a 10-year EU residence permit under the Hungary Guest Investor Programme (Act XC of 2023)
A 10-year Hungarian residence permit for €250,000 in registered real-estate fund units, no minimum stay, decided in two to four months. The €500,000 property route is gone; real estate fund units are now the only practical qualifying route, and fund returns are not guaranteed.
Figures verified 27 September 2026 · Licensed CICC consultant, Toronto
Both lead to the same 10-year permit. The fund route is the one nearly every client takes; the donation route remains available but, at four times the amount, rarely suits a financial objective.
€250,000
The fund must be registered with the Hungarian regulator for the programme. Returns and redemption at year five are not guaranteed; entry and management fees vary by fund and we compare them for you.
€1,000,000
Non-refundable once the permit is issued.
€500,000 (closed)
Websites still advertising it are out of date. Greece and Cyprus remain the EU programmes where a property you can live in qualifies.
Government and fund fees change; we quote the full figure in writing on your call. Figures verified 27 September 2026.
Jane Katkova has advised on citizenship and residence by investment since 1998. We confirm eligibility, the complete fee schedule and the realistic processing time before you pay anything, and we advise against a programme when it does not fit your circumstances.
Two to four months on average. The sequence is fixed: the guest-investor visa is issued first, the investment is made second, and the residence permit is granted last.
We check nationality, residence history and source of funds, then compare the registered funds' mandates, fees and redemption terms with you.
Filed at the Hungarian consulate or with the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing: passport, clean police certificates, proof that the €250,000 is available and lawfully earned, health insurance. The visa is valid for two years and allows multiple entries.
You enter Hungary on the visa and subscribe for the fund units, or make the donation, within the deadline the authority sets. We coordinate the transfer and the fund's confirmation letter.
With proof of investment, the 10-year guest-investor residence permit is applied for and issued; family members apply alongside you. Biometrics are taken in Hungary.
Keep the units for five years. The permit can be renewed once for ten more years. Citizenship becomes possible after eight years of residence, with the Hungarian exam.
The permit sits beside your passport and status; the table sets out its effect for each applicant profile.
| Your situation | What the Hungarian permit adds | What it does not change |
|---|---|---|
| US citizen | Ten-year right to live in an EU and Schengen country; a base for an eight-year path to an EU passport for the family | US worldwide taxation, FBAR and FATCA; no treaty relief with Hungary since 2024 |
| Canadian citizen | The same right of residence, and a Schengen base for winters without the 90-day limit applying inside Hungary | Canadian tax while you keep residential ties; departure tax if you sever them |
| US resident on an Indian, Chinese or Nigerian passport | An EU foothold and Schengen travel on the residence card; a contingency residence if your US status ends | Your US status, and your need for UK, US and Canadian visas on your own passport |
| Canadian PR or work-permit holder on a weak passport | Same EU foothold; children can study in Hungary as residents | Canadian PR residency obligation; you still count days in Canada |
Photo: Jure Tufekcic / Unsplash
Photo: Bence Balla-Schottner / Unsplash
Photo: Dan Freeman / Unsplash
Photo: Henrique Ferreira / Unsplash
Photo: Gabor Koszegi / UnsplashClients weigh Hungary against three neighbours. Greece costs €250,000 only for conversions and listed-building restorations and €400,000–€800,000 for ordinary property, but you own a home you can use, with roughly 6–12 months' processing. Portugal asks €500,000 in a fund, seven days a year of presence and 18–24 months' processing, in return for a real citizenship path. Latvia closed its property and deposit routes on 15 September 2026, so many applicants who considered Latvia now look at Hungary. Hungary leads on price, speed and the absence of any stay requirement; it falls short on the quality of the asset and on the tax-treaty gap for Americans. We advise which of these fits after an initial consultation.
Figures verified 27 September 2026. Fund fees and government charges change; we confirm the current schedule before you commit.
US and Canadian citizens are the programme's core applicants. It is the lowest-cost ten-year residence permit in the EU, and because there is no minimum stay you can hold it as an option: a Schengen base, a contingency residence against political risk at home, a place from which the family can start an eight-year path to an EU passport. Your tax position changes only if you relocate. Spend 183 or more days in Hungary, or make it your centre of vital interests, and you are Hungarian tax resident on worldwide income at Hungary's 15% flat rate. If you are American you keep filing US returns, FBAR and FATCA wherever you live; note that the US terminated its income tax treaty with Hungary with effect from 1 January 2024, so double-tax relief now rests on foreign tax credits alone, not a treaty. Canadians have a Canada–Hungary treaty; a Canadian who severs residential ties faces departure tax on deemed dispositions before leaving.
For a work-permit, H-1B or PR holder from India, China, Nigeria, Vietnam or the Gulf, the Hungarian permit is an EU foothold with visa-free Schengen travel on the residence card and a contingency residence if your North American status ends. It does not change that status, and it does not get you into the UK, the US or Canada; you still use your own passport and visas there. Hungary applies standard EU security screening rather than a published nationality ban, but applicants who have lived in sanctioned countries face longer checks and we say so before you pay anything. Citizenship needs eight years of residence and an exam in Hungarian; plan for it only if you intend to live there.
Thirty minutes with Jane Katkova, licensed CICC consultant, in Toronto. We compare the registered funds, prepare the figures for your family, and advise clearly whether Hungary, Greece or Portugal fits.
Video forthcoming: the fund route, the closed property option and the US tax-treaty gap in eight minutes.
€250,000 in units of a Hungarian real-estate fund registered for the Guest Investor Programme, held for five years. The alternative is a €1,000,000 non-refundable donation to a public-interest trust supporting higher education. The €500,000 direct property purchase was abolished in January 2025 and is no longer available.
Not through this programme any more. The property route closed in January 2025. You can still buy a home in Hungary as a permit holder, but the qualifying investment must be fund units or the donation. If owning a home you can live in is the point, Greece and Cyprus are the EU programmes that still allow it.
No. There is no minimum-stay requirement for the ten-year permit or its renewal; what matters is that the investment is held for five years. Living there is a choice, and it is only if you spend 183 or more days a year, or move your centre of life there, that you become Hungarian tax resident.
Two to four months on average. The guest-investor visa is decided first, you then enter Hungary and make the investment, and the ten-year residence permit follows within a few weeks of proving it. Slow police certificates and source-of-funds evidence are the usual causes of delay.
Eventually, and only if you actually live there. Naturalisation requires eight years of residence in Hungary and a constitutional-basics exam taken in Hungarian. Hungary permits dual citizenship, as do the US and Canada. Treat the permit as residence with an option on citizenship, not as a passport programme.
Your spouse, minor children and dependent parents apply on the same investment and receive permits of the same length. Adult children are not covered as dependants. Each family member needs a clean police certificate and health insurance; children born after the grant are added.
It is an investment, not a deposit. The funds are regulated and invest mainly in Hungarian property, but unit value can fall and redemption at year five depends on the fund's liquidity. Fees differ between funds. We ask for the mandate, audited accounts and fee sheet of each fund before a client subscribes.
Compare them side by side: golden visa programmes compared and European golden visas still open. Looking for a passport rather than a permit? See St Lucia citizenship by investment or Antigua's National Development Fund route.
This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Programme rules change; we confirm every figure before you commit.
A confidential consultation with a licensed CICC consultant. We assess eligibility and total cost before you commit to any programme.