Hungary digital nomad visa (2026)

Who can apply

Only third-country nationals (not EEA nationals or their family members, and not stateless people).

• Employed abroad and working from Hungary with digital tools, or a shareholder in a profitable foreign company
• Net income of at least €3,000 a month for the previous 6 months
• No work for a Hungarian employer and no share in a Hungarian company
• Accommodation and health insurance in Hungary

Income requirement

You need to show at least €3,000 per month (net) (about US$3,356 a month at rates from 11 Nov 2026). Net monthly income for at least 6 months before entry, kept for the whole stay; family reunification is not available, so there is no family add-on.

Documents you need

• Employer certificate describing the remote work, or proof of company operation and your shareholding
• 6 months of bank statements, or an income certificate from the employer or tax authority
• Proof of accommodation (lease, ownership, or paid booking)
• Proof of health insurance or means to pay for care
• Passport and return ticket or funds for travel
• Photo and fingerprints (over age 6)

How to apply, step by step

1. Apply at a Hungarian embassy or consulate in your country of nationality or residence
2. Visa-free nationals without a residence permit may apply inside Hungary via the Enter Hungary platform
3. If approved, enter Hungary within the validity of the entry visa
4. For an extension, apply via Enter Hungary 30–90 days before expiry

Where and how to apply

There are two routes, and which one you use depends on your nationality. Most applicants file at a Hungarian embassy or consulate in their country of nationality or in the country where they normally live; some missions also accept files through honorary consuls, trade offices or an outside service provider, and in exceptional cases you can apply in another country where you are lawfully staying if you can justify why. You do not file a separate visa application: if the White Card is approved, the mission issues a single-entry type D visa that is valid for three months and allows a stay of up to 30 days, which is the window to travel in and pick up the permit. The in-country route is open only to citizens of countries whose nationals do not need a visa for Hungary and who do not already hold any Hungarian residence permit. They can apply during a lawful stay either online through the Enter Hungary portal or in person at the regional directorate of the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (NDGAP/OIF) covering the address where they are staying. The decision is always taken by NDGAP, not by the consulate. Online filing through Enter Hungary is also the only way to request the one-year extension, and it is cheaper than an in-person filing in Hungary (HUF 26,000 against HUF 39,000 under the OIF fee table). If someone files on your behalf, note that electronic submission through an attorney is accepted only when that representative is a legal representative or a legal person.

Timeline

1. Collect certified documents Before applying
   The employer statement and proof that the employer or your company actually operates must be certified; income evidence must cover at least the 6 months before entry.
2. Submit and give biometrics Day 0 (online: within 15 days of filing)
   A facial photo is taken and fingerprints are recorded for anyone over six. An Enter Hungary filing only counts as received once the fee is paid and photo, fingerprints and signature specimen are recorded within 15 days.
3. Administrative processing 21 days administrative period; merits decision within 30 days
   Time spent correcting gaps or answering NDGAP's requests for extra documents is not counted, so incomplete files take longer.
4. Appeal if refused Within 8 days of notification
   The appeal is lodged with the authority or mission where you applied; at a mission the appeal fee is EUR 160. Late or unreasoned appeals are dismissed without review.
5. Enter Hungary Within 3 months of approval
   Consular applicants travel on the D visa; if you do not enter within three months the approval lapses.
6. Register accommodation and receive the card On arrival; changes within 3 days
   Accommodation is registered with NDGAP through Enter Hungary; the residence document is posted to the address in your application.
7. Request the one extension Between 90 and 30 days before expiry
   Only online via Enter Hungary, and only if you spent at least 90 of the previous 180 days in Hungary on the permit.

Proving your income

The factsheet speaks of net legal income, which means the figure is judged after tax and contributions, and it must have been earned for at least six months before you enter Hungary and continue for the whole stay. The accepted evidence is either a bank statement covering the previous six months or a certificate of regular income issued by your employer or by a tax authority. The income has to come from the activity that qualifies you: an employment relationship with an employer abroad, or a share in a foreign company that shows a verified profit. For employees, the employer must give a certified statement describing its line of business, the remote-work arrangement and how long it is authorised, and your job and duties, together with certified proof that the employer really operates. Company owners show the company's activity, their title and shareholding, and that the company actually trades, for example through registry documents, a tax certificate proving regular income or profit, or other credible evidence. Freelancing without a company is not one of the two listed bases. The OIF materials do not set a currency or exchange-rate rule; because the threshold is in euros, income in other currencies should comfortably clear the euro figure at current rates. The factsheet does not spell out translation rules for this permit, so ask the mission whether foreign-language bank statements or company papers need an official Hungarian or English translation. For an extension, documents that have not changed do not need to be submitted again.

Bringing your family

The White Card is designed for the holder alone. Under the general rules on third-country nationals (Act XC of 2023), family reunification cannot be granted on the basis of a White Card, and the law also says a White Card holder's stay cannot serve as the basis for another non-EU national's right of residence. The one exception is a child born in Hungary to a White Card holder while the permit is valid: that child receives a family reunification permit once the birth is reported. A spouse, partner or older child who wants to live in Hungary therefore needs an independent basis, for example their own White Card if they personally meet the employment-or-company and income conditions, or a short visa-free or Schengen stay where their nationality allows it. Because there is no reunification, there is also no extra income amount per dependant, and no family work right flows from the White Card. Birth of a child in Hungary must be reported to an NDGAP regional directorate with the child's details.

Health insurance

NDGAP asks for proof that you have access to comprehensive health care or can pay for it. It accepts three types of evidence: cover under a social security scheme, entitlement through an international convention or agreement, or proof that you have enough money available in Hungary to pay for treatment yourself (shown with the same kind of documents used for means of subsistence). Unlike some other EU nomad schemes, the factsheet does not set a minimum sum insured, a no-deductible condition or a named type of private policy, which leaves room for either a private international policy or proof of funds. It also does not say the date cover must start; in practice it should run from your entry date for at least the length of the permit, and the mission may ask for a policy that covers the full year. Keep the policy current when you file the extension, because the same health-care condition is checked again.

Cost and processing time

The fee is €110 at a Hungarian mission (general residence permit fee); HUF 26,000 for an extension; extension HUF 26,000; appeal at a mission €160. Processing takes 21-day administrative period; decision within 30 days. Budget extra for translations, certified copies and health insurance.

After you arrive

• Register your place of accommodation with the NDGAP regional directorate through Enter Hungary (a paper form also exists) and keep the accommodation certificate you receive with you.
• If you move, report the new address electronically within 3 days to the directorate responsible for the new address.
• Your residence document is mailed to the address given in the application; collecting it in person is allowed only if you can show you cannot receive post there.
• Report a lost, stolen or destroyed residence document or passport immediately to NDGAP, the police or a Hungarian mission abroad; a replacement residence document can only be requested via Enter Hungary (HUF 20,000).
• Do not take any job with a Hungarian employer or buy a stake in a Hungarian company: either leads to withdrawal of the White Card.
• If you become tax resident, file the annual personal income tax return by 20 May of the following year (the 26SZJA form for 2026 income).
• Count your days: to be eligible for the extension you need at least 90 days in Hungary in the 180 days before filing, between 90 and 30 days before expiry.

Tax

The White Card factsheet says nothing about tax, and no special nomad tax regime was found on the tax authority (NAV) site. Hungary's Personal Income Tax Act (section 3) decides residence for non-EEA nationals in a different way from a simple 183-day count: you are resident if you hold permanent residence status, or if your only permanent home is in Hungary, or, failing that, if your centre of vital interests (closest family and business ties) is in Hungary, or, if that cannot be determined, if your habitual abode is there. A White Card holder who rents the only home they keep in Hungary could therefore become resident even before day 183, while someone who keeps a home and family abroad may not. Residents are taxed on worldwide income at a flat 15 percent rate according to NAV's 2026 summary, and returns are due by 20 May of the following year. Where a double tax treaty applies, its rules on employment income and residence tie-breakers take priority, and NAV's summary notes that income a treaty allocates to another country is generally exempt in Hungary. Non-residents who earned Hungarian income that a treaty exempts can make a declaration on the NYK form by 30 April. For social security, NAV's summary refers to the Act LII of 2018 social contribution tax (13 percent on certain capital income above a threshold); the factsheet does not explain how pension or health contributions apply to remote employees of foreign employers, so check this with NAV or the health insurance fund before you start.

Does it lead to permanent residence?

The White Card is a dead end for long-term settlement. Act XC of 2023 states that time spent in Hungary on a White Card does not count toward the three years of continuous residence needed for a national residence card, and separately that a White Card holder cannot be granted that card. The same act bars applying from inside Hungary for any residence permit on another ground while the White Card is valid or after it expires. Since the card lasts at most one year plus one one-year extension, it also cannot by itself reach the five years of continuous lawful residence the act requires for EU long-term resident status. Anyone who wants to settle in Hungary needs to switch to a different basis from outside the country, for example an employment or investor-type permit applied for through a mission, and should expect earlier White Card years not to help.

Why applications get refused

• Employer statement or company documents not certified, or missing proof that the employer or company actually operates.
• Net income below EUR 3,000 a month in any part of the 6 months before entry, or no evidence it will continue during the stay.
• Applicant falls into an excluded group, such as holders of or applicants for other Hungarian permits (guest worker, guest investor, National Card, Hungarian Card, Corporate Card and others), students, posted workers or intra-corporate transferees.
• Any Hungarian employment, work for a Hungarian employer or a share in a Hungarian company (also a ground for withdrawal after approval).
• Missing accommodation proof, health-care proof or means of return travel, or failing the general entry conditions referred to in the law (for example security or public-order checks).
• Extension filed outside the 90-to-30-day window, on paper instead of Enter Hungary, or without 90 days of presence in the previous 180 days.

Cost of living in Budapest

1-bedroom rent

About EUR 630–890 per month in the centre and EUR 490–690 outside the centre (Numbeo crowd-sourced ranges, page updated 12 November 2026)

Coworking desk

About HUF 40,900–116,900 per desk per month before VAT, median around HUF 69,900 (workin.space listings, updated 11 November 2026)

Home broadband of 60 Mbps or more is reported at roughly EUR 16–29 a month (Numbeo, 12 November 2026); rents in Budapest are usually quoted in forints or euros.

Good to know

• No other residence permit can be requested during or after the White Card
• To extend, you must have spent at least 90 of the previous 180 days in Hungary

Visiting first? Entry rules for popular passports

93 passports can enter Hungary visa-free for a short stay, a common way to try the country before applying. Check Hungary visa requirements for your passport.

Official source

National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (OIF) – White Card

Not yet confirmed on an official source: fee. Check these with the consulate before you apply.