Residency by Investment
Hungary.
Ten Years, Then Ten More.
The Guest Investor Program, launched in late 2023 and amended in 2024: €250,000 into a Hungarian real estate fund, or a €1 million donation to a public trust, for a ten-year EU residence permit extendable by ten more — with no requirement to live there.
Two Ways In. A Twenty-Year Horizon.
One of the longest permits in Europe: ten years at issue, ten more on extension, and no obligation to live in the country while it runs. Two to four months from start to ID card — with the timetable set by the fund's subscription dates rather than by the applicant.
Ten Years, Extendable by Ten
The Guest Investor residence permit is issued for up to ten years and can be extended for another ten — the longest first term of any programme in this menu.
Schengen — 90 Days in Any 180
Visa-free access to the Schengen Area for three months in any six-month period. It is not unlimited free movement, and it is not a work permit for other member states.
No Residency Requirement — but an Address
Holders are not required to live in Hungary to keep the permit. They are required to keep the investment and a registered address in the country, which is why the address service is a line on the sheet rather than an afterthought.
9% Corporate, 15% Personal
Hungary publishes one of the lowest corporate rates in the EU at 9%, and a flat 15% on personal income. A residence permit is not in itself a tax residency ruling — where you pay turns on where you actually live.
Two to Four Months
No interview, no language test, and no requirement to show education or managerial experience. The pace is set by the fund's subscription dates, then roughly 21 days to the permit and two weeks to the card.
Healthcare and Education
Access to Hungarian healthcare and to its universities and schools once the residence permit is issued.
Family on the Same Permit — to a Point
A spouse and children under 18 join the Guest Investor permit. Dependent parents, siblings and other direct-line relatives can obtain Hungarian permits of up to three years, but through separate procedures rather than on this one.
A Fund, Not a Landlord
The €250,000 route buys units in a regulated property fund — at least 40% of its net asset value in Hungarian residential projects — so there is no building to manage, let or maintain from abroad.
Who Cannot Apply
The programme is closed to Russian and Belarusian nationals. It is open to Iranian, Afghan and Ukrainian citizens, which is worth saying in the same breath because those three are refused elsewhere. Applicants must also be outside any Schengen Information System alert, expulsion or entry ban, and must not present a risk to public order or security in Hungary. If any of that is in question, it is the first thing to settle — before a fund is chosen and long before a fee is paid.
Residency Is Not Citizenship
This is a residence permit, and a long one — but a Hungarian passport is a different thing, reached by naturalisation with years of genuine residence in the country and the Hungarian language behind it. The permit's great advantage is that you need not live there; that same advantage is what stops the citizenship clock. Which of the two you are actually buying is worth settling now.
Your Entire Journey, In One Panel
From eligibility to the ID card — and the extension ten years later — the Bayat Group panel keeps every document, decision and deadline in one place, guided by Pathinnova AI and reviewed by our legal team.
A Fund You Keep. Or a Gift You Do Not.
Two options, four times apart in price, and only one of them comes back. Everything else on the sheet — the government fees, the professional fee, the insurance and the address — is the same either way.
Non-binding estimate
Select the option that describes your investment. The fund is retained for five years; the donation is not returned.
The €250,000 is an investment you retain, not a payment: it must be held for at least five years, and what it is worth at the end depends on the fund. The permit also requires a registered address in Hungary for as long as it runs. Eligible dependents on the same permit are a spouse and children under 18.
Hungary publishes both the threshold and the fee schedule in euros, so unlike our Greek and Portuguese sheets these add up to a single figure. The professional fee covers a family of up to six.
Applicants must show €27,000 for the main applicant and €16,000 for each dependent — EUR 75,000 as this sheet stands — present in the account at the time the residence application is made. This is money you evidence, not money you send. It is deliberately excluded from every figure below, and it should never be added to one.
The two forint fees are shown at the published euro approximations — HUF 39,000 for permit processing and HUF 15,000 per card — rather than at a live rate. Health insurance and the registered-address service are annual and priced here for the first year only; both continue for as long as the permit does. The professional fee of €60,000 covers a family of up to six, meaning two spouses and four children under 18; beyond six this sheet assumes adult dependents at €10,000 each, where a minor is €5,000. Not included: the €160 appeal fee where an application is refused, document translation and notarisation at €50–€150 per document, apostille and legalisation which vary by jurisdiction, and courier and administrative expenses of €100–€300. On the fund option the €250,000 is retained rather than spent, and what it returns after five years depends on the fund. Figures are indicative, non-binding, and confirmed during due diligence.
Six Steps, and Two Deadlines
Select a step to see what happens — and note that steps three to five run against the clock from your first entry.
Internal Due Diligence and Qualification Assessment
Bayat Group's compliance team conducts an internal due diligence check — a background security screening of the applicant, preparation of KYC (Know Your Client) documentation, and a qualification assessment against the programme's requirements.
Talk It Through. Then Begin.
Our concierge answers your Hungary questions in minutes — and when you are ready, it opens your application right where the conversation ends.
Sending opens your secure Bayat Group account, where an advisor picks the thread up.
Assessed against your own circumstances, in about five minutes.
- It asks about your circumstances, not your paperwork
- It names the trade-offs before you commit to a route
- It ends with the programs you actually qualify for
A scripted example. Your own assessment is private, and takes about five minutes.
Assessment
An adviser that reads your circumstances, then the rulebook.
40+ official programs, each with its own arithmetic. The assessment maps those rules to your situation in a short conversation and tells you where you actually stand.
- It asks about you, not about paperworkWhere your family is going, what your work needs, what you would not give up. Navigating the rules is our business, not your burden.
- Clear, unbiased reasoningWhen options pull in different directions, it calls out the compromise, detailing what each path costs you before you decide.
- A shortlist tailored to youNo generic marketing. Just the programs your profile actually unlocks, with realistic timelines and capital commitments.
Step one of three
Where should we send your code?
One address, one five-digit code. No password to invent, and nothing sent to you that you did not ask for.
Step two of three
Check your email
We sent a 5-digit code to . It expires shortly, so it is worth doing now.
Setting up your assessment…
One moment.