Workforce Mobility & Immigration in Hungary

Work permit and EU Blue Card applications, business residence permit coordination, and salary threshold compliance for internationally mobile employees.

Hungary Reviewed September 2026

Currency

HUF (Hungarian forint)

EU/EEA/Swiss nationals

No visa or work permit required

Main non-EU route

EU Blue Card and the National Card / Guest Investor Card are the main routes for non-EU hires

Registration deadline

Typically within 1–2 weeks of arrival

Housing — single employee

~€650–950/month (1-bed, central)

Housing — family of four

~€1,300–1,900/month (3-bed)

Talk to a Hungary mobility expert

Moving workforce into Hungary

Hungary applies a flat 9% corporate income tax rate, the lowest in the EU, uniformly across company sizes with no progressive bands. The Kft, Hungary's standard limited liability company, requires HUF equivalent of roughly €7,500 in minimum share capital, available for immediate operating use after formation rather than held in escrow.

Discuss your Hungary relocation plan

Freedom of movement, and the route for everyone else

Nationals of EU and EEA member states, and Switzerland, have full freedom of movement into Hungary: no visa and no work permit are required, though address and tax registration is still expected shortly after arrival.

For third-country nationals, EU Blue Card and the National Card / Guest Investor Card are the main routes for non-EU hires

Confirm the right route for a hire

What sits with the company

Once the right to work is confirmed, payroll registration follows — see our Payroll & Workforce Management in Hungary guide for the employer registration steps that come next.

Set up a relocation process

What it costs to house a relocating employee

Figures below are indicative for Budapest, Hungary's primary market for relocating employees — a company relocating multiple staff should budget by destination city, not a single national number.

Item	Single employee	Family of four
Typical apartment	1-bedroom	3-bedroom
Rent (Budapest)	~€650–950/month (1-bed, central)	~€1,300–1,900/month (3-bed)
Security deposit	Typically 1–3 months' rent, by negotiation	Typically 1–3 months' rent, by negotiation

Get a city-specific relocation estimate

Frequently asked questions

Why does Hungary tax revenue as well as profit?

In addition to the 9% corporate income tax on profit, Hungarian municipalities levy a local business tax (HIPA) of up to 2% on net revenue, plus a 0.3% innovation contribution on the same base. Both apply regardless of profitability, meaning a company with strong revenue but a loss-making year still owes these taxes.

What is the KIVA regime and who can use it?

KIVA is an alternative small business tax regime taxing the sum of personnel costs and dividends rather than standard accounting profit. As of December 2025, eligibility was expanded to companies with fewer than 100 employees and revenue/balance sheet under HUF 6 billion, with exit thresholds raised to 200 employees and HUF 12 billion.

Why do director-shareholders have a minimum social contribution requirement?

Hungarian law requires social contributions to be paid on at least 30% of the minimum wage (HUF 322,800/month for 2026) for any director drawing a salary, even a minimal one — preventing structures designed purely to minimise contribution exposure through artificially low director pay.

How does the social contribution cap on capital income work?

The 13% social contribution tax on capital income (such as dividends) applies only until total annual income from work and capital gains reaches 24 times the monthly minimum wage — approximately €20,000 for 2026. Above that threshold, no further social contribution is due on capital income for the year. Employment income itself is not subject to this cap.

Talk to a Hungary mobility expert

Companies modelling Hungary purely on its 9% headline corporate rate consistently miss the local business tax's revenue basis — a company with strong revenue but thin or negative margins still owes HIPA, a structural difference from profit-based tax systems elsewhere in Europe that changes cash flow planning materially.

Talk to an expert Explore our Workforce Mobility service