the territory of every Schengen State);

To fulfill the requirements of the visa application, the applicant, besides meeting these general requirements, shall also supply a certificate of the financial coverage of his expenses, and a certificate of the purpose of the visit:

II. The financial coverage of the expenses shall be certified with one of the following documents:

- an original income certificate of the employer or
- a bank account statement on the account turnover during the last three months or
- a pension slip or
- a certificate of registration of self employed persons or
- a valid ticket, a certificate of a reserved and prepaid journey, accommodation or
- in the case of minors, a declaration by the legal representative on the coverage of the costs and on the existence of the financial coverage or
- a letter of invitation issued and endorsed by the Hungarian Office of Immigration and Nationality.

III. The purpose of the entry shall be certified with the following documents:

When applying for a transit visa:

- a valid ticket certifying the purpose of the visit; or the certification of a vehicle of transport used and appropriately insured by the foreigner,
- a visa to the destination country, if necessary.

When applying for a short stay visa:

- In case of a tourist visit: the certificate of the travel agency; or in case of an individual visit: the prepaid reservation of accommodation.

- In case of an entry with an educational or other scientific or professional training purpose: the certificate of the receiving institution, the certificate of the envisaged place of accommodation in Hungary

- In case of visiting friends: the letter of invitation issued and endorsed by the Office of Immigration and Nationality.

- For the purpose of the cultivation of family relations: an invitation letter as described in the previous indent.

- In case of an entry for business purposes: in case there already exists a business partner in Hungary: a letter of invitation from the business partner, proof of the existence of commercial business relations; or the certificate of the local chamber of commerce on the existence of business relations, and the certification of the address of the envisaged place of accommodation in Hungary.

- In case of an entry with the purpose of medical treatment: the certificate of the receiving health institution, including reference to the fact that the expected coverage of the medical treatment is available, and other certification of the coverage of the medical treatment, as well as the certification of the address of the expected place of accommodation in Hungary.

- In case of carriers: the certification or request of the carrier firm.

- For the purpose of visiting the grave of a deceased relative buried in the territory of the Republic of Hungary: a document certifying the existence of the grave and the degree of relationship.

- For the purpose of cultural activities: agency contract with the Hungarian service provider, invitation letter issued by the host organization

- For the purpose of sport: accreditation proving the participation in the sports event or contract with the Hungarian sport club, or the certificate issued by the delegating sport club / Olympic Committee etc.

- For the purpose of attending a conference: invitation letter issued by the host organization, confirmation on participation issued by the host organization, and/or a certification issued by the delegating organization; receipt on payment of the registration fee

The consul may request the presentation of further documents in addition to the ones outlined above. Documents shall be submitted in original. The original documents will be sent back. They may be asked for when entering the Schengen Area. The consulate reserves the right to examine the authenticity of the communicated data and the submitted documents. The communication of false data in itself will lead to the refusal of the visa application.

The time limit for examining visa applications

According to law decision upon the visa application decision making process must not exceed 30 days.

In case of countries with a visa facilitation agreement with the EU this time period is 10 days.

We recommend to submit the visa application in due time, especially during the major holidays. The consulate may receive visa applications at the earliest 3 months before the beginning of the visit.

Rejection of the visa application

In case of entry ban or doubts concerning the application the consulate will refuse the visa application. Presentation of counterfeit documents is a reason for refusal in itself.

Notification on the reason for refusal can be obtained at the consulate only by the applicant in person. At the applicant’s request the notification can be issued in written form as well.

In case of refusal the consulate will not reimburse the visa fee.

There is no legal remedy against the rejection of an application; however, a complaint concerning the procedure can be lodged. Complaints will be examined in the first instance by the head of the consulate, in the second instance by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In case of refusal a new application may be submitted at any time. In case of a new application the visa fee has to be paid again.

Crossing the external borders

The Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (published in OJ L 105 of 13 April 2006) sets out the conditions for entry into the territory of the Member States. Holding a valid passport and visa (in the case of citizens of third countries where a visa is needed) are only two of the conditions of entry.

The conditions of entry are initially checked by the consulates which examine visa applications.

The conditions of entry are checked a second time when the person presents himself/herself at the external border (land, sea or airport) of the Member States. If the border police decide that a person holding a visa does not fulfill the conditions of entry (for example: the person does not have the necessary means of subsistence for the duration of his/her stay), he/she will be refused entry, even if there is a visa in his/her passport.