THE Hungary RESIDENCY BOND PROGRAMME
The Hungarian Residency Bond Programme is one of the most affordable and straightforward residency programmes and allows investors to acquire Hungarian residency within 1 – 2 months from the local embassy. There are no physical stay requirements, no language test, no requirement to go to Hungary for the application, which can be done from the investors home country provided the country hosts a Hungarian embassy.
Acquiring Residency in Hungary
At the end of 2012, the Hungarian Government introduced new legislation which opened the doors to the Hungarian Residency Bond programme. The Hungarian residency bond program is one of the simplest and easiest programmes allowing the investor Hungarian permanent residency within a short time frame and without the more substantial real estate investments required by other residency programmes.
The Hungarian investor programme was launched by the Government of Hungary in order to attract foreign investment from wealthy business owners and entrepreneurs and bring foreign capital into the country. The legislative framework provides an opportunity for investors looking to obtain a European Union permanent residency with a straightforward application process and minimal requirements.
Following the investment into Government bonds, the investor and his family can receive their temporary residency within two to three months, and then permanent residency six months later. With both temporary and permanent residency, the applicant and his family can immediately travel visa free to all the Schengen zone countries.
Please note that this programme will be closing end of March 2017. Please contact us to speak to a private client advisor: info@lio-global.com
INTERESTING INFORMATION
Residency only takes 2 – 3 months
CAPITAL
Budapest
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE
Hungarian
MEMBERSHIP
NATO, EU, OECD, Schengen Area, Visegrad Group
CURRENCY
Forint (HUF)
POPULATION
9.9 million (2014 est.)
TOTAL AREA
930 030 km2
INVESTMENT REQUIREMENT
In order to qualify for the Hungarian Residency Bond Programme, the required investment is EUR 300 000 into Government bonds. The bonds come to maturity after 5 years and are zero coupon rated. The Government bonds may be purchased by either the individual or his company, provided the applicant is the majority shareholder.
These type of bonds can only be issued exclusively by one of the approved firms of the Economics Committee of the Hungarian Parliament.
Once the investment has been made, the applicant will be issued with a temporary residency (TR), which is valid for 3 – 5 years. This can be done through the local Hungarian embassy, there is no need to travel to Hungary for this. After holding this TR for 6 months the applicant can convert the permit into a permanent residency (PR) which is valid for life. After 5 years the bond is paid back to the investor. The PR will continue to be valid and the investors still qualify to maintain their PR status.
TRAVEL AND BENEFITS
Hungarian Residency offers investors and his/her family the right to live, study and work in Hungary.
In addition, it allows the investor to spend a maximum of 90 out of every 180 days in any of the Schengen zone countries allowing freedom of travel and mobility in most of the EU. With residency, the applicant and his family can immediately travel visa free to all the Schengen countries.
Please note that Hungarian residency does not give the right to live and work in Europe, only a Hungarian citizenship will give this freedom and access.
FAMILY REGROUPING
In accordance with current legal provisions, investors in the programme can include his/her spouse, dependent children as well as dependent parents in the application. Dependent adult children can also be included.
FEES
Government and administrative fees are EUR 60 000.
Citizenship
The Hungarian legal framework allows for the investor and their family to obtain Hungarian citizenship provided they follow the specified requirements. In order to obtain citizenship, the investor is required to live in Hungary for 8 years and pass a Hungarian language test. The Hungarian Residency Bond Programme is geared towards offering investors EU residency rather than citizenship, however, this is possible should the investor and his/her family be willing to live in Hungary and learn the language.
Process
The application process for the Hungarian Residency Bond Programme is straightforward and can be done in the country of residency provided there is a representative Hungarian embassy.
Before the submission of an application to the Government of Hungary, comprehensive due diligence will have been done. Subject to confirmation, the applicant can begin with his/her application. Once all documents have been completed, along with proof of the required investment, the file is submitted. Typically the process takes 1 – 2 months in order to receive approval and the residency card can then be issued.
HUNGARY – COUNTRY INFORMATION
Hungary is a landlocked European country located in central Europe. It is bordered by Austria to the west, Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to east, and Serbia and Croatia to the south. Budapest, the capital and the largest city, is a very popular tourist destination.
Despite being fought over throughout history, as well as a four decade long communist dictatorship under the influence of the Soviet Union, Hungary has come out as an upper-middle income country with a very high Human Development Index rating. It is home to the largest thermal water cave system and has the second largest thermal lake in the world.
Budapest, a very popular tourist destination, contributing significantly to the 10.675 million (2013) tourists a year. Budapest became one of Central Europe’s most popular destination in the 1990’s and is again seeing a similar trend in recent times. Hungary has a continental climate with hot summers and mildly cold snowy winters.
Hungary has a stable economy and political system offering excellent public infrastructure and security.
RESOURCES
Government of Hungary: https://www.kormany.hu/en
Hungary Tourism: https://wowhungary.com/en
