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Retire in Hungary

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Petert8
  9/13/2010 15:15 EST

Hi
I am new here and I need some help.I would like to retire in Hungary with my wife. I am US citizen my wife has a green card.Both of us are from hungary.Could some body
outline the steps we have to take to move back to Hungary.Do we have to pay property tax to US on the house we purchase in hungary?
Thanks so much
Peter

Grazka
  9/29/2010 20:05 EST

Hi,
probably to make life more easy for yourself just make Hungarian passport (EU passport) specially if you want to retire in Hungary. If you are Hungarian you should have no problem with it.
Also I'll think being Hungarian citizen you will be able to take what ever belongs to you but check up if is some limitations on it.
As for tax I have no idea about US tax system but again logically speaking if you are Hung living in Hungary you will need to pay taxes (if any) in Hungary.But I'm not expert on US law.
Good luck for the future.Grazka

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pogonofra
  10/14/2010 15:22 EST

No you do not have to pay US property tax on realestate purchased in Hungary, but you have to pay 11% "illetek" in Hungary to the local APEH (tax office).
Good luck,
Pogonofra

tjd45
  10/18/2010 03:20 EST

I am interested in the property market in Hungary. What is the "illetek"? Are you sure that it is 11%? This is on the purchase price of the property? Sounds outlandish. I am skeptical of this. People would be too reluctant to buy properties at this price.

petofi
  10/26/2010 00:29 EST

Hi.
Retiring in Hungary is great.
It's inexpensive. And Budapest is one of the most
beautiful cities in the world.

By the way, if you're thinking
of renting for the first year, I have one central, furnished
apartment, perfect for a couple. Let me know if you
want to see pics.

borschelrh
  11/18/2010 05:59 EST

My wife and I are both US citizens and we have retired in Hungary. I am retired military and it is one place we can live on a military pension well. I can tell you a lot about what we went through in getting established here. At the time we bought our house here in Balatonfured (2009) the sales tax was 6%. It dropped for a while to 3% which I believe (but am unsure as the rules change here like the weather) is what it is now. We pay no property tax on our place here in Hungary. They are still getting a lot from us as we still have 3 houses in Virginia. We shipped everything we own from the US including our car. Getting it registered was a nightmare (the rules changed 6 times during the process) and I am going through a second nightmare getting a driver's license. Everything else went smoothly enough. We completely renovated our house and were ripped off badly by the first builder which we fired about 30% of the way through the process. Then had 3 more builders along the way, various degrees of difficulties. The end result is fabulous. But, in general it looks to me like Hungarian contractors agree to a set price then after the first payment jack it up or quit. Very strange behavior in a bad economy. Three times it has happened after we paid a substantial bonus for good work which appears to freak them out. Now we have purchased the vacant land next door and have built a swimming pool and are landscaping it now. Again, it all went smoothly now that we know whom to trust and what prices to expect. If you need some help I have a lot of experience adapting to the way things are done here. One thing is they love beurocracy and everything takes time and patience and a lot of stamping of papers along the way. Nothing can be done quickly or in one visit. Most things are like a goat rope with multiple trips to various offices and getting things paid or stamped at various offices. Each office will have their own interpretation of the rules which may require appealing to higher authorities to get resolved. It is also as if they have not quite discovered computers yet or how to apply them to the working environment which is freaky. I do love it here though despite any issues we had so don't take what I say as strongly negative. We aren't likely to go back to the US unless things get crazy here (like a major revolution or something equally bad). We love the people, the environment, and the culture and don't regret moving here at all.

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Murdock
  1/12/2011 16:06 EST

borschelrh,
My husband and I are thinking about moving to Hungary. My husband more then I, actually. He is a US citizen, I'm Hungarian, came to the US 26 years ago. I'm trying to research health insurance costs in Hungary, moving cost from Illinois, shipping pets, (we have two cats) Hungarian tax law on bringing in investment gold we have purchased here. We have so many questions, we appriciate any help we can get.

westcoa
  1/12/2011 18:12 EST

Hello, We moved to Hungary in 2007. I am American and my wife is Hungarian. Regarding the gold and the health Insurance. As long as you are an American Citizen and I don't see why you would lose it. Keep all American investments in the States. With Internet account access there is no need to move it to where you are living. My health Insurance in the States covered me in Hungary so make sure you learn about your Insurance carriers policy regarding International coverage. Otherwise you will need to get international coverage until you live in Hungary long enough (5 years) to qualify for their social coverage. Let me know if you happen to move to Szeged. I can help you with many things there to help your move. Good Luck!

Murdock
  1/14/2011 13:48 EST

Thanks for your advise westcoa. We will check if our health insurance here will cover us in Hungary also if not try to find one which would. Regarding the gold, these are gold coins and gold bars, we can't leave them here, we either have to sell here and take the money, or ship the gold which we would like to do if we can find a secure way and we don't have to pay Hungarian "ado" tax on them.

westcoa
  1/14/2011 16:53 EST

You're welcome. Another suggestion in regards to your gold. You may want to open a brokerage account that is manageable online like TDAmeritrade or similar type discount broker. This way you can sell your Physical Gold while gold is high and then use the proceeds to buy a gold ETF such as GLD that you can buy or sell at the click of our computer. GLD is a Exchange traded Fund that trades like gold but as a share price. So if you feel you want to stay invested in gold you would be able to do it in a more simplified matter. Rather than moving your gold physically which is not cost effective due to sheer weight. Either way as long as you have a bank account in the US and a linkable account in hungary, you always have the ability to transfer funds when the currency value is right for you. We have several account in the states that link to our international accounts so that we can manage investments better from the states.

Ozziland
  5/24/2011 02:31 EST

Hello, I am so pleased to read that the appreciation of the culture and lifestyle wins hands down. We are also preparing to retire there from Australia and we would dearly love to make friends with English speaking people as well. We will be visiting in the next three months to look for some property/home. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated. Bless

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ustokos48
  5/24/2011 20:52 EST

"illetek" is just like, application fee. Paid once, normally at the start of any project ..

ustokos48
  5/24/2011 21:22 EST

Hi all..
Well, aproching my retiremnet age, I am thinking more and more, to 'go home'
My concerns though are tax, living cost, health cover, superannuation transfere, pensions -if any- and all in general.
I would like to hear first hand from somebody, who dared to make this move...

Ozziland
  5/25/2011 09:18 EST

Opening a Citybank bank account could be useful for simple funds transfering and or a debit master card. I am told it costs 5000 forint per month for a full health cover, watch out for private super funds though. If anyone is planning to rely on an Aussi pension to live off be careful it gets dramatically reduced after 26 weeks unless you return. Google centerlink it will explain all. My best suggestion is don't close the door behind you.

Murdock
  6/20/2011 15:47 EST

We are getting pretty close to move to hungary. I got answeres to most of my questions, but I still don't know who do we have to pay taxes. I lived in the USA for 27 years, I payied my taxes here up untilnow. My husband is a US citizen. When we retire in Hungary we are planing to live off of our investment income. I'm sure my husband will have rto pay taxes to the US, do I pay to the Hungarian goverment? What percentage? Does anybody know? Will the hungarian goverment tax us on our retirement savings we will bring with this summer? I'm sure some of you retired and can help us with these questions.

Murdock
  6/20/2011 16:21 EST

Hi,

We are getting very close to move to Hungary. Our bank said they can't wire money to our account so I would like to find out which bank has a linkable account to a Hungarian OTP account? Do you or anybody else know if the Hungarian goverment will tax us on our retirement founds we are planing to move to Hungary? (as I said earlier I'm hungarian citizen, lived in the US for 27 years, my husband is american citizen.) We plan to live on the interest income of our money, perhaps later work part time. Does anybody know what kind of forms we have to fill out to bring our belongings into the country? Our mover said we have to fill out forms but he didn't say how do we get these forms?
Thanks for any help you can give.

Ozziland
  6/20/2011 20:20 EST

Hello, we are also planning to retire in Hungary. We will be there at the end of July to look for properties. Our plan so far is when we get there to open up a CitiBank bank account there as we have one here and for about a year simply transfer funds between accounts until we find a better solution. We do not want to take the risk of investing too much funds until we know exactly what we are doing. Best of luck, maybe we'll meet you there one day. One never knows.

ustokos48
  6/20/2011 23:10 EST

To Murdoch..
Well .. the simplest answer would be to your questions is to contact the Hungarian Embassy..
Also your tax questions could be answered there .. but logically, you pay tax on your income! Of course if your income is in America, you pay tax there .. after all, you have to declare your income to the Tax Office, don't you ?
I would say, that you do everything as a 'turist' first..
and than decide on advice in Hungary.
Hope this gave you a line of thoughts.. :)

Good Luck... and let us know if you learned 'something'..:)

Murdock
  6/23/2011 09:49 EST

Hi,

Well, I have tried the Hungarian Embassy earlier and all I got as a responce is a bunch of website to go to. Not much help. I get more help from Expats. Perhaps we can find out information easier once we are there.
I know we have to file next year in the US still, I was interested after next year. I think you are correct, if we get our interest income in Hungary we will both have to file there. If you are interested in the website the Hungarian Embassy refered us to I can post it here.
Thanks for your responce.

timtrump
  8/31/2011 01:18 EST

Ozziland,

I'd like to know what you encountered as far as Citibank when you were there in July. My wife and I are about to move to Budapest at the end of this year and had the same idea. Unfortunately when I contacted them to ask a few questions it seems that the only link shared between the banking entities is the name. In no way is Citibank in the States associated with Citibank in Hungary as far as ability to transfer funds, use both banks with the same account, etc. In fact, there are not even any breaks on transfer fees. If you found anything different while asking them there I would love to know. Thanks!

KEG
  9/15/2011 04:31 EST

I have lived in Hungary and had a Hungary Citibank account and a US Citibank Global Executive Bank account. With the Global Executive Account I received monthly wire transfers to my Hungarian Citibank account without any issues. Also, if you do have a US Citibank Global Executive Account there are no ATM fees anywhere in the world, so you really do not require the Hungary bank account.

Ham7431
  8/27/2012 06:57 EST

Hello Sir, My name is Ham, nick name of course. I have lived here for about 16 years. I have a bank acount in US dollars in Hungary and have never had a problem with transfer or direct deposit in dollars. I am an American citizen. the bank is Volksbank. I bank in Kaposvár and they have banks in Budapest and other cities in and around Hungary. I will not go back to the states to live because I am very satified with the country and people. I built a house and too had to get rid of a first contractor. The price rises after work sarted or something. But we got over it and pressed on. My wife is also Hungarian, although not retired. Once again I am very satisfied altough I must file tax forms in the states. Tere are no taxes for money under I think at this time 85,000 US Dollars. My tax account is in the states and do many expat taxes yearly. If you more information email me at my home email address. Take care and i will hwlp with everything that I can.
:-)

ustokos48
  9/6/2012 18:01 EST

Hi All ..

Not much happening here since my last visit ..!What's going on?
Does this mean that Hungary is not good anymore to retire ?
I am still planning to move back to Hungary -where I born- after 40 years .. So required as much information as possible on Banking, Health and the cost of settling down there ..

Cheers

ilonaandbill
  9/7/2012 12:02 EST

My husband and I are retiring to Hungary where I was born. Current political policies are on the mend and either way this will not affect people who do not work for the government. So expats are fine. We are looking forward to spending many happy years there soon.

Ham7431
  9/8/2012 01:23 EST

Hello, Living in Hungary is great. I do not work much nor am retired, but we are able to live on my wife's salary and part time work from teaching English. We own our home, and have three kids to support. If your husband can, try to take a course either online or at the university in teaching English as a second language. Native speakers of English are in demand here. I have been here for many years and do not regret any of it. Being retired is great also-

ustokos48
  9/10/2012 22:48 EST

..:) what a lovely, positive coment ! Almost feel like packing up.... and go home:)
Not long!! One more year !

ilonaandbill
  9/11/2012 09:48 EST

Me too, going back to Hungary soon. Just finalizing loose ends here. Can't wait.

ustokos48
  9/17/2012 21:16 EST

:) Nice, cool talk! :)

Although I'm intending to go home from Australia, I guess the rules would be very similar..
I am not sure if we have Volksbank here.. So I just have to find out ..
Apart of this, your 'home email addres' doesn't show up here ..

Kind regards

Me

ustokos48
  9/17/2012 21:20 EST

Hi ..

Where from? and what are the main things, that one should know of?
There must be a 'Must DO' and 'Must Not Do' list .. :)

Thanks for your input ..:)

Me

ustokos48
  9/17/2012 21:35 EST

yes... 12 or 26 weeks are the limits to stay away and recieve pension.. Than must return to Oz.. I find this a bit strange.. But what is not strange from the governament of the 'Land of plenty".. ?
I guess they would like to stop pension alltogether.. Its hard to think about it, when you payed taxes for 40 years..

ustokos48
  9/17/2012 23:27 EST

yes... 12 or 26 weeks are the limits to stay away and recieve pension.. Than must return to Oz.. I find this a bit strange.. But what is not strange from the governament of the 'Land of plenty".. ?
I guess they would like to stop pension alltogether.. Its hard to think about it, when you payed taxes for 40 years..
Baffled..

ustokos48
  9/18/2012 00:54 EST

Here we go again..!
I was brewing on this for a couple of hours and just couldn't swallow it ..
This 'red neck' ameriacn calls Hungary a 'poor country' and classifies it as 'third world', but he chooses to live there with his Russian wife ..
As I know, there are 20 million homeless in any given time, in his rich country, that he couldn't afford. If our country is poor, why he not chooses Japan.. or Kuwait?? Or if he really want to live in a poor country, why he doesn't go to live in Afganistan.. or those 'stan' countries?
As a Hungarian I am offended by his comments, just like I am offended about their betrayal of our '56 revolution..

expattpc
  1/7/2013 16:36 EST

Hi all-
Just came back from a week visit to Hungary and absolutely loved it! Are there any retirement communities in Hungary?

ilonaandbill
  1/7/2013 22:08 EST

I don't know of any in Budapest, but Heviz is a retirement community. A small tourist town of 5000, lots of small mom an pop shops and fruit and vegetable stands, 2 big supermarkets, lot of stores, restaurants, movie theater and churches. Bus to most anywhere, including Keszthely to catch the train and big box stores. English is spoken most places and by many of the populace. Plus the biggest hot spring lake in Europe, all year round.

expattpc
  1/8/2013 17:34 EST

Thanks for the feedback ilonaandbill, I'll look into it. I really wasn't looking at Budapest, somewhere in a smaller city as you recommended. I believe living in Budapest would be too expensive plus too crowded.

westcoa
  1/9/2013 06:11 EST

FWIW - There are many small towns just outside of Budapest that still offer the convenience of the bigger city when you need it. We just relocated from Szeged to Alsonemedi about 20 minutes outside of Budapest and like having the best of both worlds. Being from Los Angeles it's the perfect compromise for us. Good luck.

expattpc
  1/9/2013 11:22 EST

Thanks westcoa. I actually was looking at Tata. I had a chance to go there recently and its on the M1 and rail line to Vienna, about 1 hr. outside of Budapest, as I remember. I like the option of motoring or rail in either direction. I didn't see anything like we have in the US as far as a gated community for independent retirees and wondered if something like that would go over in Hungary. I wonder if there are enough expats not only from the US but from other European countries looking to move into Hungary that would make something like that succeed.

csardas
  1/10/2013 06:13 EST

I moved from the USA to Tata in 2004 and love it! There is a gated community here also! Not a retirement community though. I would have suggestions for you. I found my own place on the Internet at the time. I think an owner is selling in my own area -- but I see building along the Old Lake. Don't know your expectations or budget. You can write to me privately, SKYPE, or meet here --

expattpc
  1/12/2013 11:26 EST

Thanks csardas for the reply and the invite to contact you.

westcoa
  1/12/2013 11:40 EST

I believe your property taxes follow the country the property is in. We have never paid property taxes in the US for property we own in Hungary although we do identify the properties and document the taxes we pay in Hungary on our US tax returns. If you file in the US your accountant should know what to document. Hope this helps.

westcoa
  1/12/2013 11:48 EST

I take that back. My wife said the illetek tax is now 4%

westcoa
  1/14/2013 07:52 EST

Not sure if this will help but we use Chase bank in the States and K&H bank here in Hungary. No problems with transfers to and from and the Atm/check card/visa works at OTP and many other banks with ATM's. There is an international atm usage fee though. We get around it using the new American Express cash card. This card allows us to pull out as much as $800 cash with no fee and then only $2.00 per atm transaction there after if more than 2 times a month. Saves a lot of money as regular banks charge international transfer fees and atm fees that are astronomical. Better to transfer from checking account to Amex cash card and then use the cash card for cash and free transactions everywhere they are accepted.

KEG
  3/8/2013 23:07 EST

Need some help. If I was to work for 10 years in Hungary, then retire, would I have access to the Hungarian national health insurance program? If not, could someone let me know what I could expect to pay for health insurance in Hungary.

Thank you.........

ilonaandbill
  3/9/2013 12:30 EST

You do not have to work in Hungary to receive their health insurance, if you are a citizen (apply for it, well worth it), you can receive it for a very low cost. Like under $300 a year, including everything. If you want it completely free, then you do have to work there, I don't know what the rules are for that. For non-citizens, out of pocket costs are reasonable, a fraction of what it is in the US. This is with no insurance. I don't know exact amounts. I do know it's doable.

yomper123
  5/16/2013 16:20 EST

You said you have a green card well if you do not return to the USA approx every 6 months you could lose it
i have stayed, almost a year and everything was ok Your tax situation depends on if you are working or retired I have pensions payed into a U.S. Bank and use cards at the banks or cash machines

borschelrh
  9/4/2013 07:18 EST

ustokos48,
I am sorry if what I said offended you. I am not saying the US is better at all. I was trying to point out some of the realities of living here. Hungary is poor, very poor. There are a lot of countries richer and many poorer even in Europe. Hungary has had a very difficult time transitioning to capitalism and this had had long term effects on the economy. Many of the decisions made by the government since 1992 have destroyed the economy but I can see it gradually improving. As I said we love it here and enjoy the lifestyle and the people who are hard working and generally very honest. There is a lot of racism here which is undeniable. The same is true for the resurgence of nationalism since the Fidez Party returned to power. Both of these attitudes will be a long term problem for Hungary. As for your '56 revolution if that had been attempted in West Germany in 1956 it would have been put down a lot harder so I have no sympathy for Hungary on this issue. Hungary willingly joined the Germans in yet another attempt to get back the land taken away during the treaty of Trianon. The main forces attacking Stalingrad were from Hungary so expecting any sympathy from the Soviets so soon after the war was too optimistic and Hungary paid the price again for this mistake. I am not faulting anyone on this but this is the way it went and it should not come as any surprise that the US yet again betrayed a country in the Cold War. US history is full of such betrayals and anyone that trusts American Foreign Policy is foolish. American politicians cannot see any further than the next election and we have constant changes in policy depending on which party is running things. I actually think Democracy in Hungary is far more reliable and honest than in the US. That is saying a lot.

peddington
  11/28/2013 12:10 EST

Not sure about your return to Hungary as i'm not a Hungarian citizen and I didn't go that route even though I'm etnically Hungarian. Far as the property tax i believe you won't have to pay US tax. The property taxes are a little weird in Hungary. As far as I know each locality decides if they charge taxes or not. Many charge taxes on vacation homes but if you are a permanent resident then they don't. You do have to pay a 4% inital tax on the value of the home you are purchasing. I hope this is helpful! Good luck dealing with the burocracy which you not accustomed to!

peddington
  11/28/2013 12:12 EST

My attorney told me that the initial purchase tax on real estate is 4%. They didn't bill me yet although the property has been on my name for 2 months now. You think they want their money but the burocracy is grinding slow in Hungary!

peddington
  12/20/2013 16:32 EST

Visiting is one thing but living there...well let me tell you it can drive one CRAZY!

Anyim
  12/21/2013 14:14 EST

It has been useful to read about all the racism in Hungary -- I will strike it off my list of countries to consider when I retire. There are enough bigots to deal with in the USA --don't want to have to deal with them in a foreign country when you are trying to adjust to an entirely different culture. Thanks for the warning! I'll take my retirement dollars elsewhere.

borschelrh
  12/25/2013 06:04 EST

Anyim, I wouldn't react so strongly about the racism. Racism exists everytwhere whether we like it or not and at least here it is more or less an "innocent" form of racism, mostly from ignorance of other cultures. One of the strengths of Hungary (and possibly a weakness as well) is their very strong, and deservedly so, national pride. Remember this country was invaded and occupied by the Turks and Mongols evven earlier, which had a devastating effect. It also had the largest Jewish population in Europe and still does today. Gypsies are a problem but this is true in every country of Europe and not unique to Hungary. At least Hungary made a sincere and honest effort to effect changes in the Roma community all of which were ignored or abused. The Hungarian people are really excellent and hard working. They value culture and have a high work ethic. I can't say anything bad about Hungarians at all and am proud to live here. Yes, there are some strange bureaucratic nightmares but this is true everywhere. I have met several black men here and none have experienced any racism so perhaps this racist concept is more theoretical than real. However, I think it is more racist in the Eastern half of the country than out here in the West.

For those thinking of coming here, we live on Lake Balaton and love it. There is a lot to see and do here. We do not regret moving here ever and it was the best decision we ever made.

I can speak a bit about the National Health Care insurance. Anyone can buy it but the price depends on your status. You do have to register with the taxation office and get a tax id number which we haven't done as we don't work here or file taxes in Hungary. As we are on a 5 year renewable retirement visa we would be required to pay the full fee which is roughly $500 a person per month. If we get permanent resident status or citizenship then we qualify for the same rate as Hungarians which is roughly $25 a month. But, in terms of actual usage it is far better to pay cash. You get premium and immediate service and it isn't expensive. I have military Tricare insurance which is horrible and re-imburses roughly 65% after deductibles but has an error rate over 400% and takes a long time to get processed if in fact it gets processed at all. Still, we don't spend more than $5000 a year even requiring multiple surgeries. Compared to costs in the US it is trivial in comparison and not unique to Hungary. The Health Insurance might be handy for something catastrophic but otherwise not particularly useful for us.

boomerexpat
  6/11/2015 07:27 EST

Is there a good source of information on the 5 year renewable retirement visa? I'm an American citizen so need something for non EU or EEA.

I can't find it on any of the visa sites. And can it be converted to permanent eventually?

Thanks

borschelrh
  6/11/2015 15:23 EST

Hi, the Hungarian Immigration office web site has the most information. They are located at http://www.bmbah.hu/index.php?lang=en

We came in 2009 as retirees from the U.S. which is considered a third national. You will be applying for a Residence Permit under "other" reasons being a pensioner. It is good for 5 years and is renewable. Not must prove income and health insurance and Medicarre doesn't count. It is hard to predict the income required but $2k a month seems to be okay. Insurance can be purchased. My advice is to visit the country and arrange for where to stay etc. then once you are here apply for the permit. After 5 years you can then step it up to the next level which is Permanent a Settlement which is sort of thecequivalent of a green card in the U.S.nee are currently working in that now and it is quite a bit more extensive. Our home was inspected today for suitability as an example so it is a lot more serious.

boomerexpat
  6/18/2015 09:50 EST

Hi, just saw your message. Sorry for the delay and thank you for the prompt response.

I have social security of around 1700 and 401Ks. Do you think that should get me over the 2000 or do they definitely want to see 2K in pension?

Also, not clear on "Not must prove income and health insurance and Medicarre doesn't count."

Thanks again,

Craig

borschelrh
  6/18/2015 10:46 EST

Hi, I tried to be clear but it isn't all that straight forwards. As far as I can tell they have no set number in mind.$2K might be close to their limit but I have no way to tell. You have to submit your request and see what happens. Our pension is $3K a month and they said that was more than enough. For insurance you have to purchase something to prove you have coverage. Medicare doesn't work outside the US so you can't use that as proof. I have military Tricare which is more or less useless but qualifies for the application as it is some kind of health insurance for military retirees, even as crappy as it is. You can purchase an overseas policy from a number of insurance companies. In our recent application for permanent settlement we had trouble with the Tricare as in the letter explaining the limits it says the US government does not guarantee coverage or payment which we all know is a standard escape clause for all US government benefits but it freaked them out. However, we have sufficient cash in our IRA's to pay cash for anything which might occur here and then needed to write a statement (in Hungarian) that we have sufficient money to pay for all medical expenses should the US government deny coverage. In point of fact Tricare only reimburses 65% of expenses after deductible and proof of payment to the medical facility/doctor/pharmacy and that must be a check or credit card which is nuts as here no one takes either. On top of that Tricare was contracted out to the lowest bidder, Wisconsin Physician Services Inc., who hires only minimum wage inexperienced claim adjusters so the error rate is in excess of 400% meaning you have to resubmit paper claims at least 4 times to get paid. So, we gave up on it as it takes literally hundreds of hours to get a claim processed. So much for our wonderful benefits as retired military. My advice is to explore the various policies out there or purchase the Hungarian National Health Insurance which for foreigners is something like $250 a month per person. They think that is crazy high and we would be nuts to buy it. We think it is crazy low so everything is relative. However, paying cash for what I consider excellent medical treatment (remember I served 40 years in the military so I know what bad medical care really is like) is actually cheaper than buying insurance and we have had a significant amount of medical expenses done here. Tricare does have an annual catastrophic cap of $5k so if it were to exceed that then I would go through the hassle of filing claims as above the cap it goes to 100% coverage (of allowed expenses and procedures - again a way out for them).

boomerexpat
  6/18/2015 11:04 EST

Thank you for the further details.

What all do you get for the $250. Free Rx? Good specialists? or just standard government healthcare? In other words is it a good value for the money. I guess the main issue I would have with no insurance is catastrophic events such as being hit by a car, heart attack or stroke. Those can easily add up. When I lived in Mexico a lot of expats I spoke with had MedVac for a low amount to take them to the US for medicare treatment and then just did out of pocket to private clinics for normal stuff.

borschelrh
  6/18/2015 13:50 EST

I can't say too much as I don't know the exact details. I can only comment on what we have experienced. I believe you would get the same health care as all Hungarians along with the same wait times. We haven't bothered as it is just so cheap to just pay cash and get immediate service. I know that sounds patronizing but really Hungarians have no clue about health care costs in the US and how good they have it here. One good thing though with the National Insurance would be the reduced rates for pharmaceuticals. We pay a premium rate now which is still ridiculously cheaper than the US (roughly 1% of the cost for the same medications as in the US) but approximately double what Hungarians pay. One big difference here is all physicians are excellent and trained in Europe using European standards. Most speak English, Russian, or German as well. All specialists have PhD's in their field and not some idiotic self appointed specialty from a "buy a registry" place. Physicians here all have real doctorate degrees unlike a large part of the world which have a Bachelor's in Medicine. Even the UK only has a BS degree for a physician. I can speak to this to some extent as I am a PhD level Immunologist and know what you are getting in the US from these "Professionals". An MD in the US, even when trained in the US, is not the same thing as one trained here. Here it is still an academic doctorate and not a "monkey see - monkey do" diploma. Anyway, my point is it is excellent health care. One other enormous difference is that the majority of Hungarian doctors are in it to help people and not for the money. Doctors here are all government employees and on a fixed salary which is roughly $2000 a month (perhaps less now). Most maintain private office hours in the evenings for cash patients. Even so, an office visit is typically between 5,000-8,000 HUF. Some specialists are higher but I have never paid more than 10,000 HUF. The hospital stay is super cheap at around $7 a day. For example my wife had surgery to remove screws and a plate in her broken leg she received in Sarajevo, Bosinia and it cost less than $600 and included 5 days in the hospital, all doctors fees, medications, equipment etc. This is what I mean by being relatively cheap. That would be over $100k in the US. An MRI costs around $200 or less. One other big difference is they don't typically have technicians to do the work. So a Radiologist will be doing the x-rays, CT scans and MRI and they read them on the spot. You don't have to wait weeks for the results. Same for ultrasounds, lab work etc. It is a far different health care system here and IMHO much better. Yes, the facilities are older and no frills and yes, you need to provide your own food in the hospital (you get a roll and tea but not much else). But, here the family is also part of the treatment so it isn't a big problem. There is also the issue of tipping which is more or less expected. But, if you are paying cash you don't need to tip on top. Generally, if I am having something exceptional done, I will give a bottle of Cognac instead of a tip. It seems to work out okay and we are very happy. There is no way I would go back to the US for medical care. I might head over to Germany or Austria to take advantage of some of the newer technologies available there (like robotic surgery) which haven't yet made it to Hungary but I wouldn't ever consider going to the US for treatment.

guestuser
  6/18/2015 14:44 EST

Healthcare seems very reasonable. I got a quote for me a healthy 35 yo woman no known health issues, no kids never smoked and the most expensive plan was like 200 usd a month and that was with no co payment and 375 deductible

My father is a 58 male never smoked with diabetes and 2 time cancer survivor was like 350 usd a month and that was with no co payment and 375 deductible .

Those were from Cigna which i have no idea is cheapest or average or not.

But very very cheap compared to USA prices! And i am sure it will be better service than the VA does here in USA!

boomerexpat
  6/20/2015 02:32 EST

Odd combination of very low prices but higher than normal for government. Haven't seen that combo before. I'll have to remember about the cognac.

Hotjazzman
  7/5/2015 04:37 EST

It's a flat 4% tax of the purchase price. The 11% in nonsense, and I must wonder what motivated the commenter to spend the effort write such nonsense.
There are some strange birds poking their beaks in here at times...

There is no property tax - by the way. There may be some truly miniscule amounts in some municipalities masquerading as "property tax" but they are really nothing - compared to the US.

borschelrh
  7/5/2015 08:58 EST

Yes, 4% is in effect now. There is still a minor property tax which is taxed by the city. Apparently it is less if you are a permanent resident. Still it is less than $400 a year for us. Wew have other weird taxes though which are also trivial in comparison to US property tax. One of our pieces of land has no house on it so we must pay something called a land pressure tax. Beats me what that is but it is pretty much the same as having a house. There are also different rates for year round and summer only houses the latter being about twice as much. Getting a summer only house re-registered as a year round live in is expensive though. I have a German friend who just did that and it cost him roughly 4%. So, if you are buying a house make sure it is registered as a year round house. Here near Lake Balaton there are a lot of houses which are only for summer use. Many of those are up for sale.

dgxco
  8/11/2015 17:09 EST

Parents Deceased left Hungary in 1956 to US. gave birth to me in 1958 and became Naturalized US citizens on 1962. I understand that I can apply for dual citizenship as I have my mothers birth cert and Naturalization and Marriage Cert and my Birth Cert but the document needed to be submitted to the Hungarian Embassy is all Hungarian and I have no clue also calls for all original documents to be sent with it which I am reluctant to do. Any Ideas?? I am doing this because I hope to retire to Hungary in 3-4 years at the most and all I will be receiving from the US is Social Security as Medicare is invalid.
Also curious on moving a large sum of USD to Hungary in the future or too many issues?

borschelrh
  8/12/2015 01:36 EST

Yes, original documents are a requirement. We recently experienced exactly the same thing applying for US Social Security so Hungary in not unique in this requirement. It is a risk so use Certified Mail. We did it in person in Washington but we lived there at the time. You can also wait and do it here in Hungary as you will be here legally for 90 days. I would apply for the temporary Residence Visa which gives you 5 years then pursue the Citizenship. It takes a lot of time and the recent flood of refugees into Hungary is taxing the Immigration system so everything is slowed down horribly. They are doing the best they can but do not have sufficient trained manpower to handle it.

Moving money is no problem. We brought over $500K to buy a house and pay for the renovations. But, that was before FATCA. The only issue is on the US side and that is only requirements for reporting so you need to do a lot of study with regards to FATCA reporting. How to do it cheaply is the real question. Every bank charges for this BUT some won't if you have some kind of elite no fees account in the US but the minimum balances now are steep to get that. Carrying cash is actually legal BUT you must declare it and might get taxed in Europe upon arrival. Better to just send it over as a wire transfer. But, shop around for the best rates. You will need to have a bank account here to receive it and it must be a bank which accepts US citizens. Hungary is more or less in compliance with the FBI FINCEN reporting and the IRS auditing. We use K&H but OTP also accepts US citizens (not a lot do anymore because of the horrendous US requirements to report on all US citizens living overseas). You will also need to get your Social Security set up for direct deposit here (not an easy process) or you can decide to have it deposited in the US and then wire it here every month. Also regarding that, it takes time to do and sometimes over a week to actually receive the money. Crazy for something that happens digitally so there must be a lot of monitoring going on in the US. I have my military pension direct deposited here but Social Security deposited in the US account. The military took over 6 months to get set up and I had to do it 3 times to get it right.

No, Medicare won't work at all and you have to decide whether to continue paying for Part B or not. If you stop you lose all of your Medicare permanently so if you decide to move back to the US that will be a big problem. I think it is $115 a month now which is more than 4 times the Hungarian National Health Insurance you will be eligible for after you get your citizenship. We pay cash for all medical but are thinking of applying for the Insurance card as it makes pharmacy costs a LOT cheaper. Foreigners pay almost 4 times the price that Hungarians do at the pharmacy (still very cheap compared to the US). Despite what a lot have been saying we have found the medical here to be exceptional.

jim42
  8/21/2015 17:28 EST

Define inexpensive please.......apts rent, utiities, internet, etc...

shrinkman1
  10/25/2015 10:24 EST

Yes, I'd like to see pictures of your apartment

travelmercies
  4/13/2016 13:11 EST

My husband and I are both retired military and would like to retire in Hungary as well. How did you get a visa to stay in the country longer than 90 days? Did you arrive in country then process it, or do you have to leave the country to get a long term visa? Thanks!

peddington
  4/13/2016 15:09 EST

First of all congrats on retirement and thanks for your service! Shooting from the hip I say "Don't"! I came to Hungary 2 1/2 years ago. I'm like you and speak the language. It is no "cake walk". Bureaucracy is horrible to the point that it can drive one crazy. Everything takes time. Craftsman are hard to find and even harder to get them to came back and finish the job. Did I mention that VAT/Sales tax was 27%? Sure to you prices will seem less (depending where you coming from) assuming you coming from the US etc. And did I mention that gasoline is nearly $6 a gallon and that it is low due to oil prices etc. But assuming I did not discourage you here is the process. During the 90 day visa free period (which the EU may just do away with any day now) you need to go to an Immigration office likely in Budapest and no appointment necessary. You need to fill out a 3 or 4 page application, have a photo, stamp with a value of 18,000 forints and proof of health insurance (Tri care alone might do it) etc. Of course you need your passport and address where you staying. Need some proof of income (copies of your bank statement showing your monthly pension deposit going back 6 months should do it). You submit it and in about 6 weeks or 8 weeks you will get an answer...likely "APPROVED".
Then you will need to return to office and boom you good for ONE YEAR! You will get a piece of paper that is not an address card but really a declaration of address in Hungary. Pretty simple compared to the US and other places and it used to take 4 weeks but this migrant craziness got them off track! GOOD LUCK and bring some ADVIL! LOL!

travelmercies
  4/13/2016 17:05 EST

Thank you for the Down Low on Visas in Hungary. Doesn't sound too bad, after what we've been through in Canada and Ukraine! I wish there was a book on how to get a visa in every country. Does anyone know of a one-stop resource for this?
Thanks again!

borschelrh
  4/14/2016 01:57 EST

Peddington has it more or less correct. The short term visa for 5 years can be done at the regional office. We did ours at the embassy in DC but we brought my 90 y/o mother here 2 years ago and did it in Veszprem. There is some run around but not horrible. Tricare is proof of insurance but you need to get a letter from Tricare Overseas describing the coverage and it must specifically list both of you. Getting that isn't easy but if you work through it at Tricare you will eventually get it.

One problem which came into effect a year ago is the inability to register a car while here on a temporary visa. You must have Permanent Residence status for that and you cannot apply until you have lived here for 3 years. It is a Catch-22 problem. The Permanent Residence Visa is a super pain in the butt to get and requires a police background check at your last US address, birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorces documents for previous marriages, passports, etc. and all of it must be officially translated. That gets expensive and it cost us something like $600 to get that done. Eventually, the process works and you get your card(s). The visa and Identity card come from Budapest and your address card comes from your local mayor's office. But, you cannot apply for Hungarian National Health insurance unless you surrender your US Social Security pension. Medical here is actually so cheap it isn't worth trying to do that. Speaking of which Tricare is more or less useless. We gave up trying to use that after fighting them on every claim for 2 years. It just isn't worth the headache and probably why they make it so horrible The error rate is over 400% meaning you resubmit claims at least 4 times and they still get it screwed up. Eventually, they will pay but the amount of work to get it done is incredible. Recent changes at Tricare now require a cancelled check or credit card receipt. Checks are not used in Europe at all for anything and medical here is purely cash so that is a dilemma. They also cannot translate anything in Hungarian so it is a huge hassle.

The car problem leaves you with 2 choices. The first is to drive on your US plates until you get permanent residence or to register with you as an owner and a Hungarian friend as the operator and then he does a limited power of attorney permitting you to use his car which is in your name. Bizarre doesn't begin to describe this problem. Then try to get a Hungarian driver's license is even worse. Long story and I finally gave up after failing the written test on a computer but using Google Translate so impossible to understand anything precisely. They may fix that after the Fidez government is removed but maybe not. I think the Minister of Interior's wife did the translation so it is impossible to complain about it (according to a Government official friend). I am driving using my US license and leave the country often enough into a non-EU country that I am "legal". I am an old fart and drive carefully so haven't ever been stopped so haven't needed to figure it out. But the car is registered in my wife's name and she has a Hungarian driver's license as they recognized her very old expired Soviet license straight across. US licenses are not considered as the US does not consider any foreign licenses so it is tit for tat.

Lots of fun living here. If you do decide to bring over a car beware that halogen lights must be changed (there are ways around that but not easy or cheap). Also, send it door to door and not to a port as that is an enormous problem and very expensive in the long run. We stupidly tried to save $500 and it cost us way more than that to get the import problems solved. The problem is that Hungary is part of the EU but because of translation (and stubbornness) the EU laws are not always implemented correctly sometimes deliberately.

guestuser
  4/14/2016 12:16 EST

borschelrh

"But, you cannot apply for Hungarian National Health insurance unless you surrender your US Social Security pension."

So if you have the one year residence permit to apply for the state medical insurance you have to give up your US social security pension?

I thought you can apply and get that after you get your residence permit? A friend that is from US that her and her husband are on SS told me that was the case but i do not know.

guestuser
  4/14/2016 12:20 EST

She came here in 2014 so maybe it has changed now? I think she said it is called OEP?

If that is the case how do you go about health insurance second time around? Do we have to buy the same "emergency" plan again?

borschelrh
  4/15/2016 01:16 EST

We were told explicitly that we couldn't apply as the medical is tied into the pension system. We had reported as part of our proof of income the social security payments which we had to explain anyway as you must prove financial support by 6 months of statements from all of your bank accounts. By the way, both names must be clearly displayed on the printouts or they won't accept them. However, we didn't actually try and do it as we didn't want to risk it. It is possible that the systems are in fact not married up as Hungary is not well coordinated on electronic records. I have seen a lot of improvement in the 7 years we have been here though so it is possible. I notice all the medical seem to be well coordinated now and unlike when we first got here had no clue what to charge us for services so made it up on the spot, now they seem to have a fixed fee schedule. Some things have gotten more expensive and others a lot less. I notice doctors no refusing tips as well so not sure what is going on there.

guestuser
  4/15/2016 07:28 EST

Thanks for the info i did not no that at all or even hear about that before!

Yes my father get social security pension as our income so in no way would he give that up!

So what did you end up doing? We brought the emergency insurance that covered for getting the residence permit with no issues raised about that. But my father and i did want to buy into the state system as i am told it is cheaper.

I am his dependant i wonder if i would be able to buy it at least even if he can not?

Well i guess medical is still cheaper than USA so even paying by cash should not be too hard.

borschelrh
  4/15/2016 11:31 EST

We pay cash for medical. It hasn't been a problem for us but we haven't had catastrophic medical issues yet. I tend to think there is a way to buy the insurance but at a rate higher than normal thus avoiding the pension issue. How to do that is difficult and requires some finesse. If I ever get it figured out I'll post it here.

guestuser
  4/15/2016 14:54 EST

Well if you find out how that works please post it here. Me and i am sure others would like to know how to buy it even at higher rate to avoid the pension issue.

I mean how could they say take your income but pay for health insurance? That would make no since!

Angiegirl
  9/28/2016 18:10 EST

I will be interested in renting your place in 2017 in June for 1 mos. if you don't have a tenant....Where is your property located? In Buda or Pest? What district? I am one person.

Angiegirl
  9/28/2016 18:12 EST

For one person, who is retired, it is not worth buying. What are average rents on a small cottage in Balaton? Anyone know? I love the area and will be retiring in 2018 in April or so.

Angiegirl
  9/28/2016 18:29 EST

Do I have to pay for health insurance as a retiree with dual-citizenship? I will be applying for this as soon as i go back to visit next year! I was born there; and hope to retire there in less than 2 yrs. Can I expect to pay health insurance as Hungarian dual-citizenship at age 65?

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