Residence Permit Info

HOW TO RENEW YOUR RESIDENCE PERMIT ONLINE

The Main Office on Sámsoni Street branch is open, but due to the new regulation which is in effect from 1st January 2024 you can start the extension procedure only through the Enter Hungary online system.

We would like to guide you through the online renewal process. Immigration Office also has a User’s Manual about the system, you can find on the following link but we focused on the Residence Permit renewing process.

We collected most of the important informations about the Enter Hungary system, so please follow our instructions carefully:

Please visit the Enter Hungary website: https://enterhungary.gov.hu/eh/?en

On the Enter Hungary website please be sure, that during your application you are visiting a secured website, which always starts with https://

REGISTRATION OF USER ACCOUNT

1. At the bottom of the page you need to make a registration as a private person. You should create your own user account (in case you did not do it before) on the link that you find on the website.
    
2. During the registration:

• Please choose  „I act as a private individual, in my own case”
• Give your Surname and first name(s) exactly the same way as they are written in your passport
• E-mail address - you should choose carefully, because later on you will receive the decisions, instructions on it, so do not give an e-mail address, which you cannot use in a different country
• phone number has to be valid, the date of birth has to be in the YYYY-MM-DD format.

3. After clicking on the Registration button, the website will redirect you into the Sign in page with the message of „Registration was successful. We have sent your password by e-mail.”.
    
4. You will receive an e-mail on your address with the following text: „A password reset was requested using your email address. You can change your password at the following link.”

Then you should click on the link and create your own password.
 

5. Then you will be able to sign in to the Enter Hungary online platform with your user details.

APPLICATION FOR NEW RESIDENCE PERMIT

1. After your first log-in, your online surface will be empty, you should click on the green button of „new application”. In case you will have got a pending case which you started online, you will find here later on.
2. Please choose your type of allocation carefully.  For student permit application select the highlighted option (Pursuing studies or student mobility) below: 

 3. You reach the application website, where you should fill out carefully all of the required fields. We would like to forward the most important comments of the Immigration Office, which you have to follow during the process:

• start with all of your name elements indicated in your passport including middle name, in this order: surname in the left column on the website, given name(s) on the right column.
• your mother's name at birth (the way it would show on her birth certificate) may become uncomfortably relevant, and difficult to fix when wrong, so make sure you provide this correctly and consistently.
• the required attachments have to be in good quality, readable and in color (NOT Black and White)
• when you upload a document, choose the relevant category of the document, you will find many options. In case that you cannot find the relevant type, choose the Other type/other document
• you should upload your PASSPORT’s relevant pages, which show your details
• you should upload your RESIDENCE PERMIT CARD both sides (front and back) in case you cannot scan in one document, you should upload in two separate documents
• if you are not sure that you should upload the document for the renewing, just in case upload it also

• During your application you have to print out the Application for Residence Permit document (5pages) and APPENDIX 9.13 document (3 pages), fill it out, stick your facial photo (not a selfie!!! it should be an official ID photo like in your passport) on the required box, and your signature must be inside the box in its entirety. When you scan the pages, it has to be in color and all of the pages (altogether the application form and appendix) and the first page of the scanned document should be the same page, where your signature and photo appear. You need to upload all the pages, not only the front page.

• Appendix A: only for particulars of the applicant's minor child travelling with the applicant in case the child is included in the parent's passport, when the child has no separate passport (most of the time children need to apply in a separate application).

• You need to sign not only on the first page, three more signatures are required on the 5th page, after the parts which start with:
  • I hereby declare…
  • I hereby undertake…
  • It is known to me that...
• Student status certificate (You may request the required student status certificate for the residence permit extension from your usual University Administrator online).
• In case you are a scholarship holder, during your application you should upload your Letter of Award as well.
• Accommodation reporting form - in case you changed your flat or dormitory (in effect from 1st January 2023). If your address has changed you do not need to start a separate address registration application. Your contract is not required, but may be helpful, so the correct address would be registered.
• At the very beginning the surface will ask that you should pay or not for the renewal, you should choose the option YES (in case of scholarship holders it is not required, they should choose NO). Once you have submitted your application, only Immigration can change this is for you, until then, if you picked yes, the payment option will be not available.
• The processing fee can be paid online with a bank card. You will be redirected to OTP's simple pay panel, where you will need to provide detaisl such as address in Hungary, card number etc. Make sure you put Hungary in Hungarian 'Magyarország" for your address.
• Important, where the website asks, how you would like to collect your residence permit card, the website will offer two options, but Post is going to be the default by law, Office option is only available in medical emergencies, and it is not quicker either.
• Important, when the website will ask until what time you would like to extend your residence permit, you should choose the earliest date which appears in one of the following documents (Passport: expiry date; Student Status Certificate: estimated finishing time). After the submission date the requested period can be maximum 3 years.
• In case you do not submit in time:
  - at least 45 days before the expiry date of your card, when your card issued before 1st January 2024
  OR
  - at least 30 days before the expiry date of your card, when the card issued after 1st January 2024
  you need to upload an explanation letter as well in the Other documents’ category, in which you need to explain the reasons why you were unable to apply in time, make sure you can document the reasons you have given in case it is needed.
• WARNING! You will not be able to apply after your old permit has expired, and you may only be able to return by applying for type "D" visa in your home country.
• After you filled in every field and upload the necessary documents properly, click save and also click on the submit application button, you will receive a confirmation that you uploaded your application successfully. If you do not click submit application, your application will remain invisible to Immigration. After your old permit expired, you will not be able to make up for this.
• After the submission you should check frequently the Enter Hungary online platform, in case the Immigration Office changes the status of your case, or you need to submit any missing documents. In case you should upload some more documents, you can do it on the online surface as well.
• In case the Immigration Office requires further or missing documents, please make sure you upload them to your current application as an attachment. Files uploaded to your storage remain invisible to the Immigration service until you plug it in to your active application.
• All of the uploaded documents should have different and informative (eg: EUR bank account history.pdf) file names and should be uploaded separately.
• In case you plan to attend at the Immigration Office in person, you need to upload your documents minimum 2-3 days before your visit.
• In case you receive the message that you should visit their Office for the fingerprinting and photo taking, within 15 days you should book an appointment. In case you cannot find a free appointment within 15 days, you should book the earliest available option. For your information, the online appointment system opens time slots for the coming two weeks, except weekends which are filled up very quickly, but a new day is added every day at midnight. If it seems that there are no available appointments at all, that means that the next two weeks are fully booked.

During the personal visit you have to be able to present all of the original documents, which you uploaded during your application (application form and appendix,  your passport, your current residence permit, accommodation reporting form and other relevant uploaded documents). It is also advise to have an ID photo with you in case the one you have uploaded is not good enough quality.

In case the booked appointment will be later than your current residence permit expiry date, but you have completed your online application before your permit expires you should have no issues. If in doubt contact with the Immigration Office via their Call Center!

The Immigration Office will inform you about the further details on the spot. If you have a fully documented application, it should be approved within 15 days, and it will take an additional 7-10 for the printing and delivery. To enable a swift delivery, make sure your name is indicated on the mailbox that belongs to your apartment piece of paper wih your name on it and some scotch tape will do the job.

Useful links:

Student specific information on the website of the Immigration service:

http://bmbah.hu/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=2068&Itemid=2320&lang=en#

http://bmbah.hu/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=2226&Itemid=2452&lang=en#

Booking appointments

Contact information and opening hours (on the Immigration website it shows that the University has got a local office, but it permanently closed, they did not update on their website)

For higher education institutions regarding residence permits for the purpose of studies and student mobility