Long-term Residence Card

ELIGIBILITY

Long-term residence status shall be granted to

·       a third-country national family member of an EEA national who has resided legally and continuously in the territory of Hungary for five years;

·       a person who has retained right of residence with regard to an EEA national and has resided legally and continuously in the territory of Hungary for five years;

·      a child born in the territory of Hungary of a parent who has the right of permanent residence.

Where an EEA national has acquired the right of permanent residence under either of the preferential terms enumerated below, his/her family members holding the right of residence shall also have the right of long-term residence.

An EEA national who is residing in Hungary to pursue occupational activity is eligible for permanent residence status before the five-year period of residence expires if

·        he/she has resided in the territory of Hungary continuously for more than three years from the time of entry and at the time of termination of his/her occupational activity has reached the age of entitlement for old-age pension, or ceased his/her occupational activity to claim early retirement, provided that the person has been engaged in occupational activity in the territory of Hungary for at least the preceding twelve months before going into retirement with old-age pension or before taking early retirement;

·        he/she has resided in the territory of Hungary continuously for more than two years from the time of entry to pursue occupational activity and he/she had to give up his/her occupational activity due to incapacity to work as the result of health impairment or accident requiring medical treatment;

·        his/her incapacity to work is the result of an accident at work or an occupational disease invoking entitlement to benefits provided for in specific other legislation; or

·        after three years of continuous occupational activity and residence in the territory of Hungary, he/she pursues occupational activity in another State that is a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, while retaining his/her place of residence in the territory of Hungary.

DEFINITIONS

Family member

EEA national

Third-country national

 INFORMATION ON SUBMITTING APPLICATIONS AND THE RELATED PROCEDURE

Requirements: the completed form, facial photograph taken not more than three months prior to date, and the mandatory enclosures, payment of the procedural fee.

Please note that applications for a long-term residence card can be submitted in person at the client service of the competent NDGAP regional directorate as per the place of residence of the applicant within the territory of Hungary or electronically upon registration on the electronic platform of the immigration authority for procedure initiation (EnterHungary).

Please click here for detailed information on the electronic procedure.

An application of a minor applicant with limited capacity or incapacity is submitted by his/her legal representative instead of the minor applicant with limited capacity or incapacity.

At the time of submitting the application the applicant is to attach his/her valid travel document or personal identification document, and enclose documents and other papers specified in this Decree to verify lawful and continuous residence.

Please note that an application submitted electronically is deemed to have been received by the authority if the administrative service fee has been paid. Furthermore, it is necessary to appear before the competent regional directorate within 15 days of the confirmation of receipt in order to verify your identity, to take your biometric data and a specimen signature, and to have your documents recognised.

In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the first day of continuous residence in the territory of Hungary is the day of submission of the application for a residence card of a third-country national family member of an EEA national.

The following shall not be deemed as discontinuity of residence:

·        temporary absence from the territory of Hungary not exceeding six months in a year;

·        absence for compulsory military service;

·        a one-time absence up to a maximum of twelve consecutive months due to a material cause, such as pregnancy and childbirth, serious illness, pursuit of study or vocational training, or posting.

If a family member of an EEA national abandons to exercise his/her right of residence in the territory of Hungary, it is considered as discontinuity of residence. If a third-country national family member of an EEA national has abandoned to exercise his/her right of residence in the territory of Hungary, and returned to the territory of Hungary for a period of over ninety days within a one-hundred-and-eighty-day period of time, the duration required for the right of long-term residence shall start over from this time.

Third-country national family members must submit their application for a long-term residence card before the expiry date of the validity of the residence card. If the applicant submits the application after the expiry of the validity of the residence card and he/she is unable to give a duly justifiable elucidation of the delay, he/she must provide proof of holding the right of long-term residence.

The regional directorate shall rule the application for a long-term residence card within 70 days.

The administrative service fee charged for the procedure for issuing a ’Long-term Residence Card’ is HUF 15,000.

The competent immigration authority shall deliver the document evidencing right of residence to the applicant by way of post.

In case of refusal, the applicant may appeal the decision submitted to the authority of first instance within 15 days after the decision was delivered. If the applicant introduces any new evidence in the appeal, of which he/she was aware before the decision was adopted, or if the appeal is lodged without showing cause, the authority of first instance shall dismiss the appeal without any examination as to merits.

The administrative service fee charged for an appeal is HUF 47,000, which is to be paid by way of an electronic payment instrument (bank card) or in the form of a bank deposit (using the cheque supplied by the regional directorate). When paying by using a yellow cheque, the client’s name and date of birth, and the case type i.e. “Long-term Residence Card Appeal” are to be indicated in the “comment” box.

If you wish to request an invoice of the payment of the procedural fee, please click on the link below:

Invoice request on payment of procedural fee

FORMS

The application shall be submitted with either one of the following forms completed and printed.

Forms optimised for Microsoft Word to be completed electronically:

- Issuance, Renewal of Long-term Residence Card, Appendix I-II

- Application for  Replacement of Long-term Residence Card

- Application for Exchange of Long-term Residence Card

Forms available for downloading in PDF format, to be filled out manually:

- Issuance, Renewal of Long-term Residence Card, Appendix I-II

- Application for Replacement of Long-term Residence Card

- Application for Exchange of Long-term Residence Card

 MANDATORY ENCLOSURES

At the time of submitting the application the applicant is to present his/her valid travel document or personal identification document, and enclose documents and other papers to verify lawful and continuous residence.

Family members shall provide the following documents substantiating family ties as proof of family member status:

·        a birth certificate;

·        a marriage certificate;

·        a registrar’s certificate substantiating a registered partnership;

·        an adoption document;

·        other documents as credible substantiation of family ties.

Any reference made to a registrar’s certificate shall also be construed as an equivalent document issued by a foreign authority.

Please note that an authentic instrument issued abroad, or a private document certified by a foreign court, administrative body, notary public or any other person endowed with public authority, unless otherwise provided by law, international treaty or agreement, or the principle of reciprocity, has probative value under Hungarian law, only if it has been endorsed by the Hungarian diplomatic or consular mission operating in the country where it was issued. Unless otherwise provided by law, an instrument issued in a language other than Hungarian shall be accepted only with a certified Hungarian translation attached.

The competent authority may accept the authentic instrument submitted by the applicant that was issued abroad without an official Hungarian translation and without diplomatic recertification.

During the process, the immigration authority may request further documents, apart from the mandatory enclosures, for ascertaining the relevant facts of the case, and may take further procedural steps as well. The administrative time limit shall not include the length of time between the receipt of the notice for remedying deficiencies until the time of compliance.

VALIDITY PERIOD

A long-term residence card issued to a third-country national family member shall be valid for 10 years, and it will be renewed by the competent regional directorate as per place of residence automatically in every ten years without examining the conditions.

ACCRUED RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS

A family member must report the theft, destruction or loss of his/her travel document, identity card or document proving his/her right of residence, or the detection of a document thought to be lost and reported to be lost, to the immigration authority (the regional directorate of the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing or a police station).

A third-country national family member must obtain a new travel document to replace the lost, stolen, destroyed or expired travel document, unless otherwise provided by an international treaty or agreement. The third-country national family member may leave the territory of the country in possession of the new travel document and the proof of report issued on the basis of the above indicated report to the authorities.

Third-country national family members of an EEA national exercising the right of residence exceeding ninety days within a one-hundred-and-eighty-day period of time shall report to the regional directorate, as per their place of residence, with personal data included

·        the death of a family member residing with them;

·        change of name;

·        if the death or change of name occurred outside the territory of Hungary.

Third-country national family members of an EEA national may notify the competent immigration authority if they abandon to exercise their right of residence, or if they leave the territory of Hungary definitely, including about their country of next habitual residence, and may turn in their document evidencing their right of residence in the territory of Hungary.

Third-country national family members of an EEA national shall present their documents evidencing their right of residence when so requested by the authority vested with powers to check their identity and their right of residence.