In general, citizens of EEA countries are free to reside and work in Hungary without any prior formalities. Family members of an EEA national (who are not themselves EEA nationals) must obtain a residence permit to reside in Hungary and a work permit if they want to work in Hungary. EEA nationals and their EEA-national family members are free to work for a company or be self-employed without needing a work permit. If EEA nationals stay for longer than 90 days within any 180-day period, they must notify the competent regional office of the National Directorate-General for Alien Policing of their residence in Hungary no later than on the 93rd day of their stay. Then, the competent office will issue a registration card certifying the notification.

Besides Hungary, the following countries belong to the EEA: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

According to treaties between Switzerland and the EU, Swiss nationals enjoy immigration rights equal to those of EEA nationals.

EEA citizens and family members who have legally and continuously resided in Hungary for five years have the right of permanent residence. However, in certain cases, less than five years' residence will suffice for EEA citizens who have been residing in Hungary with the purpose of gainful activity (e.g., more than three years is required if the EEA citizen performing a gainful activity is entitled to receive a pension upon the termination of their employment). The right of permanent residence is terminated if the qualified EEA citizen spends more than two years outside of Hungary.

As of 1 February 2020, UK citizens are considered foreign nationals. However, they enjoy more benefits than other foreign nationals. For example, UK citizens arriving from the UK are exempted from visa requirements if the duration of their stay is less than 90 days within a 180-day period. Those who legally resided in Hungary prior to Brexit benefit from derogations from the requirements set forth in the immigration laws during the residence permit application process. For example, the conditions of accommodation (e.g., means of subsistence and health insurance) will not be examined during the residence application process for UK citizens who legally resided in Hungary (with a registration certificate) and apply for a residence permit after three years. All documents that the foreign national previously obtained (registration certificate, residence card or permanent residence card) remain valid until the three-year residence period ends. Foreign nationals who have acquired the right to move and reside freely but failed to register or apply for a new status can initiate their settlement status according to the New Immigration Act. by applying for a residence permit.

The Third-Country National Act also applies to UK citizens and their foreign-national family members who arrive in Hungary after Brexit if they intend to stay for more than 90 days within a 180-day period. Residence permits issued to UK citizens are valid for three years. Applications for national residence permits must be submitted to the regional directorate of the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing of the jurisdiction that is the foreign national's future place of residence in Hungary.

The benefits granted to UK citizens are as follows:

• Residence permits issued to UK citizens are valid for three years from the date of Brexit (1 February 2020).
• UK citizens who held a valid residence permit at the time of Brexit can apply for a national residence permit after three years of residency.
• Only the existence of a previous three-year stay and grounds for refusal will be examined for UK citizens who have a registration certificate.
• At the time of application, only a valid travel document must be produced. However, the immigration bureau might require mandatory annexes.

Family members of UK nationals permanently residing in Hungary, with whom a current family relationship that predates Brexit exists, may continue to benefit from the preferential arrangements for up to three years after Brexit.

EU nationals are not required to obtain a work permit or visa to stay or work in Hungary. They are only subject to registration requirements. Similar treatment applies to citizens of Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Switzerland. However, the employer must notify — no later than on the date the employment commences — the competent labor center of the employment of an EEA national without a work permit. Further, the employer must also notify the labor center upon the termination of this employment. In general, a workforce demand procedure must be initiated before the competent labor center. The procedure must be initiated by the Hungarian entity seeking to employ a third-country national. This entity must submit a form in which it demands the workforce to fulfill the positions specified in the request. During the procedure, the labor center examines whether there are any Hungarian or EU nationals registered as jobseekers in Hungary who could be employed in the position that the third-country national is seeking to fulfill. If there is such a registered jobseeker, the third-country national cannot be employed in that position.

Other foreign nationals can also be employed, provided that they have been granted at least one of the following:

• A work permit
• A joint permit (depending on the length of their stay in Hungary)
• A residence permit

Third-country managers, experts and trainees assigned to a Hungarian receiving enterprise must, within the same group of undertakings, obtain a special type of residence permit tailored to assignments within the group of undertakings. The processing deadline is 60 days, and no workforce demand procedure is to be conducted.

According to the New Immigration Act, third-country nationals can work if they obtain a (i) work permit, (ii) work permit issued for the purpose of carrying out an investment or (iii) guest worker permit.

1. Third-country nationals who actually perform work for or under the direction of another person, for remuneration, based on an employment relationship: The work permit entitles its holder to stay in Hungary for a fixed period of up to two years. The validity may be extended for a period of up to one year, provided that the residence permit for employment purposes may not be extended for a period exceeding three years from the date of its first issue. The third-country national may not apply for a residence permit on other grounds in the territory of the country, which means that they will have to leave Hungary if they want to apply for another type of residence permit. The family members of third-country nationals working with a work permit in Hungary may not apply for a family reunification permit.
2. According to the New Immigration Act, a work permit for the purpose of carrying out an investment may be issued to a guest worker who meets the following criteria:
   1. They are intended to carry out, based on their employment relationship, actual work for consideration, for or under the direction of another person, to carry out a project.
   2. Their employer has concluded an agreement with the minister for foreign economic affairs, acting on behalf of the government.
   3. They work on carrying out the investment.
   4. Their employer has obtained prior group employment approval, as defined by law.

The permit is valid until the investment has been carried out, but for no more than three years. After three years, the permit cannot be extended.

3. A guest worker residence permit can be issued to guest workers who meet the following criteria:
   1. The purpose of their stay is to carry out actual work based on an employment relationship, for consideration, for or under the direction of another person.
   2. Their employer is a registered preferential employer or a registered qualified lender.
   3. They are a national of a third country as defined in a decree of the minister responsible for the employment of third-country nationals in Hungary, issued with the Defense Council's approval.
   4. Their employment is in an occupation not excluded by the minister responsible for employment policy in their notification.

The New Immigration Act defines preferential employers as follows:

• An employer with a strategic partnership agreement with the government
• An employer who is implementing an investment of major importance for the national economy
• An employer with a partnership agreement under the Priority Exporter Partnership Program

The guest worker permit may be extended for a period of up to one year, provided that the residence permit for employment purposes may not be extended for a period exceeding three years from the date of its first issue.

As a general rule, a work permit must be obtained if a foreign national would like to work in Hungary for less than 90 days within any 180-day period. A joint permit (including the labor center's approval and a residence permit) is required if a foreign national would like to work in Hungary for more than 90 days within any 180-day period.

If a work permit or a joint permit is required, the Hungarian entity for which the foreign employee will work must initiate a workforce demand procedure with the regional branch of the labor center as a preliminary step. A workforce demand form and the Hungarian entity's data sheet must be submitted for this purpose.

After a valid workforce demand has been filed, the following steps must be taken: 

• A work permit application must be filed with the labor center if the foreign national is to work in Hungary for less than 90 days within any 180-day period.
• If a foreign national is to work in Hungary for more than 90 days within any 180-day period, the workforce demand procedure must be followed by a joint permit application filed with the immigration bureau. The immigration bureau will then make an official inquiry to the labor center and send the work permit application to the labor center. In this case, the relevant authorities have 70 days to decide on the joint permit application. If issued, the joint permit will be valid for up to two years, but it can be extended by up to two additional years at a time.

Under certain circumstances, both the work permit and the labor center's approval can be obtained in a simplified procedure (i.e., there is no need to go through a workforce demand procedure when submitting the work permit application to the labor center or the joint permit application to the immigration bureau). The following circumstances may give rise to a simplified procedure:

• If one or more foreign entities (or persons) have a majority ownership interest in the company applying for the work permit, provided that the total number of foreign nationals to be employed by the applicant during one calendar year does not exceed 10% of the company's total workforce on the last day of the quarter preceding the date of the application
• If the applicant, pursuant to an agreement between themself and a foreign entity, intends to employ a foreign national for installation work or to provide guarantee, maintenance or warranty-related activities for more than 15 consecutive working days (However, no work permit is required if the foreign nationals are to be employed occasionally by the applicant for less than 15 consecutive working days.)
• If the foreign national is exempt from the work permit requirements (However, they must still apply for a residence permit.)

Rather than providing an exhaustive list of each category exempted from the work permit requirements, below is a summary of the categories most often used for multinational corporations sending business travelers and foreign nationals to work in Hungary.

No work permit is required for the performance of work by a foreign national who meets at least one of the following criteria:

• They are an executive officer or a member of the supervisory board of a Hungarian company operating with foreign participation.
• They are the head of the branch of the representative office of an enterprise that has its registered seat abroad based on international treaties.
• They perform work related to installation, warranty or other repair activities based on a contract with a foreign enterprise, provided that this activity does not exceed 15 working days per occasion.
• They perform scientific, educational or art-related work for a period of no more than 10 working days per calendar year.