Hungary Golden Visa
Ten Year EU Residency Through Investment
- Through an approved real estate fund
- FromEUR 250,000
- First permit, renewable for ten more
- 10 years
- To invest after first entry
- 93 days
Hungary's Guest Investor Program, relaunched in 2024, is among the more straightforward residency by investment routes in the European Union. It issues a ten year permit on the first application, renewable for a further ten, which is longer than almost any comparable European program.
An unusual structure worth understanding
Most programmes require you to invest first and apply afterwards. Hungary reverses the order.
You first obtain a Guest Investor Visa, a D type entry visa. Only after that visa is issued do you make the investment, which must be completed within 93 days of your first entry into Hungary. The residence permit follows once the investment is evidenced.
This materially reduces your exposure. Your capital moves after approval, not before it.
It also introduces a hard deadline that catches people out: miss the 93 day window and the visa is revoked, the permit application is refused, and the process restarts from the beginning.
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Investment options
Two routes currently qualify:
Real estate investment fund
FromEUR 250,000
The fund must appear on the approved list, allocate at least 40 percent of its assets to Hungarian residential property, and the share certificate must carry a five year maturity.
Donation
EUR 1,000,000
Non refundable, to a public interest trust supporting a Hungarian higher education institution.
The EUR 500,000 direct property route no longer exists. It was announced in 2024, postponed, then removed in January 2025. Pages still listing it are out of date, which is worth checking against any source you read on this program.
A practical constraint on the fund route: only a small number of funds are currently approved. Your choice of fund manager is therefore limited, and due diligence on the specific fund matters more than it would in a market with dozens of options. Selling the certificate before its five year maturity breaches the program rules and blocks renewal.
Key benefits
- Ten year permit, renewable for a further ten
- No minimum stay requirement to hold or renew the permit
- Schengen mobility across the area
- The right to work, study or run a business in Hungary without additional permits
- Family included. Spouse and dependent children on the same application
- Nine percent corporate tax, the lowest headline rate in the EU
- Processing typically four to six months, short by European standards
- Lower cost of living than Western Europe
Requirements
- One of the two qualifying investments, held for at least five years
- Non EU and non EEA nationality
- A clean criminal record and security clearanceThe immigration authority consults Hungarian law enforcement and national security services on every application.
- Valid health insurance
- Evidence of the lawful origin of invested funds
- Investment completed within 93 days of first entry
The process
Assess your position
Establish which route fits your objective and whether the timeline works for you.
Apply for the Guest Investor Visa
The D visa is obtained before any capital moves.
Enter Hungary
The 93 day clock starts on first entry, not on visa issue.
Complete the investment
Fund subscription or donation, fully documented.
Apply for the residence permit
Proof of investment is submitted with the application.
Receive your ten year permit
Residency is not the same as settlement
This is the point most pages gloss over, and it is worth being direct about.
The Golden Visa itself carries no minimum stay requirement.
You can hold it for ten years without living in Hungary.
Permanent residence and citizenship are different matters.
Both require actual, continuous physical residence in Hungary, and Hungarian naturalisation generally requires eight years of it, together with a language and constitutional knowledge examination.
So the two objectives pull in opposite directions. If you want EU residency without relocating, Hungary is among the best options available and the ten year permit does exactly what you need. If you want a Hungarian passport, you will have to actually move there, and the timeline is considerably longer than three or five years.
SmartDecision manages Guest Investor Programme applications from the initial assessment through to the residence permit.
Questions about the Hungary Golden Visa
Last reviewed
How much does the Hungary Golden Visa cost?
EUR 250,000 into an approved real estate investment fund, or a EUR 1,000,000 donation to a public interest trust supporting a Hungarian higher education institution. Those are the only two routes currently available.
Can I buy property directly for the Hungary Golden Visa?
No. A EUR 500,000 direct property route was announced in 2024, postponed, and then removed entirely in January 2025. Any page still listing it is out of date.
How long is the Hungarian residence permit valid?
Ten years on the first application, renewable for a further ten. This is longer than almost any comparable European program, where five years is the norm.
Do I have to invest before I apply?
No, and this is unusual. You first obtain a Guest Investor Visa, and only after that is issued do you make the investment. Your capital moves after approval rather than before it.
Is there a deadline for making the investment?
Yes, 93 days from your first entry into Hungary on the Guest Investor Visa. Missing it means the visa is revoked and the process restarts from the beginning. It is the most common way applications fail.
Do I need to live in Hungary?
No. There is no minimum stay requirement to hold or renew the permit.
Can I get Hungarian citizenship through this program?
Not directly, and the timeline is longer than most pages suggest. Naturalisation generally requires eight years of actual continuous residence in Hungary, plus a language and constitutional knowledge examination. The Golden Visa itself requires no residence at all, so the two objectives pull in opposite directions.
How long does the process take?
Typically four to six months, which is short by European standards.
How many funds can I choose from?
Only a small number are currently approved, so your choice of fund manager is limited. Due diligence on the specific fund matters more here than it would in a market with dozens of options.
Can I sell the fund certificate early?
No. The certificate carries a five year maturity and selling before then breaches the program rules and blocks renewal of your permit.
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