EU Blue Card

EU Blue Cards may be issued to third-country nationals who, in addition to the general conditions for residence permits:

• whose employment is supported on the basis of criteria laid down by law and in the interests of national employment policy;
• who are considered to be fully covered by health care or have applied for such coverage for any period during which they are not considered to be covered by virtue of their employment relationship; and
• who have a registered address in Hungary.

Special conditions for the EU Blue Card

The EU Blue Card application must be accompanied by a preliminary agreement to establish an employment relationship or a work contract specifying the job to be filled. Proof of higher education qualifications may be provided as follows:

It can be certified with a document certifying higher education or professional qualification. If the document certifying higher education or professional qualification is not issued in Hungarian, a Hungarian translation certified by the National Translation Office is required. The higher education qualification and the position to be filled must be compatible with each other.

The minimum wage applicable to the EU Blue Card in 2026 is HUF 1,001,048.

EU Blue Card Validity

The Blue Card must be valid for at least one year. If the employment is for a shorter period, the contract must be issued for a period exceeding the duration of the contractual relationship by three months. The EU Blue Card may not be valid for more than four years, which may be extended for a maximum of four years at a time.

When determining the period of validity, the Immigration Office also takes into account the period of validity of the applicant’s passport. The validity period of the applicant’s travel document must cover at least the duration of the authorized stay, i.e., the passport must still be valid on the date of expiry.

The application will be processed within 90 days.

Blue card issued by another European Union member state

A third-country national who holds a residence permit issued by a Member State of the European Union for the purpose of highly skilled employment may obtain a blue card in Hungary if:

he or she has resided legally in the issuing Member State for at least eighteen months and meets the conditions for issuance specified by law.

Procedural fee

The procedural fee payable upon submission of the application is HUF 26,000. The procedural fee payable for the extension of the permit is HUF 26,000.