Hungary Golden Visa: Guest Investor Residence Guide 2026y

The Hungary Golden Visa, officially the Guest Investor Program, is a residence by investment route. It gives successful applicants a Hungarian residence permit, not citizenship. Citizenship is a separate process that requires eight years of legal residence and has its own requirements and application procedure.  

The program is intended for non-EU and non-EEA nationals whose stay in Hungary serves the national economic interest through a qualifying investment. There are two options: an investment fund share of at least €250,000 in a real estate fund registered by the Hungarian National Bank, or a financial donation of at least €1,000,000 to a higher education institution maintained by a public trust. The permit is valid for up to ten years and can be extended for up to another ten years.  

Any residency by investment application process comes with heavy legal requirements and detailed due diligence steps that can be overwhelming to navigate alone. For that reason, our legal experts recommend working with a trusted partner like Global Citizen Solutions, which has helped over 15,000 people worldwide.   

This guide is a stepping stone to understanding the procedure, the eligibility requirements, costs, and benefits, so you can better align on which investment options would suit you and your future goals. 

Hungary Golden Visa: Key Takeaways

The Hungary Golden Visa offers residency through an investment of €250,000 in a real estate fund or a €1 million donation to a public trust. 

Golden visa holders and their families can live, work, and study in Hungary. 

Benefits of Hungary’s Golden Visa include Schengen access, visa-free travel to 184 countries, low cost of living, healthcare, and political stability. 

To qualify, your investment must come from a verified source, and you need a clean criminal record and valid health insurance. 

The administrative process takes about 21 days but does not include the time before the proof of investment is submitted, or the time spent on outstanding information.   

You can apply for permanent residency after three years and for Hungarian citizenship after eight years. 

There are a number of benefits that come along with the Hungary Golden Visa program. Here are the top nine benefits:

1. Visa free travel: One of the top benefits of obtaining the Hungarian Golden Visa is that you have access to the Schengen Area for up to 90 days within any 180-day period. 
2. Flexibility: The Hungarian Golden Visa program does not require any minimum stay, meaning you can travel freely to your home country or across the globe without worrying about maintaining your Hungary residency. 
3. Low risk investment: Applicants receive pre-approval which reduces the risk of investing and then being denied. But it does not always guarantee an approval.  
4. Generous family eligibility criteria: The Hungary Golden Visa scheme allows for family members to gain residency as well. However, it does not inherently extend this status to future generations without further applications or naturalization processes. Each generation needs to manage the Hungary residency or citizenship requirements independently. 
5. Tax benefits: You become a tax resident in Hungary if you spend at least 183 days in the country within a year. If your stay is shorter, you won’t be liable for taxes. For those who qualify as tax residents, Hungary offers some of the lowest rates in the EU, with income tax set at 15%, corporate tax at 9%, and inheritance tax at 9%. 

Foreign nationals seeking to apply for the Hungary Residency by Investment program have two primary routes available under the Guest Investor Program (GIP), as stated by the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing.  

01/ Real Estate Investment Fund 

• Investment amount: A minimum of €250,000 in a real estate fund approved by the Hungarian National Bank. 
• Fund allocation: At least 40% of the fund’s net asset value must be invested in Hungarian residential real estate. 
• Holding period: Investors are required to maintain their investment for a minimum of five years. 
• Approved funds: The fund must appear on the qualified list published by the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (OIF). 

02/ Public Trust Donation 

• Donation amount: A non-refundable donation of at least €1 million to a public interest trust foundation supporting higher education institutions in Hungary. 
• Purpose: Funds are directed towards educational, scientific research, or artistic activities. 
• Holding period: No minimum holding period is required for this option. 

These are some of the required documents for the Hungary Guest Investor Visa, as per the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing and some consulates.

Step 1: Choose your investment. 

The first step in starting your Hungary residency by investment journey is choosing your preferred investment option. It’s easier to work with a trusted migration partner like Global Citizen Solutions to find the option that best aligns with your needs and goals.  

Step 2: Gather your documents. 

For the visa, you need the application form, a valid travel document, one photo, an address in Hungary, and proof of the legal origin of your funds. If you haven’t invested yet, you also need a signed declaration of which investment you will make, and a bank certificate that the amount is permanently at your disposal. The documents need to be translated and legalized.  

Step 3: Apply for the guest investor visa at a Hungarian Consulate. 

You can skip this step if your passport does not require you to apply for an entry visa. The fee is  €110. You apply at a consulate in your country, and not directly to OIF. You will receive the visa, which is valid for up to six months. 

Step 4: Enter Hungary and apply for the residence permit within 30 days of first entry. 

Once you have your visa, you will have to apply for the residence permit online through the platform Enter Hungary or in person. In Budapest or Pest County, in-person filing is done by appointment.  

The fee is HUF 26,000 (€71.23 ) online or HUF 39,000 (€106.85)  in person. Regardless of whether you apply online or in person, the fingerprint and photographs have to be taken in person. This is also when you will need to show your proof of accommodation in Hungary.  

Step 5: Complete the investment and submit proof through Enter Hungary. 

Before you submit your application, make sure you have completed your chosen investment and add the proof to your application.  The deadline is the visa’s validity period, which is six months or six months from first entry if you did not need an entry visa.  

Step 6: Wait for the decision. 

According to the National Directorate-General for Aliens, the administrative process takes 21 days, but it excludes the time before you submit investment proof and any time spent fixing any missing information, so in reality it can take longer. A refusal can be appealed within 8 days. 

Step 7: Receive your card by post. 

The permit lasts up to ten years and can be extended for up to another ten. The fund route requires you to still hold the investment even at the time of extensions. The donation route needs no further investment. 

These are the costs verified by the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing for the Hungary Guest Investor Program.  

Residence rights 

• Work and business: With a guest investor permit, you can run your own business for profit or act as the chief executive of a company or other legal entity. According to OIF, you are free to work in Hungary without any restrictions. 
• Family: The family reunification permit allows family members to work for someone else under an employment contract. Each family member must apply separately after the investor submits their permit application. 
• Travel in Schengen: With this residence permit, you can visit Schengen area countries for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. 

Renewal 

• Where and when: Applications for extension can only be made within Hungary via Enter Hungary and must be submitted at least 30 days before the expiry of the permit.  
• Condition: You must hold a valid guest investor permit at the time you apply.  
• Fund route: You still have to have the investment in place when you apply to extend. This specifically applies to fund investments and the five-year hold period. 
• Donation route: The extension may be granted without further investment. 
• Ongoing duty: Report changes to the investment data within 5 days via Enter Hungary. 
• Fee: You need to pay an extension fee of HUF 26,000 about €71.23, according to the OIF.

Applicants can apply for permanent residency in Hungary after holding a temporary residence permit through the Golden Visa program for three years. The permit is now called the national residence card, and it was formerly the national permanent residence permit. The requirements for permanent residence are as follows:   

• Physical presence: Applicants can spend no more than 270 days outside Hungary over the three years.  
• Investment: The original investment qualifying for the Golden Visa Hungary must be maintained.  
• Criminal record: Applicants need to show a clean criminal record.  
• Financial stability: Applicants must prove financial independence, such as through bank statements or income verification.  
• Language and integration: Applicants need to show they meet the requirements for living together in society by passing a written cultural knowledge test in Hungarian. 

Why choose Global Citizen Solutions for your Golden Visa Application?

• Global approach by local experts: A team of experienced local case executives, immigration lawyers, and investment specialists.
• Independent service: We are not a marketing agency for any projects. You will access all eligible routes for the Golden Visa so you can decide on the best option, and your investment will benefit from the legal due diligence services of a reputable Law Firm.
• 100% approval rate: We have the unique distinction of never having had a Golden Visa case rejected and have helped hundreds of clients from more than 35 countries.
• All-encompassing solution: Our dedicated onboarding and immigration teams will assist you throughout the process and beyond with a single channel of communication.
• Transparency: Our fees are clear and detailed, covering the entire process with no hidden costs.
• Privacy: Your personal data is stored within a GDPR-compliant database on a secure SSL-encrypted server.