Update! Information for holders of permanent residence cards

Information for holders of permanent residence cards issued between August 3, 2016 and August 2, 2021

Please be informed that based on Article 8 (1) of Regulation (EU) 2025/1208 of the European Council on strengthening the security of identity cards of Union citizens and of residence documents issued to Union citizens and their family members exercising their right of free movement, “residence cards of family members of Union citizens who are not nationals of a Member State, which do not meet the requirements of Article 7 shall cease to be valid at their expiry or by 3 August 2026, whichever is earlier”.

Based on the above, permanent residence cards issued to family members of EEA citizens and third-country family members of Hungarian citizens between the period of 3 August 2016 and 2 August 2021 will cease as of 3 August 2026. Therefore, an application for another residence title in Hungary will be needed.

Please note that to all persons affected will be delivered an information notice in detail by Post to their valid place of accommodation or residence; enquiring information is also available at NDGAP’s Client Service Office as per the concerned person’s place of accommodation (https://oif.gov.hu/regional-offices).

UPDATE!

If you are not an EEA citizen and your permanent residence card became invalid on 3rd of August 2026, 
please follow the instructions below.

We primarily ask our clients who are planning to travel from Hungary abroad in the near future 
to initiate the necessary procedure for exchanging documents or establishing 
a new residence permit before the trip. 
We recommend you to leave Hungary only with the new document in order to prevent possible 
problems with international travel.

1. If you are currently residing in Hungary and have not yet taken steps to regularize your stay, 
we kindly ask you to immediately visit our customer service center competent for your place of residence 
(https://oif.gov.hu/regional-offices). 
Please note again that, especially as a non-visa free person, we do not recommend traveling abroad until 
you have received your new Hungarian residence document.

2. If you are a non-visa free person who currently residing outside the Schengen area and wishing to enter 
its territory, we generally recommend you to attempt to enter the Schengen area 
with the invalid permanent residence card only at your own risk.

Considering that we cannot guarantee entry into the Schengen area with an invalid permanent residence card, 
we therefore recommend you to submit an application for a short-term visa at the Hungarian mission 
competent for your nationality or place of usual residence. 
Contact details and further information can be found on the following page: 
https://konzinfo.mfa.gov.hu/en/embassies#hungarian-embassies-abroad  

3. Despite the recommendation in point 2, you wish to enter the Schengen area with an invalid 
permanent residence card at your own risk, before choosing a flight or carrier and purchasing a ticket, 
we kindly ask you if possible to:

a) contact the airline or other passenger transport company and ask them for information on whether 
they will accept passengers with an invalid permanent residence card as stated above; 

b) contact the authority of the Member State where the first Schengen border crossing will take place, 
asking for information on their expected entry practices.

I would like to inform you that the Hungarian Police will temporarily allow entry into Hungary 
for family members of third-country nationals who otherwise meet the entry conditions at the Hungarian border, 
have the right of permanent free movement and residence, (and are subject to a visa requirement), 
and who are in possession of a permanent residence card issued by the Hungarian authorities 
between 3 August 2016 and 2 August 2021, despite its invalidity. 

If you enter the territory of our country in this way, please contact the territorial body of the Directorate General 
competent for your place of residence ((https://oif.gov.hu/regional-offices) 
immediately after your entry and take action to regularize your stay.

If the transport company refuses to take you on board due to your invalid document or the Member State 
where you cross the border refuses you entry into the territory of the Member States, 
please proceed as per point 2 and submit an application for a short-term visa.

We would like to draw your attention once again to the fact that the termination of the validity of the document 
on 3rdAugust 2026 does not automatically mean the immediate termination of the legality of residence in Hungary, 
nor does it mean that the persons concerned must leave the territory of Hungary. 
It is possible to manage the residence status even after the residence permit becomes invalid 
according to the information sheet sent by post, if the delay of application can be justified.