Under Section 6 of the Government Decree, the period of validity of residence permits, establishment permits and immigration permits issued under Act I and II of 2007 (regulating the entry and residence of foreign citizens) shall be automatically extended until the 45th day after the end of the emergency, with the exception of short-stay entry visas and a visas entitling the holder to obtain a residence permit.

In the light of the above, residence permits expiring on or after the 6^th of April 2020 - during the period of the health emergency - do not require an application for an extension, their validity is automatically extended until the 45th day after the end of the emergency. The application for an extension of the aforementioned documents must be submitted to the customer service office of the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (hereinafter: NDAP) by the 15^th day after the end of the emergency.

The above special regulation does not apply to residence permits expired before the 6^th of April 2020. Requests for extension that are already submitted will not be affected by the special regulations, they will be assessed according to the general rules.

Illustrating the special regulations by examples.

In the event for example that if the national health emergency were terminated on the 1^st of July 2020:

• Residence permits expired before the 6^th of April 2020 are not subject to automatic prolongation.
• Residence permits expired between the 6^th of April 2020 and the 1^st of July 2020 will be valid until the 15^th of August 2020. The application for an extension of the permit shall be submitted by the 16^th of July 2020.
• Residence permits expireing between the 1^st of July 2020 and the 15^th of August 2020 will also be valid until the 15^th of August 2020. The application for an extension of the permit shall be submitted by the 16^th of July 2020.

In case that the conditions on the basis of which the residence permit is issued change in the meantime (eg. in case of an intention to continue the studies at another institution, to to stay in Hungary for work purposes, etc.), a new permit shall be applied for. In these cases applications can only be submitted electronically via the EnterHungary platform, for more information please visit www.oif.gov.hu.

We call to attention that leaving Hungary during the time of the health emergency is not recommended, given that the entry to the country is limited and re-entry cannot be guaranteed even with holding a valid residence permit.

We would also like to inform you that the NDAP only intends to handle face-to-face client requests in the course of the health emergency in duly justified cases, at a pre-arranged time. Should you have any further questions regarding the special procedures, you can request information from the Regional Directorate of the NDAP by phone at +36-62-549-140 or by e-mail at dar@oif.gov.hu.