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HOW TO EMPLOY NON-EEA NATIONALS IN HUNGARY? PART I – RESIDENCE TITLES AND PROCEDURAL RULES
22 March 2024
In the first quarter of 2024, the Hungarian lawmaker created a completely new legal environment for the employment of third-country nationals and introduced special residence titles. We will introduce the new legal regime in a series of articles, the first part of which will cover the types of residence permits for employment purposes and the procedural rules.
See the II. part of the article here, the III. part of the article here
1. What are the types of residence permits for employment purposes in Hungary?
There are various forms to employ third-country nationals[i] in Hungary. The new legal environment entered into force in the first quarter of 2024 differentiates between “ordinary” and highly competent employees and defines a number of different residence titles. We illustrate the whole regime in the below figure:
2. What are the general procedural rules of the single application procedure?
As a main rule the above types of residence permits are issued in the so-called singe application procedure which is procedure for authorizing third-country nationals to stay in Hungary for more than 90 days within a period of 180 day and to establish employment relationship with a specific employer.
Single permit may be provided to a third-country national if
- his employment is supported by the opinion of the competent authority taking into account the criteria laid down by the law and domestic employment policy, or his employment is exempted from such assessment and
- fulfils the conditions of residence laid down by the law.
As a general rule, the immigration authority shall adopt a decision on applications for residence permit within 70 days from the date of submission, however the procedure of the government office[ii] as a competent authority extends the duration of the procedure.
Though, in certain cases, the government office is not involved in the procedure which makes it simpler and faster. Among others, the government office is not involved in the procedure in the below cases:
- application for residence permit for employment for investment purposes,
- application for guest worker residence permit,
- application for a National Card which is a special permit available for Ukrainian and Serbian nationals.
3. What are the basic conditions of residence in Hungary?
The basic conditions of residence are the following:
- disposing a valid travel document,
- providing proof that the purpose of the stay is to work in Hungary (employment pre-contract, a document proving the employment relationship or employment contract)
- having accommodation or residence in Hungary (e.g. lease agreement, or
- having sufficient means of subsistence for the entire duration of the stay (including the exit)
- proving the existence of comprehensive health insurance,
- not being subject to expulsion or a ban on entry and residence (the residence does not endanger public policy, public security, national security or public health interests of Hungary),
- not being subject to an SIS alert.
4. How does the government office examine the labour market situation?
As mentioned above, as a main rule, during the procedure, the immigration office requests the statement of the government office whether it supports the applicant’s employment. The government office may support the employment if:
- the applicant disposes of proper qualification necessary for the scope of activities;
- the employer disposes of a valid “labour demand” regarding the activity to be carried out by the applicant. (this means that the employer first have to report its workforce need to the labour authority, which will try to find Hungarian registered job seekers for the job)
- there was no registered unemployed manpower mediated to the employer;
- the applicant complies with the employment conditions set forth by law and in the labour demand of the employer.
5. When does the government office automatically approve the employment of the third-county national?
The government office automatically supports the employment of the third-country national if a work permit would not be required or the permit would have been issued without the examination of the labour market situation.
Among others the government office does not examine the labour market situation in the following cases:
- hiring key personnel;
- hiring maximum 20 % of the personnel, if the employer is under foreign majority ownership[iii],
- the employment of a family member of a third-country national holding an EU Blue Card.
A work permit would not be required among others for the employment of the third-country national as the CEO of a company with foreign shareholdings.
[ii] In certain cases, instead of the government office, the minister responsible for the employment of third-country nationals shall be involved.
[iii] The employment of third-country nationals in each calendar quarter, in a number not exceeding twenty per cent of the number of the employees as at the last day of the preceding calendar quarter.
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