Living in Hungary

Hungary is a landlocked country situated in Central Europe. It’s bordered by Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest, Austria to the west, and Slovakia to the north. Hungary has a surface area of 93,030 square kilometres and the country has an estimated population of 9.9 million inhabitants. Hungary is a democratic republic with a parliamentary government and is a member of the Council of Europe, the EU, NATO, the OECD, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Visegrád Group.

Residence in Hungary

In 2012, the Hungarian Parliament adopted a unique Residency Bond Programme in order to encourage foreign investment in Hungary. The programme offers Hungarian permanent residence to non-EU nationals who are willing to invest in Hungarian government residency bonds. The Hungarian Residency Bond Programme is designed for non-EU nationals who want to do business and want to travel in Europe without visa and who are willing to invest in Hungary.

Requirements

Applicants need have a clean criminal record and need to make an investment of EUR 300,000 in Hungarian government bonds. The spouse and children aged below 18 years old are included in the Programme and this completely free of charge.

Advantages

Successful applicants receive a temporary residence permit for the first 6 months and receive a permanent (lifelong) residence permit after 6 months. This permit allows for visa-free movement and travel within the Schengen area.

Successful applicants receive a refund of EUR 250,000 (original investment EUR 300,000) at the end of a 5-year investment period.

Bottom line: the Programme costs EUR 50,000 spread over a 5-year period or EUR 10,000 per year.

Citizenship in Hungary

Foreign nationals are able to acquire the Hungarian nationality based on ancestry. In other words, foreign nationals can apply for Hungarian citizenship if they can prove to have an ascendant who was born in Hungary.

Requirements

As a foreign national, you can apply for a Hungarian passport if you can prove that you have an ascendant who was born in Hungary. Additionally, you have to prove that you have sufficient knowledge of the Hungarian language and that you have a clean criminal record.

Advantages

  • This is a very flexible programme: more than 375,000 applications were approved in the last 3 years;
  • Hungary permits dual citizenship;
  • A Hungarian passport allows for a visa-free entry and free work permit to all EU member countries;
  • A Hungarian passport allows for a visa-free entry to the US, Canada and more than 100 other countries;
  • Hungarian citizenship does not trigger compulsory military service.

Conclusion

Hungary offers excellent opportunities to non-EU nationals who want to acquire resident status in the EU.

It’s also possible to acquire the Hungarian nationality with accompanying Hungarian passport if you have Hungarian ascendants.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to know more about the tax aspects of becoming resident of Hungary or acquiring a Hungarian passport. Depending on your personal situation, your professional situation and your family situation, we can help you with creating your personalised solution which will save you taxes.

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