Information for Ukrainian nationals fleeing from Ukraine
1. I am a Ukrainian national. What options do I have?
You may initiate two types of procedures before the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (hereinafter referred to as NDGAP).
If you seek to receive protection in Hungary until the end of the fights in Ukraine, you may request recognition as a beneficiary of temporary protection. If this is your case, please read the information under Point 2.
If you do not seek to receive protection in Hungary but to undertake employment, establish a business or study in Hungary, you may submit an application within an aliens policing procedure. If this is your case, please read the information under Point 3.
2. Pursuant to the Implementing Decision of the Council of the European Union (EU) 2022/382, Hungary grants temporary protection to
- Ukrainian nationals;
- those persons who previously lived in Ukraine either as a statelessness person (who do not have citizenship of any country) or as a refugee (who are citizens of another country but Ukraine had recognised them as refugees);
- family members of the two categories above (their spouse, persons with certified status as non-marital partner of a person in the two categories above, children of a person in the two categories above under the age of 18, relatives who have been dependent on a person in the two categories above, e.g. elderly parents, sick siblings),
who flee from the war to Hungary after 24 February 2022.
A Hungarian / dual citizen (Ukrainian and Hungarian citizen) may not apply for recognition as a beneficiary of temporary protection, given the fact that he or she has Hungarian citizenship. In such case, please see information in Point 6.
The granted form of temporary protection: recognition as a beneficiary of temporary protection. A status of beneficiary of temporary protection is provisional, impermanent, i.e. it only entitles to a stay in Hungary as long as the war is not over.
Applications for the recognition as a beneficiary of temporary protection may be submitted in person either at the established hotspots/receiving points 24 hours a day or at any of the client service offices of NDGAP during service hours. For an application for the recognition as a beneficiary of temporary protection, the application form attached is required to be filled in and submitted.
In case of family members applying for protection from the same family, a separate application form is required to be filled in for each family member.
Recognition as a beneficiary of temporary protection is conditional to proofs of the above before the authority, i.e. please make sure you have the documents with you that prove your citizenship/nationality, that your were staying in Ukraine, your family relationships, as well as the date of your entry into the territory of Hungary.
Persons, who entered the territory of Hungary before 24 February 2022, were living, working in Hungary prior to that, are not entitled to recognition as a beneficiary of temporary protection (see Point 3).
What will I be entitled to as a beneficiary of temporary protection?
A beneficiary of temporary protection receives a document substantiating his/her stay in Hungary, for which the authority takes a photograph of the beneficiary and his/her fingerprint. Beneficiaries of temporary protection are not entitled to travel within the territory of the European Union or to a legal stay in any of the other Member States of the European Union.
Beneficiaries, who cannot provide for themselves, may be entitled to a place of accommodation, supply, medical aid or other types of help and care.
Under eased conditions, beneficiaries of temporary protection are entitled to undertake employment or public employment in Hungary.
General information on the care and benefits provided to persons applying for recognition of temporary protection and beneficiaries of temporary protection is available on the NGDAP’s website at www.oif.gov.hu, here and here.
Please have your documents available to you (travel document, driving license, birth certificate, or any other type of document with a photograph of you displayed in it, etc.) and other relevant documents with you when you appear at one of the client service offices of NDGAP for the administration process.
3. You have various options to choose from, if you do not seek recognition as a beneficiary of temporary protection but to stay in Hungary nonetheless.
A) Without a separate visa or other type of procedure, Ukrainian nationals may enter the territory of Hungary with a biometric (new-type) passport. Ukrainian nationals arriving from Ukraine to Hungary with a biometric passport may decide that they wish to stay within the territory of Hungary or the Schengen Area; they are entitled to a stay for up to 90 days. In case they wish to stay longer or work, study in Hungary, Ukrainian nationals are required to submit an application specific to their case at NDGAP (see Point B)).
B) If you wish to undertake employment, establish a business, study or stay under another right of residence, you are required to submit an application for a residence permit. In such a case you are required to indicate the purpose of your stay, for which the website of NDGAP may provide assistance (www.oif.gov.hu); information in detail, the required forms of application and the mandatory enclosures per application type are available on the website of NDGAP, under the ‘Permanent Residence in Hungary’ menu item. Applications for the issuance of a residence permit are free of charge for Ukrainian nationals.
Employment: Ukrainian nationals may currently undertake employment under eased conditions. For information on undertaking employment in Hungary, it is recommended to visit the website of NDGAP via this link and this link.
For Ukrainian nationals who intend to undertake employment in Hungary in a post or function specified by the minister responsible for employment (i.e. in a ‘shortage occupation position’), NDGAP issues their residence permit under a fast-track procedure, without a procedure of the competent labour authority.
NDGAP cannot provide assistance with regard to finding and undertaking employment; it is recommended to visit the websites of the main job portals, temporary employment agencies and employment outplacement agencies or services.
Please note that applications for a residence permit may also be submitted electronically via NDGAP’s electronic information system and procedure initiation platform (‘Enter Hungary’: https://enterhungary.gov.hu/eh/?en). For information in detail for applications for a residence permit, please visit the website of NDGAP. In order to be able to submit the application specific to your case, it is recommended to read all information available on the website of NDGAP before submitting an application for a residence permit.
Please have your documents available to you (travel document, driving license, birth certificate, or any other type of document with a photograph of you displayed in it, etc.) and other relevant documents with you when you appear at one of the client service offices of NDGAP for the administration process.
4. I was living in Ukraine, where my stay was legal; however, I am not a Ukrainian national. What options do I have?
Please read the information titled ‘Information for people fleeing Ukraine’ on the website of NDGAP if you were staying in Ukraine but do not meet the conditions of a legal stay within the territory of Hungary (you do not hold a visa or a residence permit that would entitle you to a legal stay within the territory of Hungary).
5. My stay in Ukraine was also illegal. What can I do?
In case you are not entitled to legally stay in Hungary and you cannot verify that your stay in Ukraine was legal, you shall leave the territory of Hungary as soon as possible. The aliens policing procedure for this matter will be initiated by NDGAP without delay, helping you in this way to return to your home country as soon as possible. In case you are not able to leave the territory of Hungary on your own, please contact NDGAP via the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. email address or at one of the client service offices during service hours.
You may also request help from IOM (International Organization for Migration) in your return to your home country.
Contact information for IOM and the “Hungarian Assisted Voluntary Return, Reintegration and Information Programme”:
Hotline available in various languages free of charge within the territory of Hungary: +36 80 205 018
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.volret.hu
6. I have Hungarian citizenship / dual (Ukrainian and Hungarian) citizenship. How may I stay in Hungary?
Pursuant to Article XIV of the Fundamental Law of Hungary, holders of a Hungarian citizenship may return to their home from abroad at any time. Thus, if you also have Hungarian citizenship there are no further steps to be taken to legalise your stay.
Among others, you can contact any of the following aid organisations via the link to their website in case you need a place of accommodation, food, medicine or other types of help and care:
https://jobbadni.hu/segitseget-kerek/altalanos-tajekoztato/
https://segelyszervezet.hu/kampanyok/haboru-ukrajnaban/
7. I received a decision ordering a stay at a designated place. What does a decision ordering a stay at a designated place mean?
A mandatory place of stay may be designated both in aliens policing and asylum procedures which is subject to strict rules of conduct. In such a case you shall be available at the designated place of stay, and if the decision contains such provision, you shall not leave the administrative territory of the county, except when you appear before the authority of NDGAP for administrative purposes (e.g. for the extension of a document).
Please also note that everyone shall comply with the legislation of Hungary; therefore, violation(s) of the rules of conduct at the designated place of stay will result in (a) sanction(s) and may lead to an infraction procedure, as well as – in case of repeated infraction – may result in the ordering of an aliens policing or asylum detention.
8. Client service offices of NDGAP:
The contact details and service hours of the clients service offices of NDGAP can be found on the website of NDGAP under the ‘Contacts’ menu item → ‘Contact details of the regional offices’, as well as via the following link:
http://oif.gov.hu/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=175&Itemid=462&lang=hu#
Please note that NDGAP staff members provide foreign nationals who visit any of the hotspots/receiving points or any of the clients service offices of NDGAP with information specific for their individual circumstances; therefore, the pieces of information above are merely of indicative nature and for the purpose of information provision.
