Interview with the representative of the Hungarian direction of One World Migration

Today, a representative of the Hungarian office of One World Migration talked on the changes in the regulation for issuing residency, about the reasons for the changes as well as its effects on the flow of applications.

- According to your opinion, why has the Hungarian government decided to reconsider the conditions for giving residency?

• The Hungarian government wishes to bring its immigration-related jurisprudence closer to the requirements of the European Union. Within this framework, it became necessary to change the criteria system and legislation.

- Will this affect the flow of citizens who wanted to obtain Hungarian residency?

• Yes, the change in legislation will affect the number and range of applicants. In the future, more qualified applicants (both financially and in terms of education) will have the opportunity to successfully apply for residence in Hungary.

- In connection with the changes in the rules that will be introduced, is there already an increase in the flow of applicants?

• Considering that the current rules will only be applicable for a little more than a month, a very significant number of applicants decided to submit the application almost immediately.

- How to stay aware of such changes? How do you get to know about them?

• We have an excellent working relationship with the relevant organizations, who inform us about the changes, while the draft regulation text is public.

- Will the term of the residence permit change, will it increase to 10 years?

• This is a complex issue, there will be valid residence permits that will expire and new ones with new conditions, so in short, we can say that there will be a ten-year category, but there will be an application form in which it will be possible to obtain the permit for 1+2 years. In the latter case, the residence permit can obviously be obtained with a smaller investment amount.

- In your opinion, will the procedure for registration of residency differ from the current one?

• Yes, it can be clearly stated that both the procedure and the assessment of applications will change.

- What is the reason for the changes introduced by the Hungarian government?

• As I explained in my answer to your first question, it is partly European Union legal harmonization and partly compliance with the requirements imposed on Hungary by the European authorities.

- Will there be any restrictions on national factor?

• I am currently not aware of such a thing. There will be individual assessments.

- Are these changes purely the initiative of the Hungarian government, or the EU is engaged?

• As I mentioned before, there are Hungarian initiatives in the new legislation, mostly in compliance with the European Union, but in certain aspects, such as the reluctance of the amount of investments related to Hungarian government.

- Till which date does One World Migration plan to process applications under the old conditions? What date will the changes be introduced?

• Based on my current information, the old applications can be submitted until December 31, 2023. After that, until September 2024 (this is the expected date of entry into force of the new law), all applications will be issued with a 1-year fixed-term permit. After the expiration of which, the new regulations must be met during the extension.

- One more topic to be reflected in today’s talk - why did the United States tighten the conditions of visa-free entry for Hungarian citizens who were born abroad?

• This is due to the political disagreements between the Hungarian and American governments, however, the ESTA visa is still available to Hungarian citizens, only for a reduced period and in a form that entitles it to a single entry.