As you will be staying more than 90 days in Hungary you must have a residency permit and you must have it pre-approved (or chose to have it pre-approved, depending on citizenship).

To have your residency permit pre-approved you have to apply for it at a Hungarian consulate, as you will be fingerprinted.

Once you have it pre-approved, you automatically get a D type visa (also called "long term visa") as well. This visa allows for a single entry into the Schengen zone for the sole purpose of coming to Hungary within 5 days of entry, in order to "pick up" the residency permit card, which then allows for a long-term stay (=more than 90 days) in Hungary, as well as "free travel" within the Schengen zone.

So the pre-approved residency permit and the D-type-visa go hand-in-hand, and at the consulate, when talking about your trip to Hungary, consulate personnel may use "D type visa" and "residency permit" interchangeably. But officially you are applying to have your residency permit pre-approved.

Note that once you have your residency permit pre-approved, and a D type visa with it, you can enter the Schengen zone anywhere. However, you have to come to Hungary within five days of entering the Schengen Zone and afterwards cannot leave until you pick up your residency permit card at the Immigration Office. (For those who are pre-approved, it usually takes up to a week, on average, to obtain the residency permit card. We will help you with that.)

+ What is a D visa?

The D type visa is very special, it is issued automatically (so there is no need to apply for it separately), once your residency permit is approved.

This visa entitles you to enter the Schengen region anywhere, usually only once, in order to come to Hungary to pick up your actual residency permit card at the Immigration Office (and finish the paperwork).

Very specifically, to quote the legal wording, this visa allows "to transit the Schengen zone for 5 days en-route from the country of your origin to Hungary in order to be able to pick up your actual residency permit card."

Note that you have to visit the Immigration Office to pick up your card within 30 days of arrival in the Schengen Zone.

+ WHEN AND WHERE TO APPLY FOR THE RESIDENCY PERMIT

• As noted above, to have your residency permit pre-approved you have to apply at a Hungarian consulate, in the country of your citizenship or in the country where you are a resident (not necessarily a citizen).
• You have to file the application personally, as you have to be fingerprinted.
• You may apply for a visa as early as 90 days before your (intended) departure — not before.
• It normally takes up to 30 days to get the residency permit pre-approved and obtain your D visa, but in rare occasions eg if there are holidays or you have to submit additional documents by email/mail, it may take up to 40 days or longer!
  So we suggest securing your interview date and time as soon as possible (now!). Appointments may become scarce randomly due to holiday travel or unforeseen events. So even it is let's say April or October and you intend to come to Hungary September 1st or February 1st, so the earliest you can apply is in June or November, you can still call the Consulate in April/October to secure an appointment for June/November.
• The US is divided into consular districts as shown by this link: https://newyork.mfa.gov.hu/eng/page/consular-districts and you are expected to go to the consulate based on where you live.
• Non-US citizens! you can also apply for the residency permit and the D visa in your home country. If you decide/have to apply for a visa in your home country, do not wait until you get there but get an appointment for a visa interview at your appropriate Hungarian consulate as soon as possible (now!) as there may be a long wait period for an appointment.

+ HOW TO GET AN APPOINTMENT AT THE CONSULATE

For most consulates, you can get an appointment at https://konzinfobooking.mfa.gov.hu . Make sure you choose the "long term residency permit (D visa)" option (almost the last one) when you choose what consular service you need.
However, do double-check how your particular consulate wants you to get an appointment E.g. the one in Washington asks that you write them an email ( see "To make an appointment for submitting visa applications: appointment.was@mfa.gov.hu" on https://washington.mfa.gov.hu/eng/page/a-konzuli-hivatal-elerhetosegei), and

+ HOW TO GET THE ACTUAL D VISA STAMP

Once your residency permit is approved you automatically get a so called D visa which has to be "stamped" in your passport. (It is actually a sticker that is glued to your passport.)
There are 3 ways to get the actual sticker in your passport:

1. If you leave your passport at the consulate, at the time of your interview, your visa is stamped in your passport and mailed back to you. (This is the usual procedure in the US).
2. Alternatively, you can mail in your passport to the Consulate, once your visa is ready, and get it mailed back with the visa in it.
3. Or you can return to the consulate with your passport in hand and have it stamped while you wait.


NOTE: You will have to arrange for one of these options at the consulate, when applying for the residency permit.

+ FOR YOUR APPLICATION YOU NEED   (very useful, sample forms, too)

1. Properly filled out "Application for Residence Permit" and "Appendix 9.13" forms (also downloadable in doc format on the National Directorate-General for Alien Policing=Immigration Office's web page, see the first link and towards the bottom).
2. Note that for legal reasons, BSM is now affiliated with the ELTE University and the forms should be filled out accordingly. CLICK HERE TO VIEW TIPS ON FILLING OUT THE FORM and Appendix 9.13
3. your passport VALID FOR AT LEAST 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF YOUR RETURN FLIGHT FROM Budapest, issued within the last 10 years and containing 2 empty pages
4. 2 passport-size color photos (US standard size, not older than 6 months)
5. you will have to pay approximately 70 USD visa process fee (cash or money order) (or the negotiated fees for Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine: 47 USD). — DOUBLECHECK WITH THE CONSULATE that these fees are still current!
6. Since the Consulate in NY posted "Please note that we can only accept cash OR money order, payable to the CONSULATE GENERAL OF HUNGARY" make sure to have both cash and cards (just in case) with you to make the payment for your visa application.
7. non-US/Canadian citizens - if you are applying in the US or Canada: proof of legal US/Canadian status (eg I20 or visa or green card)
8. your reserved or purchased air ticket
9. proof of health insurance for the period you are planning to stay in Hungary (providing cover for at least 50.000 USD during your stay in Europe for any medical, evacuation and repatriation expenses); Read also our FAQ for tips on proof of health insurance.
10. proof of financial resources (eg bank statements for the last 3 months) — see the lower part of this homepage for estimated living expenses. Read also our FAQ for tips on proof of financial resources.

Please note that the consul may request the presentation of further documents.

+ GETTING SUPPORT LETTERS FROM BSM

As part of the supporting documents for your residency permit application, you will need the acceptance documents you have got from the BSM American office as well as a Letter of Acceptance issued by ELTE University, which takes care of proof of housing (accommodation) as well. We will send it to you via email. You will need to take this letters with you for your interview at the consulate, as well as on your trip to Hungary.

So it is very important that you let us know when and where you are applying for your residency permit by

FILLING OUT OUR VISA FORM

and also sending when and which consulate you are applying at by email to agnes.szilard@budapestsemesters.com.

+ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

⟶ Insurance

blah-blah

⟶ Proof of financial...

blah-blah

Finally, let me repeat: once your residency permit application is pre-approved by the Hungarian Immigration Office you will receive a D visa from the Consulate entitling you to enter the Schengen region anywhere and come to Hungary directly (i.e. within 5 days of entry) to obtain your actual residency permit card.

Let me know if you have any questions by emailing to agnes.szilard@budapestsemesters.com
Please, allow 48 hours for an answer. If you do not get one, do not hesitate to repeat your questions.

Agnes Szilard
associate program director
Budapest Semesters in Mathematics, Budapest