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We launch on 29 September 2026 — the full course, the mock exams and the residency guide go live together.

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Moira, the Permanent Residency Assistant

Meet Moira. She is here to help you get permanent residency in Hungary. She will help you find the right card, get your documents together and follow the process to the end.

What people call permanent residency is now the national residence card, or nemzeti tartózkodási kártya. In 2023 a new law replaced the old settlement permit, which many people still call the állandó tartózkodási engedély, so you will see both names around. The card is valid for up to ten years and you can renew it. There is also a second card for indefinite residence, the EU residence card, and not everyone can apply for both. Step 1 sorts out which one you can apply for, and the rest of the page shows you how to get it.

We know how this feels. The system is complicated, sometimes chaotic, and the information you find is often contradictory — one office says one thing, a forum says another. Moira is built to get you through it step by step, so at any point you know what you have to do next and what it will take.

She is also a work in progress. We are still adding to her and will keep developing her as the rules change and as we learn what people need most, so do come back.

  1. Which residence card is yours — and can you get it?

    Answer one question at a time. You do not need to know the rules — the questions carry them. Both cards are decided from the same answers, so you will get a verdict on each. Nothing you enter leaves this page.

    Who you are

    Are you a third-country national?

    What this means

    Third-country national is the term Hungarian immigration law uses for the people both of these cards are built for, and both cards define it identically. It means two groups: anyone who is not a Hungarian citizen and not a citizen of an EEA country, and any stateless person.

    The EEA is the 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Swiss citizens are treated the same way. If you hold one of those citizenships — or Hungarian citizenship — you are not a third-country national, and a different set of rules covers you.

    Holding a second citizenship from an EEA country counts: it is the EEA passport that decides, not the other one.

  2. Read the rest with an account

    The remaining 7 steps are part of the course, along with the practice questions and the vocabulary.

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  3. What documents do you need?

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  4. How do you submit the application?

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  5. What do you have to pay?

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  6. Where do you give your biometrics, and by when?

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  7. How long do you wait for the decision?

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  8. What can you do if you are refused?

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  9. How long does the card last, and how do you renew it?

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How are the EU and national residence cards different?

Hungary has a second card for indefinite residence. You apply for it in almost the same way, but it asks for more years in Hungary, and it is worth something in the rest of the EU. Its own page puts the two next to each other, question by question: how long each one asks you to live here, what your student years are worth, which permits are shut out, and what each card is worth once you leave Hungary.

See how the two compare

This is general guidance, not legal advice, and your own case may differ. Always check the official page before you act.

Source: National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing — national residence card

Source: National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing — procedural fees

Reviewed by the SmartMigrate team on .