INFORMATION SHEET FOR ASYLUM-SEEKERS FROM THE UKRAINE

NEXT STEP ASSOCIATION LEGAL AID PROGRAM

Ukrainian citizens enjoy visa-free entry and stay up to 90 days within a 180-day period.

EU-citizens enjoy the right to free entry and movement in Hungary, you will only need to produce your identity and travel documents.

Under ordinary circumstances, legal residents of the Ukraine, who are citizens of third countries, may only enter Hungary visa-free if there citizenship allows for visa-free entry. However, at the moment, due to the extraordinary circumstances, you may cross the Hungarian border but you will be escorted to an official reception center maintained by the Directorate-General for Alien Policing, where you will be registered for temporary protection, if you so wish, or you will be interviewed to allow you transit through Hungary.

As a Hungarian citizen, you may enter Hungary freely.

Ukrainian citizens enjoy visa-free entry and may transit through Hungary until 90 days within a 180-day period, if the have a biometric passport. If you do not have a biometric passport, or you don’t have our ID documents with you, you will be asked to declare whether you want to stay in Hungary or you want to transit. On the declaration form, the immigration authority will record the time and place of arrival to Hungary, place of accommodation in Hungary (if you have any), whether you would like to apply for temporary protection, and how many children or adults are travelling with you, if any. You will then be free to transit through Hungary.

Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian citizens need a valid passport to enter Hungary. However, due to the extraordinary circumstances Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian citizens may enter Hungary with a valid Ukranian ID. (As far as we know, persons with an invalid ID may also enter Hungary but their interview process with the Immigration Authority will take longer.)

Hungarian citizens without a valid Hungarian passport may enter with their certificates of citizenship.

For the time being, persons without proof of ID or any valid document, will also be allowed to enter Hungary but will face a longer interview at the border or at the reception centers by the Immigration Officers, since your identity needs to be established prior to the submission of the asylum application.

Currently, there no restrictions apply when crossing the border directly from the Ukraine, however, when applying for temporary protection you may be subjected to medical exams if the Immigration authority deems it necessary.

As of 7 March, 2022, all restrictions applicable due to the pandemic have been lifted in Hungary.

Ukrainian citizens may stay in Hungary visa-free for 90 days. However, this does not allow them to work or pursue any gainful activity. Ukrainian citizens who wish to stay in Hungary longer than 90 days or who wish to work right away, may apply for temporary protection in Hungary.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF TEMPORARY PROTECTION ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE DUE TO THE EU TEMPORARY PROTECTION DECISION.

Ukrainian citizens may apply for temporary protection at the border, when they cross, or at the Directorate-General for Alien Policing, whenever they wish to. The application procedure takes 45 days but the application entitles the applicant to stay in Hungary legally.

Hungarian citizens are not entitled to apply for temporary protection, as they enjoy the public services provided by the state as regular Hungarian citizens. In order to have medical insurance, social security, to have work permit, you must register your residence in Hungary with the local municipality (helyi/kerületi önkormányzat) where you reside in Hungary and the local government (kormánhivatal) to recieve an Hungarian ID card. You will then receive the necessary documents, which allow you to register with all the necessary public authorities for public services.

With temporary protection status you will be entitled to the following:

• to accommodation at a reception center,
• medical services,
• a monthly allowance of HUF28.500,
• children are entitled to education.

The regular reception centers are in Vámosszabadi and Balassagyarmat, however, the Immigration Authority has opened temporary reception centers in border towns, as well.

Those who enjoy temporary protection in Hungary, must apply for a work permit to be able to work or pursue gainful activities in Hungary.

When applying, you are obliged to cooperate with the authorities, to undergo any medical exams rendered necessary by the immigration authority, to declare your wealth and assets, to comply with any rules and regulations – in particular Hungarian laws – at your accommodation or place of residence in Hungary. While in Hungary, you have to notify the authorities of any changes in your personal data or personal status, such as marriage, divorce, birth of a child, etc.

Currently, the Hungarian government granted temporary protection to Ukrainian citizens until the 1st of June, 2022. The Hungarian government may extend this at their own discretion if the circumstances so require.

Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian citizens may freely leave Hungary, to any EU Member State. However, whether the can move to another EU Member State depends on that particular Member State’s immigration rules. If you leave Hungary for more than 180 days, you will lose your status in Hungary.

Hungarian citizens may move freely within the EU.

If you know where your family members are, they may reunite in the country where the head of the family resides through an application for family reunification. The head of the family is the person who is able to and who will be taking care of the rest of the family, regardless of their age, gender, or familial position under normal circumstances.

You can find the addresses of the client service offices here.

Next Step Association provides a free legal aid program to refugees and migrants in Hungary. You can register for the program at: https://forms.gle/2hrBG9BdxdUQCqi2A

The Budapest Bar Association of Lawyers also provides a network of lawyers who provide free legal advice to those fleeing from the Ukraine. Contact: ukraine@bpbar.hu