EU Blue Card

Information

on

EU Blue Card

1.) Which third-country nationals are eligible to be granted an EU Blue Card?

The EU Blue Card is a residence permit which entitles its highly qualified holder in the territory of a Member State to reside and, at the same time, to undertake work requiring a high level of professional qualification(s).

An EU Blue Card shall be granted to a third-country national:

• ·who intends to work in a position requiring a high level of professional qualification(s), and has professional qualification(s) in tertiary education required to perform his/her job, or relevant high level of professional experience of a specified period of time, or
• ·who is a holder of an EU Blue Card issued by a Member State of the European Union and has already legally resided in that Member State for at least 12 months or has resided 6 months in a second Member State.

An EU Blue Card shall not be granted to a person:

• ·who applied for refugee status, for temporary or subsidiary protection before the asylum authority,
• ·who has been granted temporary protection in Hungary,
• ·with tolerated status,
• ·who is applying for the residence permit as a researcher for the purpose of conducting a scientific research project,
• ·who is a holder of an EU residence permit certifying long-term residence status granted by any Member State of the European Union,
• ·who has entered the territory of Hungary under commitments contained in an international agreement facilitating the entry and stay of certain categories of natural persons performing activities in trade and investment-related fields, except for persons whose entry to the territory of a Member State has been granted as part of an intra-corporate transfer,
• ·who is residing in Hungary under Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as a posted worker.

 

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.

2.) Where can the application be submitted?

 

I. Application for the issuance of a residence permit

 

a) Application submission outside of Hungary

your entry into Hungary does not constitute a visa-exempt travel, your application for the issuance of a residence permit is to be submitted outside of Hungary. 

The application may be submitted at 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, whether there are 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 type of places receiving applications 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 the respective residence permit.

b) Submitting an application in Hungary

When may 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 the issuance of a residence permit within the territory of Hungary during your legal stay.

If you are a holder of an EU Blue Card issued by a Member State of the European Union, you may submit an application for the issuance of an EU Blue Card in Hungary as well, but no later than 30 days after your entry.

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

Application submission in 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 the applicant’s 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.

II. Application submission via an employer

An application for the issuance or extension of an EU Blue Card may be submitted by the employer, if the concerned employee as applicant gives consent to such a process in a written declaration of consent and

• ·(s)he has not entered the territory of Hungary yet, 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 EU Blue Card, and wishes to apply for its extension.

 

Applications by an employer 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 an employer, the client concerned must appear in person before the authority to facilitate taking the applicant’s facial photograph, recording his/her fingerprint and implementing other procedural conducts upon the request of the authority.

III. Application for the extension of a residence permit

 

Submission of applications for the extension of a EU Blue Card is available only in Hungary, via the platform of Enter Hungary, which is available by clicking here.

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

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

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

 

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.

In Word format: click here or 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 of the applicant will be taken and, in case of an applicant above the age of 6, 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.

 

4.) Administrative service fee for the procedure

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

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 purpose of residence can be proven with the following documents:

• a preliminary agreement or a valid contract of employment for the establishment of a legal relationship for fixed-term employment of at least 6 months, concluded for the purpose of undertaking employment requiring a high level of education, and

• a document certifying the higher education or professional qualification required to fill the position indicated in the preliminary agreement or contract of employment.

 

In case of executive officers and specialists working with information and communication technologies, at least 3 years of relevant professional experience acquired within the period of 7 years prior to the submission of their application for an EU Blue Card, shall be considered as a high level of professional qualification with regards to the application for an EU Blue Card.

This professional experience can be certified by a document substantiating having (f)actually and legally pursued the relevant occupation and providing proof of the duration of the acquired experience thereof.

 

Documents in proof of means of subsistence in Hungary

One of the following documents must be submitted as proof that the applicant has the minimum amount of earnings specified in relation to EU Blue Cards annually:

• ·a preliminary agreement,
• ·a document on legal relationship of employment,
• ·a document on regular income issued by the employer or the tax authority.

 

Please be informed that the minimum amount of earnings specified in relation to EU Blue Cards is HUF 773,649 in 2024. The following occupations shall be except of the above, with regards to them the minimum amount of earnings shall be HUF 618,919:

-         General practitioner (FEOR: 2211),

-         Pharmacist, specialized pharmacist (FEOR: 2214),

-         Optometrist (FEOR: 2222),

-         Dietician and nutrition adviser (FEOR: 2223),

-         Physiotherapist (FEOR: 2224),

-         District nurse (FEOR: 2225),

-         Ambulance officer (FEOR: 2226),

-         (Tertiary education based) Nursing professional (FEOR: 2231),

-         (Tertiary education based) Midwifery professional (FEOR: 2232).

 

In addition to the above, you may attach/enclose a certificate from a credit institution under your name (e.g., a bank account statement, an account statement on savings or stocks and bonds, bank balance statement) as proof that you have sufficient resources, i.e. you can cover costs related to your subsistence, accommodation return/onward travel (i.e. ext from Hungary) and healthcare services from legally acquired income and savings.

 

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

You are required to indicate a real Hungarian address as your place of accommodation in the application form. For making the relevant declaration, no separate document needs to be attached to/enclosed with the application.

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.

 

6.) Other information in relation to the procedure

Applications for the issuance/extension of an EU Blue Card are examined under a single application procedure.

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

 

7.) Time period of procedural administration

Time period for procedural administration: 21 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 adopts a decision as to merits within 70 days from the date of the submission of the application.

For applicants holding an EU Blue Card issued by a Member State of the European Union, the authority will take a decision on the merits within 30 days of the date of submission of the application. This time limit may be extended by the aliens policing authority once by 30 days in exceptional and duly justified circumstances related to the complexity of the application.

 

8.) Receiving the residence permit document

If you submitted your application for a residence permit 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 visas 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 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 an employer, the document shall be delivered to the employer, to the employer’s official contact address, in the absences thereof, to the employer’s place of establishment (i.e. registered address).

Please note that receiving your document before NDGAP’s regional directorate in person is allowed only 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.

 

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

Validity period of the document is maximised in 4 years, and it may be extended for up to 4 years at a time for the same purpose.

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

 

10.) Further information

• ·Employment

Please be informed that an EU Blue Card entitles you to undertake work only in the approved employment relationship requiring a high level of qualification during a period of 1 year from the date of its issuance.

• ·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.