INFORMATION

The residence of the researcher and his/her family member:

residence permit for the purpose of research, residence permit for the purpose of long-term mobility of researchers and short-term mobility certificate of researchers

1. 1)Which third-country nationals are eligible to be granted a residence permit for the purpose of research, residence permit for the purpose of long-term mobility of researchers and short-term mobility certificate of researchers?

1. I.Residence permit for the purpose of research may be issued to a third-country national

• ·seeking admission to the territory of Hungary for the purposes of carrying out a research project under a hosting agreement concluded with a research organisation accredited under specific other legislation; and
• ·if the research organisation provides a written commitment for reimbursing the costs of expulsion in cases where the researcher remains in the territory of Hungary past the period authorised – if the researcher does not have the financial means necessary.

Residence permit for the purpose of research may not be granted to

• ·any third-country national who has applied for recognition as a refugee or who requested any subsidiary form of protection or temporary protection from the asylum authority,
• ·any person who has been granted refugee status, or any subsidiary form of protection or temporary protection in Hungary,
• ·persons with tolerated status,
• ·any third-country national whose expulsion has been suspended for reasons of fact or of law,
• ·persons with the right of free movement and residence,
• ·third-country nationals holding an EC permanent residence permit certifying long-term residence status granted by any Member State of the European Union,
• ·third-country nationals arriving in the territory of the European Union as trainee employees within the framework of an intra-corporate transfer, and
• ·third-country nationals who enter the territory of the European Union for the purpose of employment as highly qualified workers.

1. II.Residence permit for the purpose of long-term mobility of researchers may be granted to a third-country national

• ·who is a holder of a residence permit issued by a Member State of the European Union for the purpose of research and – under a hosting agreement with an accredited research organisation – intends to carry out part of his/her research at a research organisation in Hungary for a period exceeding 180 days,
• ·to a family member of the researcher holding a valid residence permit issued on the basis of his/her family member status by an EU Member State.

1. III.

• ·who is a holder of a residence permit issued by a Member State of the European Union for the purpose of research and – under a hosting agreement with an accredited research organisation – intends to carry out part of his/her research at a research organisation in Hungary for a maximum of 180 days within a 360-day period,
• ·to a family member of the researcher holding a valid residence permit issued on the basis of his/her family member status by an EU Member State.

Definition of third-country nationals:

• ·Non-Hungarian nationals who are not persons with the right of free movement and residence, i.e. who are not EEA nationals or family members of an EEA national, and
• ·stateless persons

qualify as third-country nationals.

1. 2)Where can clients submit their applications?

1. I.Application for the issuance of a residence permit

1. a)Application submission outside the territory of Hungary

If your entry into Hungary is not covered by the visa-exempt travel regime and you are not a holder of a Hungarian residence permit, your application for the issuance of a residence permit or mobility notification is to be submitted outside of Hungary. 

You may submit an application before a diplomatic or consular foreign mission of Hungary in the country of your nationality or your habitual place of residence. Please be advised to contact the competent foreign mission of Hungary to inquire for further information, if there are any other places authorised to receive applications for a residence permit. Such application receiving places are constituted by e.g. honorary consuls, trade representations, and external service providers.  

If there are not any consulates or other types of places receiving application in the country of your nationality or your habitual place of residence, in exceptional cases, you may submit an application in a country where you are staying legally provided that you provide proof of the reasons of your exceptional application submission.

Submitting an application for a visa separately is not required, as an application for the issuance of a residence permit comprises an application for a visa entitling its holder to collect a residence permit.

1. b)Application submission within the territory of Hungary

When can an application for the issuance of a residence permit be submitted within the territory of Hungary?

If you are allowed to enter the territory of Hungary visa free  due to your nationality, and you are not a holder of a residence permit, you may submit an application for a residence permit within the territory of Hungary as well.

If you are holder of a residence permit for the purpose of research issued by an EU Member State issued, you may also submit an application for a residence permit for the purpose of long-term mobility of researchers or for a notification for the issuance of a short-term mobility certificate of researchers in Hungary.

In the above mentioned case, your family member, who is legally residing in the territory of Hungary and is a holder of a residence permit issued by another EU Member State may also submit an application for residence permit or for a mobility notification in Hungary.

How can applications for a residence permit be submitted in Hungary?

Application submission in the territory of Hungary is available:

• ·by electronic means via the electronic information system and procedure initiation platform of“Enter Hungary”, which is available by clicking here, or
• ·in person, before the competent regional directorate of NDGAP as per your place of accommodation. Contact details of the regional directorates and further information are available by clicking here.

Please note that application submission is available only via the Enter Hungary platform if your attorney-in-fact is a legal representative or a legal person.

1. II.Application submission via a host organisation

Applications for the issuance and the extension of a residence permit for the purpose of research may also be lodged by a host organisation, if the concerned researcher as applicant gives consent to such a process in a written declaration of consent and

• ·(s)he has not entered the territory of Hungary, or
• ·(s)he has entered the territory of Hungary visa free, is staying legally and is not a holder of a residence permit, or
• ·(s)he is a holder of a valid residence permit for the purpose of research, and wishes to apply for its extension.

Applications by a host organisation may be submitted only via the platform of Enter Hungary.

The platform of Enter Hungary is available by clicking here.

In cases when the application for a residence permit concerned is lodged via a host organisation, the client concerned must appear in person before the authority to facilitate taking the applicant’s facial photograph, recording his/her fingerprint and performing other procedural conducts upon the request of the authority.

1. III.Application for the extension of a residence permit

Submission of applications for the extension of a residence permit for the purpose of research and a residence permit for the purpose of long-term mobility of researchers is only available within the territory of Hungary, via the platform of Enter Hungary, which is available by clicking here.

Please be informed that the extension of the residence permit is only possible if  

• ·you are a holder of a valid residence permit for at the time of application submission,
• ·you resided within the territory of Hungary with your residence permit at least 90 days in any 180-day period.

Furthermore, please note that an application for the extension of a residence permit is to be submitted at least 30 days prior to the date of expiry of the issued residence permit.

1. 3)Additional information on application submission

For submission of an application in person, applicants are required to complete the application form correctly in full and to submit the completed document with their signature. The form is available by clicking here and the appendix here.

For submission of an application via the platform of Enter Hungary, the full and correct completion of the electronic application form is required, which is available on the platform. The platform of Enter Hungary is available by clicking here.

For the purpose of the issuance of a residence permit comprising biometric data, a facial photograph and fingerprint of the applicant will be taken.

An application submitted via the platform of Enter Hungary is deemed to have been received by the immigration authority, if the administrative service fee has been paid, and the facial photograph and fingerprint of the applicant is taken and signature specimen of the applicant is recorded within 15 days from the date of receipt. The immigration authority will send out a notification when your application is deemed to have been received.

1. 4)Administration service fee for the procedure

For information on administrative service fees for procedures, please click here.

1. 5)What are the mandatory attachments/enclosures of an application?

For the approval of an application for a residence permit, the applicant is required to meet conditions for entry and residence in Hungary, during the procedures mandatory attachments/enclosures may serve as proof of meeting the set conditions.

Please make sure completion of the attachments/enclosures is in full and check all documents before submission, supporting the soonest possible processing and examination of the application.

Documents in proof of the purpose of residence

The following documents may serve as proof of the purpose of residence:

• ·a hosting agreement with an accredited research organisation

The following documents must be enclosed with/attached to the application for residence permit for the purpose of research and with/to the notification for the short-term mobility certificate of researchers

• ·long and short-term mobility plan, indicating the planned duration and dates of the mobility,
• ·a valid travel document must be presented,
• ·a valid residence permit for the purpose of research issued by a Member State of the European Union must be presented,
• ·if a family member is applying with the applicant, his/her a valid residence permit issued by a Member State of the European Union must also be presented.

Documents in proof of means of subsistence in Hungary

One of the following documents must be submitted as proof that the applicant has sufficient resources, i.e. (s)he can cover costs related to his/her subsistence, accommodation, return/onward travel (i.e. exit from Hungary) and healthcare services from legally acquired income and savings:

• ·a document on the income issued by the employer or/and a document on the income of the previous year issued by the tax authority,
• ·a document on regular foreign income issued by the employer or the tax authority.
• ·a certificate from a credit institution under the applicant’s name (e.g. a bank account statement, an account statement on savings or stocks and bonds, bank balance statement).

Documents proving that the applicant has a place of accommodation in Hungary

An existing and real Hungarian address shall be declared as accommodation on the application form. It is not necessary to attach/enclose a separate document.

Documents proving that the applicant has health insurance

Documentary evidence must be submitted as proof that the applicant has access to comprehensive health insurance services covering all healthcare services or that (s)he can cover the costs of such services.

An applicant meets this condition in the following cases:

• ·(s)he qualifies as a person with health insurance services under social security,
• ·(s)he has access to the Hungarian health insurance services within the framework of an international convention/treaty or agreement,
• ·(s)he can cover the costs of his/her healthcare services based on documents in proof of his/her means of subsistence available in Hungary.

Documents proving that the applicant meets the conditions of exit (i.e. conditions to a return/onward travel)

Meeting the conditions of exit may be proved by:

• ·a valid passport,
• ·having a valid ticket/valid tickets for the relevant travel or the amount of money to cover the costs of the travel.

Other required documents

• ·Attaching/enclosing 1 facial photograph to/with the application is required.

In case of an extension, attaching/enclosing documents on unchanged conditions again is not required.

1. 6)Other information in relation to the procedure

Applications for the issuance of a residence permit for the purpose of research, residence permit for the purpose of long-term mobility of researchers and short-term mobility certificate of researchers are examined under a single application procedure.

For detailed information on the single application procedure, please click here.

1. 7)Time period of procedural administration

Time period for procedural administration: 15 days.

In addition to mandatory attachments/enclosures, NDGAP may request the submission of further documents for clarification of facts of the case or implement other procedural conducts.

The period for remedying deficiencies (e.g. submission of missing documents) and for the implementation of various other procedural conducts is not comprised in the time period of the procedural administration. 

The authority acting on the application case for residence permit for the purpose of research and residence permit for the purpose of long-term mobility of researchers adopts a decision as to merits within 60 days from the date of the submission of the application.

1. 8)Receiving the residence permit and the mobility certificate document

If you submitted your application for a residence permit or for a mobility certificate before a foreign diplomatic or consular mission of Hungary and the regional directorate approves your application for a residence permit, it shall constitute approval for the issuance of an entry visa entitling its holder to receive a residence permit, of which the competent Hungarian consulate shall be notified by the regional directorate.

The entry visa entitling its holder to receive a residence permit shall be issued by the competent consulate officer.

Please note that type D visa entitling their holder to receive their residence permits issued to third-country nationals are single-entry visas authorising a stay of not more than 30 days and are valid for 3 months.

Please note that if you do not enter the territory of Hungary within 3 months from the date of approval of the issuance of your residence permit and do not start your approved residence, the approved residence permit becomes invalid and the approval of your accrued right of entry and residence ceases.

A residence permit document and a mobility certificate shall be delivered by way of post to the address indicated as place of delivery in the application form.

If the application was submitted by a host organisation, the document shall be delivered to the host organisation, to the host organisation’s official contact address, in the absences thereof, to the host organisation’s place of establishment (i.e. registered address).

Please note that receiving your document before NDGAP’s regional directorate in person is only allowed, if you prove that you are not in a position to receive the document at the address indicated as place of delivery in your application.

1. 9)How long is the validity period of the permit?

Validity period of the residence permit for the purpose of research is minimalised in 1 year (if the validity period of the hosting agreement is shorter, the validity period adjusts to the length of the hosting agreement), maximised in 2 years, and it may be extended for the same purpose, occasionally for maximum 2 years.

Validity period of the residence permit for the purpose of long-term mobility of researchers is maximised in 365 days.

Validity period of the residence permit for the purpose of long-term mobility of researchers issued for the family member of the researcher is maximised in 360 days, but may not exceed the period of validity of the researcher's residence permit for the purpose of long-term mobility of researchers.

The validity period of short-term mobility certificate of researchers is maximised in 180 days in any 360-day period, but the validity of the short-term mobility certificate of researchers issued for the family member of researcher’s may not exceed the validity period of the short-term mobility certificate of researchers issued for the researcher.

Please note that the validity period of the document shall not exceed the validity period of the applicant's travel document.

1. 10)Further information

• ·Seeking a job or starting a business

If you are a holder of a residence permit for the purpose of research and you prove that you completed your research and that the job or business you want to start in Hungary matches the level of your research, you may apply for a residence permit for the purpose of seeking a job or starting a business.

For information on the submission of the application, please click here.

• ·Appeal

In case of refusal, the decision may be appealed within 8 days of delivery, submitted to the authority of first instance, or at the Hungarian diplomatic or consular foreign mission where the application was submitted.

Please note that the authority shall dismiss the appeal without any examination as to merits in the following cases:

-  the appeal is received after the deadline,

-  the appeal is not submitted by an authorised person,

-  the applicant introduces and refers to new facts of the case, of which (s)he was aware before the decision was adopted,

-  the appeal is submitted without indicating its grounds or cause.

For information on reporting obligations, please click here.