Entering EU with HU Resident Card via Different EU Country

You should be able to transit through another country. That is not leave the airport but wait in the transit lounge for the connecting flight.

Thank you for the reply. I was looking to stay in Rome for a few days before I take the flight to Budapest since there is no low cost flight on the same day. I read else-where that it's possible since the HU Resident Card is for all of EU. Just wanted to see if someone has actually gone through this scenario themselves.

I suggest you contact the Italian Embassy in Sri Lanka.

rodrigor89 wrote:

Thank you for the reply. I was looking to stay in Rome for a few days before I take the flight to Budapest since there is no low cost flight on the same day. I read else-where that it's possible since the HU Resident Card is for all of EU. Just wanted to see if someone has actually gone through this scenario themselves.

As far as I know re-entry won't be a problem within the Schengen area.

If you enter a non-Schengen EU country, then you will need to consider if you need a visa.

I know you said Italy but presumably you want to come back to Hungary somehow (you could cross Croatia for example by road).

Non-Schengen: UK, Ireland,  Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania

Anyways, you can always try IATA's Timatic web pages - quite informative but you need to fill in a lot of detail.  These are the pages the check-in agents see.

BTW, check-in staff at airports are really not very clever at knowing the rules so you may have  the right paperwork and they will still argue with you.  Happened to me last week at BUD airport despite me having an obviously uncancelled visa for my destination.

On this note, can I re-enter Hungary from the UK with a resident permit, I would enjoy not waiting in the long non  HU passport line.
Can I just give the passport agent my resident card and enter with HU citizens?

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

On this note, can I re-enter Hungary from the UK with a resident permit, I would enjoy not waiting in the long non  HU passport line.
Can I just give the passport agent my resident card and enter with HU citizens?

I think you'd get away with it at BUD airport in the EU line if you presented the residence card and your US passport and you were there with hubby with his HU passport. 

One always need a passport (or for EU citizens, a passport equivalent card) at the HU border regardless of what else one has (even passing a non-inspecting Schengen border). 

Hungarian ID cards can function as a passport equivalent for HU citizens within the EU. 

I doubt under any circumstances you could use the HU automatic passport gates with a HU permanent residence card.     

(I've never seen those automatic gates at BUD work anyway although they do work slowly at LHR).

fluffy2560 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

On this note, can I re-enter Hungary from the UK with a resident permit, I would enjoy not waiting in the long non  HU passport line.
Can I just give the passport agent my resident card and enter with HU citizens?

I think you'd get away with it at BUD airport in the EU line if you presented the residence card and your US passport and you were there with hubby with his HU passport.

I tried it once with my US Passport and HU permanent resident card, at BUD, did not work. And was told to go to the third party passport line. So wasted time.

But I was alone. With HU spouse, it might work. Or might not. Hard to say. May depend on the individual immigration officer.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

On this note, can I re-enter Hungary from the UK with a resident permit, I would enjoy not waiting in the long non  HU passport line.
Can I just give the passport agent my resident card and enter with HU citizens?

I think you'd get away with it at BUD airport in the EU line if you presented the residence card and your US passport and you were there with hubby with his HU passport.

I tried it once with my US Passport and HU permanent resident card, at BUD, did not work. And was told to go to the third party passport line. So wasted time.

But I was alone. With HU spouse, it might work. Or might not. Hard to say. May depend on the individual immigration officer.

I think on balance probably that's right, it wouldn't work but if no-one else was there they might cave in with the HU hubby/wife.   

I don't really see there could be any difference between the queues as far as the skills or technology or authority of the person behind the counter.   Might being bloody minded not to accept people in the wrong queue.  Trying it on in the queue wouldn't work in London for sure.

Mind you, I sometimes go in the All Passports queue because there are 100 people at the EU queue and no-one at the other one.   They don't send anyone back from that one!

We travel extensively outside of the EU. When we return to any EU country, Passport Control generally wants to see our Hungarian Residency card and the ID card for Foreigner.

We have done this with Portugal.

BudaBaB wrote:

We travel extensively outside of the EU. When we return to any EU country, Passport Control generally wants to see our Hungarian Residency card and the ID card for Foreigner.

Do they stamp your passports or wave you on?

Even after being to the UK when entering Austria I get asked do I have an Austrian ID card.

SimCityAT wrote:

Even after being to the UK when entering Austria I get asked do I have an Austrian ID card.

Really? Why do they even want to know? 

I was never asked when I lived there.

Just Gruss Gott, passport and Wiederschauen.....

No idea Fluffy. It's not bother and just pass through.

SimCityAT wrote:

No idea Fluffy. It's not bother and just pass through.

Sure but surprised.

No-one ever asked me but I lived there about 10 years ago so maybe it's different now.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I was traveling since I entered the EU this month and didn't have time to come back and leave some feedback.

The Italian embassy was closed from Friday to Sunday and I had to take the Sunday flight as it was the cheapest. I just went for it with no concrete information whether it was possible or not.

Had zero issues, and no questions asked at Rome. Spent 4 days in Rome and ended up doing some more traveling (Belgium and Netherlands) before flying to Budapest.

They do punch your passport at Rome when you enter the EU.

Thank you again for all the feedback guys