How long does it take to get EU Residency card for EU citizen?

Forest Parks wrote:

So I was wondering what the process is like to get my EU residence to stay in Hungary. Do they ask a lot of questions? What documentation do they need from you, etc etc.

I'm a british citizen.

You can live in Hungary without problems as an EU citizen.

You just have to register yourself with the local immigration authorities. You need your passport, apartment rental contract and if you have a job, best to take that contract as well. 

They will send you an address card and a residence card (which is only valid with the passport).

If you come for less than 90 days you do not need to register as a permanent resident. 

Incidentally, if you come on the plane, they know you entered as they will have your passport details. If you come by road across a Schengen border, they will not know you are in the country (although they will have captured your car license plate number).

I will be staying with a friend to start. Do you think they would accept a letter from a friend?

Oh, also did they require medical insurance too?

Forest Parks wrote:

Oh, also did they require medical insurance too?

Get a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).  It's 100% FREE from the UK government. You can apply online (for FREE).  Then you are covered for healthcare in Hungary temporarily until you become part of the Hungarian system.  You should also get some travel insurance for the intervening period in case you need to be repatriated.

If you are staying with a friend, you only need worry about these things after 90 days when you can choose to become officially resident in country.

In theory, you are supposed to register with the authorities within a few days but I suspect the majority of people coming over here for short term visits withh friends do not bother with it. No-one is going to spend their valuable holiday time queueing up in government offices. In any case, you stay in hotels, they register you as a visitor anyway.

If you have a job then you should register yourself.

I certainly plan to stay longer and will be registering my USA wife (I know she gets the same rights as I).

I have the health card already but read that the EU residency card also require private medical insurance.

I'll be working for myself, self employed. So I can prove this business by showing my accounts to the authorities.

Forest Parks wrote:

I certainly plan to stay longer and will be registering my USA wife (I know she gets the same rights as I).

I have the health card already but read that the EU residency card also require private medical insurance.

I'll be working for myself, self employed. So I can prove this business by showing my accounts to the authorities.

I think there's confusion about your rights and her rights. Your US wife is another matter. I am not entirely sure that she does get the same rights, although as a dependent, it could be true. If she has permanent residence in the UK, this means nothing I expect to the Hungarians. I believe UK permanent residents do not need visas for Schengen but this does not apply to US citizens in any case (they do not need visas for the EU anyway).

For yourself, it's no problem at all. She might need to get temporary medical insurance but you (as a British person) do not need it, assuming you want to be in the state system. As an EU citizen, you have 99% the same rights as Hungarians (except voting in national elections, serve in the military, be in national parliament etc).

If your Mrs can apply for British citizenship, then she should do it because it'll make life a lot easier and cheaper too when moving about in Europe.  There's nothing to stop her being a dual national and holding two passports - one for the USA and one for the UK.

Other readers here will be able to talk about US citizens married to EU citizens. This is something I do not know about. There are are quite few threads on what is required for other nationals, not necessarily US citizens, but I expect it's the same procedure whether you come from Vanuatu or Vermont.

Hey Fluffy,

I had conformation from the Hungarian Embassy in the UK that she can join me and is afforded the same rights as a EU Citizen because she is my wife.... I have the 'official' explanation of how we need to get settled but am looking for people who have actually gone through it, wondering what road blocks they put up, how long things take or if it's all pretty easy.

We will be arriving Aug 25th, staying with a friend and hopefully have an apartment within 2 weeks. I work online but will shift my business to Hungarian bank accounts and pay tax there once I have my residency and then I will effectively employ my wife (who will also have residency).

It's going to be a little hassle but the country looks so cool and the culture and language are so unique that I think it's going to be worthwhile.

We don't actually have joint residency anywhere right now but have lived in Canada, Egypt, New Zealand and for 5 months in the UK (legally of course).

Forest Parks wrote:

I had conformation from the Hungarian Embassy in the UK that she can join me and is afforded the same rights as a EU Citizen because she is my wife....

Your wife will have the same rights as any other Hungarian citizen if she is a resident (expect she can not vote here). However, getting residency is not as simple for her as for an EU citizen. How much paperwork will depend if she has current residency in the UK or not. If not, she will have to apply for a residency permit from the US before coming to Hungary.

Forest Parks wrote:

I have the 'official' explanation of how we need to get settled

In Hungary you can go to 3 different offices and get 5 different answers. If you get the correct one or not depends greatly on the competence and experience of the person in the office you asked. From my experience, the paperwork is doable. Also from my personal experience, which may vary widely from others, the file of paperwork I needed to provide was about an inch (2.5 cm) thick at the end of the process.

Forest Parks wrote:

I work online but will shift my business to Hungarian bank accounts and pay tax there once I have my residency and then I will effectively employ my wife (who will also have residency).

Where will your business be based? Will you form a Hungarian KFT? Do note that if you do have a business in Hungary you are sort of "expected" to hire Hungarians unless you can show there is no local talent in the employment pool for the area of work you need. Running a business, and hiring your wife with a KFT also means you have to pay all taxes and basic social payments for her as an employee (and you as well) each and every month, if you earn any income or not (least 74,000 HUF a month per owner, minimum, if you run a Hungarian KFT). It is not a pay as you go system like in the US. And there is no Social Security agreement between the US and Hungary, so your wife may be liable for Social Security payments in the US too (taxed twice), depending on the type of employment she has. And there is a 27% VAT tax in Hungary and all basic goods are essentially at EU price (in fact, some things I can actually buy cheaper in Austria because of the Hungarian VAT). This country is, unfortunately, not small business friendly.

Wow, thanks for your advice. I've talked to the Consul / Embassy in London a few times now regarding needing prior visas for my wife and they still say she does not. Here is an email from them regarding that situation.

Dear Sir,

As you are an EU citizen and your wife does not need a visa to enter Hungary both of you can apply for a residence card in Hungary at the regional office of the Office of Immigration and Nationality (OIN) within 83 days from the date of entering the country. There is no need to obtain any permits in advance.
Please find below a link to the relevant legislation and the website of OIN where you can find further information in this regard.

http://www.bmbah.hu/jogszabalyok.php?id=38http://www.bmbah.hu/a_bah_ismertetese.php

Kind regards,

XXXXXXXX XXXXXX
consul

Regarding what is required for the business side of things I am happy to work with Hungary on this. It may be that we simply take up a non-working status in Hungary and the business still is based in the UK. From many posts I have read this is certainly doable and comes under a similar arrangement as people retiring in Hungary but collecting their retirement cheques from another country....

Do you have any suggestions for the most reliable OIN? As soon as we arrive we'll be there and starting the paperwork (although I believe we need a place of residence and a contract before we can even start the process).

We have 3 months of her visitor visa to figure things out. If it doesn't work out we'll have to find somewhere else to live! Slovenia looks nice!

My wife is a Hungarian citizen. And the answers I was given was I was suppose to apply from abroad (specifically told to apply from the US, even though I explained to them I had lived in Switzerland for the past 5 years and I was not going to travel back to the US where I had no place to live, just to ask for residency in Hungary).

The reply you have from the embassy depends, like I said above, upon your wife's current residency status (which is to me also unknown). I am not the type to "claim" how people are, but there are some cultural issues in Hungary that one should be aware of: and one is that I find Hungarians assume a lot when something is unspoken (personal opinion is highly regarded here, facts not so much). So to get the really correct answers you have to provide complete, unambiguous and detailed information so they don't make assumptions (well, at least they will not make as many assumptions). So if your wife has UK residency, and they know this, then the answer you have may be the correct one. However, if she does not have UK residency, and they just assumed she does, then it may not be the right answer and you might get another answer when you arrive in Hungary.

Another option is the law changed since I went through the process and your wife's residency does not matter anymore. Laws change weekly here it seems, and I can not keep up with all the changes.

For what it was worth, as I said above, the paperwork was doable. No, I did not have to go back to the US and ask for residency. One great thing about Hungary is they do really try to find solutions that work for you if they can.

Thank you Klsallee,

There is one major difference there which I think changes things a lot.

As I am British my wife and I come under EU law whereas your wife is Hungarian so you and her come under Hungarian laws.

Part of the whole agreement within Europe in regard to passing into each others countries is that a country can have it's own settlement laws for it's own citizens.

So here in the UK we would have to go through the whole UK married visa process because I am British and under British law. However if I was French we would be able to settle in the UK based on the European law which would allow us to simply register.... Really confusing!!!

The Hungarian Embassy were given very concise instructions of our statuses to give me that previous answer.

Lets just hope that info was correct. However it's encouraging to hear that there is accommodation and help if not!

I can't wait to get knee deep in the language and a new culture.

I am fully aware that all the info I have could be totally wrong . Visas and immigration are such a nightmare!

Forest Parks wrote:

It may be that we simply take up a non-working status in Hungary and the business still is based in the UK. From many posts I have read this is certainly doable and comes under a similar arrangement as people retiring in Hungary but collecting their retirement cheques from another country....

Normally, if you sit at your desk in Hungary, and earn income directly from that work at your desk, then you work in Hungary and should pay local income and social taxes. If you are a limited or silent partner investor, and just earn dividends, or other similar setups, then that is different (then you are non-working). It is actually a bit more complicated, but that is the basic setup.

Having a business abroad is not a problem, one just simply clarifies your tax status with the local tax offices in each country and where you are taxable and for what (again, it can get complicated, but tax treaties do help a little). Hungary, like most countries, just want to avoid off-shore tax haven like activities.

Thanks. I guess just being open / honest and trying to find the correct solution is best! I've managed to travel and live in a fair few countries so far without too much hassle!

Forest Parks wrote:

Part of the whole agreement within Europe in regard to passing into each others countries is that a country can have it's own settlement laws for it's own citizens.

This seems to have become true in the EU member states only after I gained Hungarian residency.

http://euobserver.com/justice/26547

So, like I said, the law did change from when I applied.

I'll print that article with my growing list of resources on the subject!

Sounds good. If you get setup in Hungary, feel free to drop by for a glass of "welcome to Hungary" wine.

Thanks! We have our flights booked for Aug 25th! After a busy first month of trying to get this whole malarky sorted it will be time for wine and i'll definitely give you a shout .

Just saw your blog too. Will have a read up there later and will leave a comment.