I N F O R M A T I O N
to the participants of the World Athletics Championships
Welcome to Hungary!
Please allow us to be of assistance to your stay within the territory of Hungary by providing you with some important and useful pieces of information.
If you are a third-country national subject to a visa requirement, under the current applicable legislation of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as EU), the Schengen Area and Hungary in effect, you may enter the territory of Hungary and the Schengen Area only with a valid visa, provided that you wish to stay within the territory of Hungary for up to 90 days within a 180-day period. (Please note that 4 Member States of the EU, i.e. Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania are still not part of the Schengen Area; therefore, Schengen visas are not valid to these countries as a general rule). Nationals of the United Kingdom may still travel visa-free to the territory of Hungary for up to 90 days within a 180-day period.
A list of visa-exempt countries is available under the menu item “Visa for Hungary/Visa-free travel to Hungary” on the https://konzinfo.mfa.gov.hu/en webpage. Citizens of those countries which are not indicated on the list are required to have a visa to enter the territory of the Schengen Area. The Schengen visa and entry rules apply to only “short-term stays” not exceeding 90 days. Consequently, a visa holder may stay within the territory of the Schengen Area, and thus in Hungary, within the validity time specified in his/her visa maximum for as many days as the number of days for stay specified. (Please note that if you are a holder of a visa with limited territorial validity or a visa covering only the territory of Hungary, you may not enter the territory of any other not specified Members States.) For the accurate list of Schengen States, please visit the Wikipedia Schengen Area webpage.
If your travel document with a valid visa gets lost, stolen or destroyed during your stay within the territory of Hungary, you are required to replace it without delay. Replacing the document is subject to appearance in person, and we kindly request you to have the following with you:
In case of a stolen visa the police report, in case of a lost or destroyed visa a declaration written by the holder of the visa to the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (hereinafter referred to as NDGAP) on the circumstances; your valid travel document; and a certificate from the organizers of the World Athletics Championships proving your participation and your capacity in which you are participating in the event.
It is possible to extend the duration of stay specified in the visa, i.e. to extend the visa in exceptional cases, which is to be substantiated by the person applying for the extension as specified below.
Humanitarian reasons may arise (usually due to a force majeure event: weather, technical or medical impediments, etc.) or due to a personal or unavoidable cause related to occupation and employment (for example, due to your further participation in the world championship). The duration of stay may not exceed 90 days even after the extension.
The application form is to be submitted in person by the applicant no later than the last day of the validity of the visa. In this context, the applicant is to present his/her valid travel document; in addition, enclose to his/her application a facial photograph and documents substantiating that the applicant meets the conditions of stay and exit or onward travel, thus the certificate from the organizers of the World Athletics Championships. Nonetheless, the extension shall not result in the change of the original purpose of the visa.
The regional directorate makes a decision on the application for the extension of a visa immediately, and if the application is granted, it will issue a new visa sticker. The territorial validity of the extended visa covers all the Schengen States for which the original visa was valid.
An applicant may submit his/her application for a visa replacement or extension to the competent NDGAP regional directorate as per the place of residence of the applicant within the territory of Hungary.
In case of a place of accommodation in Budapest and Pest County, please contact the Budapest and Pest County Regional Directorate of the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing.
Address: H-1117 Budapest, 60 Budafoki Street, telephone: +36 1 463 92 92.
Furthermore, the Call Centre of the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing is available at +36 1 463 92 92 from Monday to Thursday between 08:00 and 16:00, and on Fridays between 08:00 and 13:30.
Please note that in addition to the contact details above, further information in detail are available on the www.oif.gov.hu website.
We wish you a successful stay in Hungary.
Budapest, 25 July 2023
