Greetings,
You will get many comments on this I'm sure some may contradict mine. But here it goes; 2 grand will sustain two people OK but not in a "grand style". My discretionary budget is 2 grand (at least like to keep it at that level) LOL, and it supports two adult and a child. But here is the catch. I bought a flat so there is no rental money. That can make a difference because rent for a two bedroom flat can range from 40,000 forints to upward a 100,000 forints. (One USD is about 221 forints right now in the average). If you don't live next to Balaton Lake for example or in the capital city (the outskirts OK) then rent will be more reasonable. The problem you may encounter with your Dad is medical care. It is better in larger cities and less available in smaller towns as you would expect. So in summary if you get a reasonable rental and don't have much out of pocket medical expenses you and your Dad can live reasonably well on 2 grand. The sales tax here is a whopping 27% but it is included in the price so you know how much you will be paying for everything. They have Tesco here a British owned company and it is like the Walmart of Europe. You can shop there at reasonable prices. So much for now hope it helped. Let me know if you have a specific question! Be safe!

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Greetings Peddington

Thanks for the reply.

Ok i looked up exchange rates, 1 USD is 227 HUF. So 100,000 is 438 USD. That is literally half what we pay now. So even twice that would be what we have been paying now and we live in a one room. So i think even with what we have it seems to be ok. And like i said we are working on adding to our income.

Medical yes we will both have to buy health insurance in Hungary But i do not think it is too expensive. I will be honest i have not looked into that but i doubt it will be too expensive. USA has horrible healthcare so anything in Hungary will be an improvement.

We never go to Walmart so hopefully there are not too many in Hungary!


I do ask this, what is the best way to go about renting a place?

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$2K will do you pretty well.
Paddington's rent prices are on the mark. Albeit I don't think he is actually in HU, he is doing essentially anti-Hungarian comments from somewhere else, hence his confusion on the exchange rate,which has a rock steady been 224 to 227 since at least May 20th (the day I returned to HU). (These are street exchange rates - at "Change" places; they are all over the city with exchange rates extremely prominently displayed). Basically Paddington is an anti-Hungarian troll. (I know the purpose, but won't get into here). For instance, you could live in HU for years, and if you are only English speaking, you would not even know that there is a VAT (value added tax) built into the prices of most everything. However, apartment rent, services of various sorts, restaurant, bar, pub prices do not have VAT added (or built-in).

The best exchange rates you get is by transferring U$ into HUForint account. It is imoirtant that you do not exchange to forints in your US bank and transfer the Forints. You transfer the $ and the HU bank converts it into Forints at the street rate (valuta exchange rate).The US bank will rip you off to the tune of 5%. BofA charges $45 for wire transfer regardless of the amount, no upper limit. When I bought a second apartment I transferred $50K and got the street rate (OTP Bank). BofA wanted to charge me $2.5K on the $50K if it would have been exchanged in the US and transferred the Forints.
So you better know these things ahead of time or it can cost you.

Most people let the U$ funds accumulate in the US bank for 3 or even 4 mos, and then transfer the the total amount for that $45 flat rate.

Your best bet is buying an apartment, it is cheaper in the long run. Prices are much lower than in the US and they are properly built out of masonry (no wood frame - pure junk - construction). Condo fees are nominal (or dirt cheap compared to the US). Closing costs are less than in most of the US (as a % of the price). No real estate taxes. Insurance (condo) is very inexpensive also. Utilities can cost you more compared to FL, b/c there is a heating season.

Public transportation unlimited monthly pass (trams, buses, metro; commuter train - HEV) in greater Budapest is a bit under $50 /month (HUF10K). Past age 65 it's free - including trains within HU. Public transportation is incredibly efficient - once you have figured out the system (but that can take time).

Public (socialized) heathcare is not particularly good, but once you got your residence permit you can apply for a TAJ card; the monthly cost varies based on your status. ( I think the priciest is under $100/mo). However, you can get private health insurance until this is resolved. Some direct pay medical services - like an office visit - can cost less than your co-pay in the US. (Mine was typically is $30 in the US - but that's misleading, as a referral was needed from my GP, so it came to $60 (2x30) - per issue).
You can kid of combine the socialized with the private, whereby you pay your caretaker physician privately for good attentive care, while you're staying in the (public) hospital bed under the TAJ system.

I don't know much about the VA med-care, so I don't know how would it impact you financially. Full price medicines (same brand, same make) for the most, cost LESS than in the US co-pay(!) cost. For example: there is one typical medicine which I need: $130 full price, $80 net co-pay for me in the US; same name, brand, quantity, manufacturer, in HU: $36. TAJ (see above) doesn't cover this particular med, so I have to pay the "full cost" in the pharmacy. (haha).

Dental care is world-class for typically half the US price. No insurance that I know of exists. Ditto for vision glasses. Should you vant/need Lasic you can get it for half the U$ cost. (They BOTH use the SAME German made automated Lasic machines, so no difference in the procedure).

Living in HU will be a richer existence - unless you are into TV watching. On that, you will be disappointed, however I don't have a TV by choice, even though I could easily afford to have several in each room. The venues for activities are many - especially in the cultural realm.

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Hi;
Upon re-reading your post, I realized I missed the add'l $3K/mo you may be getting.

Here is what I'd do:

Set my life up (with renting) in HU on the current $2K/mo.
If I like it AND the add'l 3K is coming in, I'd save that for two years ($72K). In two years the decision can be made to stay or go elsewhere (like it in HU or don't like it). If you do not have any saved money to add, the $72K can buy a very decent condo in Budapest.

Thereafter $5K/month will will provide with a princely life - should you decide to spend it all each month. (I'd save some of it for leaner days, health issues and for offsetting future - and inevitable - inflation).

As far as the crazy rents go for non-Hungarians, it is a massive racket, to rip-off non-Hungarians - like you. It's operated by a particular group (ethnicity) people, who bought-up apartments by the thousands - during this real estate crisis/collapse with money coming from outside of HU; did some nominal renovation and now they're renting them for ridiculous amounts to foreign students and expats who don't know any better.

BTW: the same group is extremely active in the US, buying up tens of thousands of foreclosed properties for a pittance, renovating them (flip) and renting them for market rates, or selling them at huge profits in cities/areas were the market has recovered. Where do you think some of that QE1, QE2, QE3 money went to? (In addition the the trillions disappeared at Wall St.)

Remember if you rent, the rental agreement/contract MUST be validated by a Notary Public (Kozjegyzo) so YOU are properly protected from the landlord's whims and antics. (It's not a law, but a prudent precaution). A plain signed agreement (without the Notary) is enforceable, but that has to go through the court system at your expense and TIME). A Notarized agreement is immediately enforceable (sans Court), like I explained in an other post of mine elsewhere; a Hungarian Notary Public is a lawyer/attorney with special executive powers.

The landlord WILL vehemently be against Notarization (it has a tax effect on him plus he cannot ignore the provisions of the contract at his whim) but you must insist on this no matter what his/her objections are. If he/she raises the rent as a condition, for Notarization, don't merely walk, but run. If you accept, you'll be sorry.

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Greetings,
Exchange rates can vary greatly. There are different rates at airports, small towns, resort areas and in the middle of the Capital or banks. So my rates was a small town exchange about a week old!
As to the rental; there are some offers on this site, magazines and of course realtors who specialize in rentals. Do remember that rates vary depending how popular the area is , employment opportunities etc. For example the Buda side is more expensive generally than the Pest side. Closer to the center etc., will be more expensive. I will assume a car is not in your immediate plans so being close to public transportation is important. This is rather easy in Hungary! Good luck!

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Hotjazzman

Thanks for the info! That really helps and i did not realize the thing about the Notary.

Yes like i do hope the more money comes in cause that is a plan we want to do. We would buy a house though not a condo. Bu yes that is a very very good plan.

Thanks greatly

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I did learn that what i mean i need is a 3-4 room place. Two sleeping rooms, a living room, a bathroom, a kitchen. So hopefully that is still affordable.

I realize in Hungary they count each room, not just the bedrooms!

Did your replies take that into account?

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One is a question we are debating We are going to apply to get a D Visa and then the residence permit. Here is what the consul told me exactly:

{You and your father will need a residency permit to stay and live in Hungary for more than 90 days.
Generally speaking as US citizens you can enter Hungary without visa and apply for a residency permit directly at the Office of Immigration and Nationality. http://www.bmbah.hu/jomla/index.php?lang=en Or you can come to the Embassy in Washington DC to apply for a D visa. D visa in not a long term visa, but enables the bearer to receive the residency pertmit once in Hungary. So the Immigration Office has to be visited in both cases. The difference is that inthe latter case you can you can start the process earlier, handing in the supporting documents to us and the approval of the visa means the approval of your residency permit as well.}

So what we are going to do do everything while here in the US that needs to be done and then when in Hungary get the residence permit.

The debate is should we apply for the visa now on our current income? Or would it better to wait till our settlements are done and see if and how much our income increases? My dad feels apply now and do everything that needs to be done deal with any issues that may come up and then if we have more money then all the better. Or would it be better (my plan) to wait and see our income will be and then start to apply then?

Also generally how long after you get the all clear to go to Hungary do you have to leave and go? Mainly i ask cause of plane tickets. I do not want to book a flight and then the processing take longer than we expect or like they need more info etc and have to change the flight plans. But there again, we want to leave soon after getting the all clear.

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Greetings, By no means I'm an expert on the subject but I can tell you my personal experience. I applied initially for the 1 year visa also. Most non citizens without a life partner or Hungarian spouse do that. It is a relatively simple process compared to the US. You need to fill out a four page application, attach a passport photo, pay a 18,000 forint stamp fee (illetek). You do have to prove income and health insurance. 24K income for two people I think will be more than adequate for residency purposes. You do have to prove that you have some type of health insurance. Yes you can buy some locally but it may be somewhat expensive. Likely you could buy in to the local system once you a resident but nos sure if you have to be long term (5 year) or the initial 1 year permit will allow you to do that. Incidentally the process is NOT long as the immigration office here has 4 weeks to decide on the permit. They seem to be pretty good about that. So if you come here on the 90 day allowable stay and you apply after a week or two you will get your answer way before you would have to leave! Waiting times at the offices vary from 5 minutes to 45 minutes. Much better than in the US anywhere. Hope this helps although "HotJazzMan" who I suspect to be working for the Hungarian Government will no doubt share his wise and profound take on this@ LOL!

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Thanks for that, it really does help.

I know to get the residency 1 yr permit you have to of found an apartment to live in. But to get the visa to leave usa and be in Hungary legally do you have to of already found housing?

Or should we show up in Hungary and find a rental and apply for the residence permit after being there a week?

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I guess we will have to already have somewhere to live because we will be shipping all of our stuff over there. And we would have to have some address in Hungary as a destination.

I guess i am just concerned at how hard it will be to rent a place from usa to live in Hungary

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I got the highest deductable possible...2000 euro and shaved it down to 60 bucks a months...i am Canadian so that is 50 USD.

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I got the highest deductable possible...2000 euro and shaved it down to 60 bucks a months...i am Canadian so that is 50 USD.

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2k usd pension is a large sum atm.However when the usd is worthless and foreign pension fund payments are stopped you may be in difficulty. Hungary is a country upside down ...they do not recognise the value of their own land and it is dirt cheap....get a hectare in the villiages and u will live like a king no matter what happens.

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Greetings, actually you can stay in a "hotel or motel" and apply for a residence permit. All it is required that once you change your address you notify immigration of the new address. You are given a paper yes paper card with that address. This is NOT your conventional "address" or "lakcim" card in Hungary and most people including Police don't recognize it as such. It is reminiscent of the old Communist times when you had to go to the police and declare your residence unless it was a hotel then they automatically reported it. But if you stayed with a relative you had to go to the Police and report it. So the temp residence is NOT a problem! Hope this helps...

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Greetings, indeed "village life" is less expensive if you prefer the "simple life". But...if you don't speak the language expect a little difficulty however. Also "foreigners" with no real address "lakcim card" will pay a higher tax, be it tax or building tax or whatever the "local" Government calls it. In Hungary each locality "onkormanyzat" can determine what they want to charge so CHECK IT OUT FIRST!!!

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Greetings, indeed "village life" is less expensive if you prefer the "simple life". But...if you don't speak the language expect a little difficulty however. Also "foreigners" with no real address "lakcim card" will pay a higher tax, be it tax or building tax or whatever the "local" Government calls it. In Hungary each locality "onkormanyzat" can determine what they want to charge so CHECK IT OUT FIRST!!!

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Greetings, indeed "village life" is less expensive if you prefer the "simple life". But...if you don't speak the language expect a little difficulty however. Also "foreigners" with no real address "lakcim card" will pay a higher tax, be it tax or building tax or whatever the "local" Government calls it. In Hungary each locality "onkormanyzat" can determine what they want to charge so CHECK IT OUT FIRST!!!

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Greetings, indeed "village life" is less expensive if you prefer the "simple life". But...if you don't speak the language expect a little difficulty however. Also "foreigners" with no real address "lakcim card" will pay a higher tax, be it tax or building tax or whatever the "local" Government calls it. In Hungary each locality "onkormanyzat" can determine what they want to charge so CHECK IT OUT FIRST!!!

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Not really sure where you from or if you even "ethnically" Hungarian but you are FULL OF IT! First of all "Mr KNOW IT ALL" even if in the Capital City they give you 227 for one USD does not mean that in a small town you get that rate. Likely you will get 221 or 222 at the same time. Since YOU KNOW everything I f would of figured that you know that! But I guess I was wrong!

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Of course you can! It is not as "strapped" as some indicate here. Don't plan on living in the heart of Budapest, but there are plenty of larger cities with hospitals, with reasonable housing. I have dozens of relatives in Hungary, most of whom make less than $500 a month!!! Do your research, choose wisely, get help from someone there, rent first, buy later.

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P.S. One of my cousins just sold her apartment in the outskirts of Budapest for $31,000USD. Use a lawyer to purchase when you get ready to do so.

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Hey Felicia,
We have enjoyed living in Gyor on about $2k/mo for the past 5 yrs. We are working so have the national health care, but I still pay for my US insurance out of my pension income. I have a resident card since I have a job here (catch 22 a little, cant get a job if you don't have a card, cant get a card if you don't have a job, just like US). Living outside of downtown BP is not expensive; comparable to most anywhere in the US.

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We are planning on just going to Hungary on the 90 day entry and applying for our resident permit when we get there. That seems to be doable.

Now the big question we are working on is travel there. I see plan flights anywhere from 800 usd a person to 3,000 usd a person!

But we will figure that out.

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if you find a deal on airfare, please share. and are those previous amounts one-way or round trip? thanks

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Yes if i find a good airfare deal i will post it to help others.

My father and i are moving to Hungary and have no plans on returning to USA so any flight prices i quote are One Way

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Try Norwegian. The basic fare is very cheap but they charge you for everything else pretty much!

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Norwegian.Airlines? Norwegian Airlines from USA to Hungary, or fly to Norway and then Hungary from there?

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Most airlines use their hub. I.e. Lufthansa (Frankfurt), Air France (Paris), KLM (Amsterdam). The good thing is that unlike a lot of airlines (unless a frequent flier with miles) on Norwegian you can buy one-way and it doesn't cost double of a two way ticket. But they will charge you for the meal, luggage etc. Must book in advance as they only fly once a week I think to Budapest. I never flown them I just discovered it a a few months ago!

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Yes i see! Thanks for telling me about Norwegian, i looked on their site and it is much cheaper!

We live in central Florida so i looked at from the closest they fly out of which is Miami to Budapest for 2 adults is by far cheaper than anyone else i have seen.

Then like i do not think ground travel from Budapest to Debrecen should be much hassle or money.

Yes it looks like from Florida here best times price wise and our schedule should be June or maybe August. So about 30 days or so in advance.

But thanks greatly cause this is where we can focus on.

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I think Norwegian flies in to Orlando once a week (you can double check) if you live in Central Florida.
Also ground transportation is easy from Budapest to Debrecen either by bus or by rail. There is one bus depo but there is multiple train stations. Likely Nyugati (West) station or possibly Eastern (Keleti) palyaudvar (rail station). Instead of a taxi take the Limo service actually MiniBus svc. It will cost about 2,800-3,200 forint per person from the airport to the railway station. Incidentally there is a university in Debrecen. There is about 700 students from Africa far as I know. I just mention this because this may be of interest to you. I just bring it up because recently was on the news as you know because of the Ebola and these students perhaps travelling home and back. I just figure I mention it. Be safe and best to your dad!

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Sorry for the lateness. I hadn't been to the site for a while so my apologies. If you can buy a place it is best. We have friends who own small flats in Budapest and they are lucky to be getting $250 a month each for them. So, small apartments can be had for low prices. We live in Balatonfured and bought our house and live well on our retirement income. The largest expenses are utilities and we have a large house so that runs about $600 a month. But, it is a big house so a smaller place would be a lot less. Taxes and insurance are so small as to be considered trivial around $200 a year each. As was mentioned if you move to a village it is a lot less expensive and some relatively nice rural areas can be found with excellent prices. The closer you get to Austria the more acceptance of foreigners and this is especially true around Lake Balaton. We are retired military and we used to submit everything to Tricare which had an error rate in excess of 400% for claims so we just don't bother anymore. We actually only pay cash for medical and being in our 60's we haven't ever spent more than $5000 a year including several major surgeries. The health care is excellent. It is frugal but that is okay. The medical center in Veszprem is really wonderful and we have the heart institute here in Balatonfured. Even a catastrophic illness won't bankrupt you. We moved my 90 year old mother here this year and all is well and she gets good care even though her Medicare won't work here. VA probably won't cover you or it will be terrible like Tricare. If that is a requirement then move to the Philippines or to Puerto Rico which both have VA hospitals. I have friends who did that and they are satisfied. But, if you like Europe then Hungary is an excellent choice. I would look at Tapolca or Sombethy as possibilities or some of the villages within 10 km of Lake Balaton. We love it here and do not regret moving here at all.

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Welcome back "Bor"! Best to your Mom. Hope she will like it here!

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borschelrh

Thanks for the info

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You are welcome. I haven't encountered any other Americans like us, meaning those with no Hungarian roots at all, who made this move to Hungary. It is worth doing though. We flew over and spent some time looking at different countries and finally decided on Hungary as the best mix for us and haven't regretted it. In some ways it defies logic that the cost of living is actually lower. Mostly, this is because the lack of property taxes and the very low health costs relative to the US. Another nice city to consider would be Veszprem or halfway to the lake in Felsoors or Nemeszvamos or even Hidekut. My advice is if you come to Hungary try and find a place close enough to amenities such as a regional Medical Center like in Veszprem. There is also good shopping there as well which is something Americans like us have a problem figuring out. For us Balatonfured turned out to be the best solution as luck would have it.

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Also, I spent the first 3 years here commuting back and forth to DC to work as a consultant. I worked 1 or 2 weeks a month there and spent a lot of time flying back and forth. Being here in Balatonfured we are more or less equidistant to Vienna or Budapest. I tend to only use Expedia or Orbitz and typically the best rates are through Frankfurt to DC and generally averages $650 round trip coach class. The drive to either airport is a huge pain and takes 2 hrs to Budapest and 2.5 to Vienna from here. So, if you plan to fly a lot then live closer to one of those cities. In Vienna typically I use Swiss Air and/or Lufthansa and rarely Austria Air and all are part of the same Alliance. Lately though KLM has had better rates through Amsterdam. When we fly in Europe (Moscow) or to Asia we use Aeroflot which typically has the best rates. In Budapest there are a number of cheap no frills airlines like Wizzair that fly around Europe for good rates much cheaper than driving the same distance. There is no mass transit to the Budapest airport though so you must drive there. To get to Vienna is a hassle for me by train as there are no trains from Balatonfured and I have to drive to Veszprem and take this amazingly ridiculous single car (and very slow) train to Gyor where I can then catch a fast train to Vienna which has a metro to the airport. The train to Gyor is fun though if you have time and can tolerate the weirdness. The trains to/from Budapest are also kind of bizarre. Sometimes you actually get one of the new modern and comfortable trains Hungary bought but normally you get these old soviet ones with wooden benches dating from the 50's. But, in Hungary once you turn 65 public transportation is free (not actually as there is a 250 HUF fee each time). The Gyor train station is another experience well worth doing as it hasn't been renovated since the Soviet days and there are signs in Russian carved into the concrete everywhere which is kind of cool if you like the odd and esoteric stuff like I do.

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Yes we are going to fly from Florida to Hungary. But that will be one way as we do not plan on coming back to USA.

Coming next year we will have to look at shipping costs and how that all works.

Now once in Hungary yes we do plan on traveling threw out Europe and maybe down the road when we get more settled Asia.

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borscheirh:

I did meet a young woman (late 20s - I think) at Fat Mo's in Budapest, who moved to HU/BUD, and had no Hungarian roots. None. She was from Boston.

Her story was, that she was traveling on vacation through Europe with a friend, and when they got to HU, she got thoroughly smitten with BUD/HU, and decided she just gotta move b/c this is where she had to live - period.
She spoke no Hungarian, but still, gave up her apt in Boston and moved to BUD.

At the time when I met her, she got a job with a US company in BUD - no immediate need for Hungarian language skills, but I did not inquire in what capacity.

She seemed to be very happy with her move/decision.

She did not have a boyfriend in tow there, plus based on her story, it did not appear that her move was due to a Hungarian heartthrob she met at the first visit.

This was a one time casual meet, essentially an introduction through a casual acquaintance (also an expat American originally from the West Coast), so I do not know what happened to her afterwards.

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Please look at my post on the thread "Moving back to California from Hungary" (by Lanchid).

For your move, you may want to look at this company; they're located in your neck of the woods, in FL. They weren't the cheapest, but were in the lower half.

They can provide from full service to barebones.
Some of the "cheapest" ones were deceptive, providing only port-to-port like say, in your case, from Miami to Bremenhaven.
Figure, that whatever the quote is, you will have to pay out another 50% of that in incidentals, like fees, inspections and whatnots which are independent from the shipping co.

Make sure you have these b/c it's required:
All your items are listed (per box - of course - number the boxes, suitcases) but not like "1 lot of shirts", but like: "14 men's shirts".
All electronics must be separately listed w/ S/N and precise description.

All must be in Hungarian.

Your duty-free status can only be established, if you already have a 'permanent resident' status at time of customs, so you have to get cracking on that as soon as you arrive.

Figure 40 to 90 days before you get your stuff into your place of residence.

Theft is rampant, so smaller valuables should be brought with you.
Disable electronics to the extent you can (cables separately, remotes packed separately, power supply separately, remove memory and hard drive - if applicable. Hard drive (of desktop, or of laptop - if it's in the shipment) should be with you, due to the sensitivity of the info on it, plus they don't have an o/s.

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We have a car here in US but i was thinking we sale it and buy one over there.

But then i am hearing non citizens can not own a car? Do you think long term rental would work?

How would we go about having a car? We should have money to buy one but then i hear legally we can not so i am confused.

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Greetings,
A slight correction. It is not that you have to be a citizen to register a car but you do have to have an address card. The one year paper one won't do it but the 5 year residency permit does bring with it a regular address card. I did hear that if one hires a lawyer might be able to get the registration done and receive a plate reserved for foreigners. This was 2 years ago though and well things change frequently in Hungary! Be safe!

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Oh goodness!

Ok so like what do people do that are in Hungary during the first year with the residence permit?

My father is disabled and having a car is a must. He walks with a cane and can drive and i drive him around also. So going without a car would be very very hard on him.

Are long term rental cars affordable?

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Pudding is full of it - as USUAL.

Brought in not one, but two cars at the same time (this year January - in a 40' container). Duty free. Nobody asked for any residency card at any time of the process. However: I had to show legal residency/stay in HU plus had to prove that I lived outside the EU (NOT only HU!) for at least 12 mos previous. For that they needed utility bills - paper(!) version. Needed ALL 12 mos, the immediately previous 11 wouldn't do. YOU CANNOT DO this on your own! You MUST hire people, to do it, one for the importation process of the cars and household items (about a $400 fee) AND the other agent for the car registration process - including registration taxes, inspections, plates, origin certification and other various whatnots. That'll be about $1500 total - unless your car has a big engine (over 2000cc/2Liters). Insurance will be additional. I paid a total of 700000HUF ($2600) for the two (2) cars. The agent stored the cars free for us for 6 weeks - until all the paperwork and plates were complete. I had to do nothing, they took care of everything - even arranged insurances at the time of the pick-up.
Like I said, all you need, that you have the docs to prove your legal long-term stay in HU. The car(s) cannot be sold for one year after you pick it/them up.

P.m. me for the agents' names and numbers. You could hire a 20' container for household stuff and one smallish car. It will be delivered to BUD. Even what you think is small in the US, will feel BIG in HU - trust me I know. For example: a Ford Focus hatchback is small in the US, but in HU it'll feel like a medium sized car (width, length, parking space).

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To the best of my knowledge, after your legal residency permit is in your passport, you can get a residency card - lakokartya - in 30 minutes or less, at the local (district or town) "documents office" (okmányiroda).

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00abuse

There are 4 types of residency permits. The first is permanent for people from other EU countries. The second is for former Hungarians or those directly descended from Hungarians. The third is for those living in non EU countries and not ethnic Hungarians. I am in this latter group. You can only get a 5 year temporary permit and no address card. After 3 years you can apply for permanent residency and only then can you get a residence card and in this instance only it is issued from the main immigration office in Budapest and not from your local mayor. Last year they passed a new law prohibiting registration of cars without an address card. I know things we just bought a new Passat and couldn't register it. We can own it and get ownership pares but cannot be an actual user. So we are borrowing it from our gardener until we get our residence permit which is shockingly expensive to get. I did verify all of this with the central immigration office in Budapest so as bizarre as it sounds this is where we are at. I am currently waiting for the official translation of our U.S. police checks which required 6 notarized signatures done at the U.S. embassy at $150 a pop, our 2 birth certificate, our 2 passports, and our marriage certificate. That comes to 140,900 huf, plus the fees of 20,000, photos 6,000 and whatever incidentals they come up with after we submit the package. Now there is a new requirement that in the past 3 years you cannot be out of the country more than 40 days cumulative. So, clearly they are making this very difficult for people coming from non-EU countries who are not Hungarians. People from Canada and the U.S. Fall into this category the same as Africans etc.

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Hotjazzman

Were you talking about cars you brought in from USA or within EU?

Our car is just a 1999 Buick we really are not going to bring it to Hungary.

We are looking at shipping just our personal and household items. We are going to try to do i cheaply on the slow boat. Hopefully for under a thousand usd.

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Hotjazzman

Are you saying you can get the address card with the 1yr visa?

I am going to consult the embassy about this of course. But like i said we want to just buy a cheap decent used car when we get into Hungary.

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Borschelrh

We are like you in the last case. We are born in USA, Have no Hungarian family

Now you say you can get a 5yr temporary residence permit? I have not heard of that one? I thought you can only get one for 1yr then renew it in 1yr.

How did you drive a car before doing all of this?

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Hotjazzman

When you say all the boxes have to be in Hungarian? Do you mean the contents have to be written in Hungarian? Is that something the shipping company normally does? Or do we have to do that ourselves?
.
I will look at that company. We are trying to keep the shipping for 1k or less.

We want it to go on the slow boat over sea and no hurry. Both that is the cheapest way and we will be in no hurry

Also i have to see how much Norwegian Airlines charges for extra luggage as i plan on bringing much stuff just with me on the plane.

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00abuse

We came in 2009 and that 5 year visa was the only one offered. I see on the web page it is still the same. Worse, my passport expired and I had to get a whole new visa in 2011 and my wife in 2014 for the same reason. What was different with hers is her visa is a plastic card and not a stick on page in the passport. But still, neither of us can get an address card. What is also bizarre is both the temporary and permanent visas must be renewed every 5 years. Here is a link to the official Hungarian immigration office web page http://www.bmbah.hu/index.php?lang=en and you can peruse through it.

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00abuse

Don't bring a Buick. It's too big not only in size but the engine as well. It would fall into the high polluting category b/c of its age. They'll make you pay dearly for both of the latter. The registration payment tied to both engine size and the age/pollution level of it. And you'll pay in anguish and frustration and gasoline for the physical size (and weight).

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00abuse

Sorry, I did not cover this, the cars were brought from the US, together with our household stuff in a 40' container.

Other: Sorry, you simply cannot do it for $1000. Think of a LOT more.

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Hotjazzman

Again as i said we are not bringing our car. It is not worth the hassle as you stated.

We won't fill up a 20 foot one. We will have some boxes. I saw quotes of 12$ a cubic foot

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00abuse

Thanks for the link.

We are looking at the "Residence Permit for Other Purposes" one. Because we have no Hungarian family, We are born in USA and we will have savings and my father has income from SSD. So we will not be working in Hungary and we have no Hungarian spouses.

From talking to the embassy and others alike you can get that when we move to Hungary within the 90 days.

Now here is where i am confused: That first residence permit validity length. I have read it is for 1yr, then i have heard 2yr from others, then 3yrs and now i do see from the site and you say it was for 5yrs.

I will have to contact the embassy again about this of course but i am curious.

We have not plans to move or visit USA again. And we plan on buying a house upon arrival in Hungary. So the longer the permit the better.

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00abuse

Yes, that is the same we have. Last May we brought over my 90 year old mother on the same visa and it is for 6 years so it seems to be arbitrary and probably dependent on your situation. We did nothing until she came here and did it in less than 2 weeks so it is an easy process, at least it is after doing it 4 times already. My advice is to wait until you get here as you will still have to prove a residence and local bank info so they can verify you have an income here in Hungary. The medical seems to be the sticking point. I am retired from the Army and have Tricare but they don't provide any documentation whatsoever so all I could do is print the web pages and a copy of my military ID card. We don't actually use Tricare as the medical costs are so low it isn't worth the enormous hassle of filing claims and refilling them repeatedly. Tricare uses a lowest bidder contractor so the error rate is over 400 percent meaning each claim gets resubmitted at least 4 times and it has never ever been correct. Being an expatriate you have no Congressional representation so you have no one to complain to in cases such as this. Clearly the military is putting a very minimal effort to care for overseas retirees. So, unless we have something catastrophic we won't file claims. But the medical here is excellent and relatively inexpensive. I had cataract surgery for under $800. My wife had leg surgery to remove screws from a break she got in Sarajevo (even that original surgery there was under $1000) was less than $700 including 7 days in the hospital. So medical here in Europe is a far different thing than in the U.S. Here doctors still care more about treating patients than making piles of money. I haven't seen that in the U.S. For many years. Profit is the only motivation for anything in the U.S. now.

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So, I can confirm after submitting our applications to the Immigration office that it is true, you cannot get an address card until you receive permanent residency. I asked about car registration and yes, you can "own" a car and the title is in your name but you cannot register the car in your name until you get permanent residence. Therefore you must use a Hungarian citizen (whom you trust well) to do that and then get a long term permission to use the car in writing from them. Also, the insurance will be in their name as well. This is in fact what we actually did with our new car and once we get our permanent residency we can then re-register it in our names. As bizarre as that all sounds it is in fact the way it is. The actual process for the application was even more complicated than I had thought and additionally requires a Curriculum Vitae written in Hungarian (of course) as well as a narrative of why Hungary should grant you this permission (also written in Hungarian). Then you also need affidavits from each spouse granting permission to the other to live in the house (assuming 50/50 ownership in Hungary). Again, this is a somewhat bizarre requirement. What I didn't anticipate was you must apply for the permanent residence at least 3 months in advance of your visa expiration. Naturally I was 6 weeks out so had to submit a request for an additional visa as well just to be in compliance. You also must declare in writing that if your application is rejected you will leave Hungary immediately. That sounds ominous. But, like all governments (including the US) they must allow for this contingency.

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00abuse

Greetings all, I couldn't help but smile as "Bor" used the word "bizarre" a few times! But it's true and while many can say a lot of similar bureaucratic nonsense about the US, outside the IRS and Immigration I don't think is so bad! While "Bor" will have a dance or two with Hungarian Immigration it will not be close to what US Immigration put's one through. Which in fact is funny and sad all at once because we have millions of illegals in the US. Yet-our Government will refuse a "tourist" visa to Hungarian citizen based on the blanket "214(b) of the US Immigration and Naturalization Act". What is the zest of it? "You have not proven to the authorities that one has sufficient ties locally and might not come back!" "Bor" I'm sure you will not receive such treatment from the Hungarian Immigration authorities. Just pay for those stamps and all will be fine my friend! Best of luck once again to you and yours!

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borschelrh

That is crazy about the car! I guess we are going to have to start with renting a car long term or something. I really do not know this is something i really did not think would be an issue so i have to devote time to addressing it.

We know no one in Hungary so putting it in someones name is not an option.

I am not married so whatever house i buy will just be in my name, and my dad will live with me but he is divorced and anyway it will be in my name anyway so that should be ok.

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peddington


Yes i am sure US is hard also. I am just trying for me and my father to get visa to live in Hungary! I am hoping we can get like 5yrs to start with cause i am buying a house either upon arrival or within a year so it would help not to have to renew really quick.

Cause my dad is disabled and does not want to be moving and neither do i!

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00abuse

Hi! I'm not an expert but likely you won't get a 5 year visa right off the bat unless, you married to a Hungarian citizen (or are in a registered partnership-yes there is such thing in Hungary and it will cost about 29,000 HUF or so to do)
or you have a Hungarian relative; father, mother, sister etc. However even if you get a 1 year visa you should not worry. Unless you have adverse police/criminal involvement or such they likely renew your visa. As I recall you are a black American lady - but an American. This is important because currently there is a flood of immigrants from Africa flooding Europe. The EU in it's wisdom wants all EU countries to absorb these immigrants/would be immigrants and Hungary's Orban is resisting the idea and rightfully so. Many of these folks want the German, Belgian and French jobs and Euro not the Hungarian wages and Forint! Good luck!

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peddington

Yes i have heard many different things about the number of years one gets with your first residence permit/visa.

I have heard and thought you get 1 year. But then i have heard of 3 year then i asked the embassy and they said you can get 5 to start with. The embassy said that you can get 5 to start with if you passport allows it.

{Dear Felicia Oni Steemer,

For detailed information concerning the conditions of the procedure please visit the website of the Office of Immigration and Nationality.

Residence permit for other purposes, http://www.bmbah.hu/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=57&Itemid=811&lang=en#

As indicated on the website, the validity of a Residence Permit for other purposes is no more than five years, which may be extended for a maximum of five years on each occasion.
The validity of a residence permit is subject to the expiration date of the passport.

While determining the validity period of the residence permit the authority has regard to the validity of the passport as well. The permitted length of residence is determined based on the third country nationals’s travel document which should remain valid for a further 3 months after the expiry of his/her residence permit.



Best regards,

dr. Petronella Molnár

consul



Embassy of Hungary

Tel: (202) 362 – 6730

Fax: (202) 966 – 8135

www.washington.gov.hu}

So i honestly am not sure!

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peddington

Yes you are correct!

I am a black woman i was born in USA. My father who is moving with me is also born in USA and US Navy veteran.

We were born born in USA both have USA born parents.

No Africans or Hungarians in our background.

Well we have ancestors from Africa but not in the past like 300 years! Well my father's grandparents are from Italy and with effort we could try something in that regard but after him going to Italy many times in the Navy he does not want to live there! he hee.

So no criminal record at all and no Africa so i guess we should be ok.

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Peddling ton, I appreciate what you are saying as my wife tells similar tales over her naturalization to the U.S. The Hungarian process is not all that difficult and the basic test is if you have enough money to live here and contribute to society, have no criminal background, and respect Hungary and its customs. This is why there is a period of 3 years between temporary visa and a settlement permit. It really is a minimum compared to the U.S. On top of that everyone at Immigration have been friendly and very helpful, even when it is somewhat weird like the car registration issue. I cannot complain ever about the processes here even though they can be charmingly slow and locked in Hungarian traditions.

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00abuse

OK that's fine. I for one don't believe everything the Embassy tells me! LOL!

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00abuse

Indeed "Bor" indeed. I appreciate your sense of humor although I would not characterize it "charming". Individual bureaucrats are one thing but bureaucracy on the national level is a disgrace. You eventually, if not already found out that a local official often doesn't have "final say" or "approval authority". Many things from your local City Hall has to go to the county and even to some directorate to get "approval". Take for example marriage. If you as an American marry a local, naturally have to show proof that you single, passport, birth certificate (translated) by the National Bureau for Translation etc. But many don't know that in addition to the 30 day waiting period you as a foreigner can't get married unless an office at the national level approves it. And of course they have another 30 days for that. The 30 day waiting and their approval (at the national level) can't run concurrently. Now that my friend is a bunch of BS and bureaucracy at it's finest. That of course is only one example! One side note. Foreigners that speak no or limited Hungarian are "humored" to an extent. If one speaks the language well there is an "expectation" that they "should know" and let me tell you bureaucracy is less patient with them! Be well my friend and enjoy!

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00abuse

I understand what you are saying and it can be frustrating. Yes, it helps to be an American, with minimal language skills, earnest attitude, retired military, a doctorate degree, money in the bank, etc. I think what I am really saying is that at an individual level the treatment has been exceptional when it is under their personal control and where in the US I would get hassled with some kind of harsh passive/aggressive attitude, particularly from low level government workers at bureaucracies, especially at state or county levels but here instead they take the time to help you any way they can. That has been refreshing and so far has been my experience everywhere in the country at shops etc. The level of helpfulness and positivity is always refreshing to experience. After 40 years of dealing with petty bureaucrats in the military, especially as a senior research scientist dealing with government funding agencies, I am still amazed at the enormous differences between the people in Hungary and the people in the US. I have only run into one obstreperous bureaucrat here and found a way to bypass him. The secret in Hungary is to make friends with people who know how it works.

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00abuse

Just and update as i know others have asked.

We have been a bit delayed due to a number of factors. One being a small health issue with my father. But on the good side his neuro oncologist that did his surgery has set up a referral with a specialist in Budapest that can deal with his cancer checkups( we had a video conference)and also we got information on proton beam treatment locations in Europe if his cancer reoccurs. (The type of cancer tumor he had was extremely rare only 700 people in the world got his same type the year of his surgery, 2013) (If anyone knows anything about Dr Peter Varga or the Buda Health Center in Budapest feel free to pm me)

That said we are going to be in Hungary on December 6!

Which from what i read is Christmas in Hungary. My father says that is a good sign! he hee

We still have some things to figure out and take care of but tickets are brought so we are leaving 100% now!

We are still planning on buying a house upon arrival i mean we will rent some short term place and look for a house right away. Hopefully we can find one on our price range if not then apartments are always an option and then we will buy a house in about 6mos

I have looked at some homes online and talked to some real estate agents it seems the area around Miskolic or Eger ie near the Slovak border seem to be of a good value price wise and also quiet.

One thing that is kinda cool is our flight has a 9 hour layover in Oslo Norway so after being in Norway in Dec for 9 hours i am sure Budapest will be a warm up! he hee.

I am still trying to find info on life insurance in Hungary! We contacted one company here in USA and they claimed they had international agents, but that was just Canada and Costa Rica, when we said Hungary the guy said "Oh that is a Communist country we do not deal with those people" how ignorant can you get!

So if anyone knows any good info on life insurance please pass it on!

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