Residence permit for guest self-employment
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Not established from a qualifying source |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | Residence permit for guest self-employment as of 2026-03-03[3][4] |
| Legal basis | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-03-03[3] |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EEA as of 2026-03-03[3] Open to third-country nationals only; EEA nationals and their family members hold the right of free movement and residence. Stateless persons qualify as third-country nationals. |
|---|---|
| Criminal-record condition | Not established from a qualifying source Not stated on the NDGAP factsheet for this route. |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | 1 year as of 2026-03-03[3] Validity of the document is capped at 1 year. |
|---|---|
| Renewable | Yes as of 2026-03-03[3] |
| Renewal duration | 2 years as of 2026-03-03[3] Extendable for the same purpose for a period not exceeding 2 years, subject to the 3-year cap from first issue. |
| Maximum total duration | 3 years as of 2026-03-03[3] Extension is only possible for a period not exceeding 3 years from first issue of the permit. Continuing beyond that requires a fresh issue, applied for in Hungary at least 40 days before expiry. |
| Work rights | self-employment only as of 2026-03-03[3] The permit covers activities performed independently for remuneration and acting as chief executive of a business organisation. Performing actual work in the company beyond the chief-executive scope requires a residence permit for the purpose of employment or a Hungarian Card, and a holder of this permit cannot apply for either from inside Hungary. NDGAP also states that during the permit's validity and after its expiry, an application for a residence permit under another legal title is not allowed in Hungary. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
Requirements
| Business plan required | Yes as of 2026-03-03[3] A detailed declaration of business activity is an accepted proof of the purpose of residence and is required where the chief-executive limb rests on the applicant's residence being essential to the operation of the business organisation. Its content must be supported by credible evidence such as business contracts, contracts of services, agreements, sales or purchase contracts. |
|---|---|
| Endorsement required | No as of 2026-03-03[3] No startup-committee, accelerator or other third-party vetting appears among the published conditions. |
| Innovation criterion | No as of 2026-03-03[3] No innovation or novelty test appears among the published conditions. |
| Jobs to be created | 5 as of 2026-03-03[3] Applies only to the chief-executive limb, and only as one of two alternatives: either the business organisation has legally employed at least five Hungarian nationals or persons with the right of free movement and residence full-time for at least six consecutive months without interruption, or the applicant's residence in Hungary is essential to the operation of the business organisation and the detailed declaration of business activity makes it likely that he will generate income sufficient for the subsistence of the business organisation. The self-employed limb carries no job-creation condition. |
| Own means requirement | 24 × statutory minimum wage (a monthly figure), assessed annually as of 2026-03-03[3] The self-employed limb requires a tax authority certificate that annual income from self-employment exceeds 24 times the current minimum wage, plus a certificate of no tax or contribution debt. The multiplier applies to the minimum wage in its own published period (monthly) and the resulting figure is tested over a year. Separately, applicants must evidence sufficient resources for subsistence, accommodation, return travel and healthcare, with no published figure. |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2026-03-03[3] Applied for abroad before a Hungarian diplomatic or consular mission as the general rule. Submission inside Hungary is available to visa-exempt nationals who do not already hold a residence permit and have not previously held a guest self-employment permit, to holders of a valid extended guest self-employment permit whose three-year cap is about to expire, and to holders of a residence permit for the purpose of seeking a job or starting a business. |
|---|---|
| Statutory processing time | 21 days as of 2026-03-03[3] Excludes periods for remedying deficiencies and other procedural conducts. |
| Fees |
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Physical presence
| periodic reporting | 1 year · to keep the permit as of 2026-03-03[3] |
|---|
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
Profile benefits
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Verification
| Sources cited | 5 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 4 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2026-03-03 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-03-10 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-11 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] EU Immigration Portal – Hungary, family member
European Commission · international organisation · Tier 2 · Accessed 2026-08-07 - [2] Residence permit for the purpose of family reunification
National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (NDGAP/OIF) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-03-10 · Accessed 2026-08-07 · Archived copy - [3] Residence permit for guest self-employment
National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (NDGAP/OIF) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-03-03 · Accessed 2026-08-07 - [4] National Residence Card
National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (NDGAP/OIF) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-03-03 · Accessed 2026-08-07 · Archived copy - [5] Procedural fees
National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (NDGAP/OIF) · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Published 2026-03-03 · Accessed 2026-08-07 · Archived copy