2 open routes
The routes to living in Hungary.
Our verdict. Hungary's guest investor permit suits a buyer who wants ten years of EU residence backed by property, without buying a home: €250,000 in a Hungarian real estate fund, held for five years, with at least 40% of the fund in Hungarian residential property. Decisions are due within 21 days, the permit is renewable once for ten more years, family members can join with the right to work, and citizenship is possible after about eight years. The catch is that a direct home purchase does not count, and the government that took office in 2026 has pledged to end the scheme. Compared with Latvia's company route, the cost is five times higher, for five times the permit length.
Guest investor residence permit: real estate fund
Open66the government that took office in 2026 had pledged to end the scheme, but no change has been made as of October 2026
- Minimum
- €250,000 · about $280k
- What counts
- €250,000 in investment certificates of a real estate fund registered with the Hungarian National Bank, held for at least 5 years in a blocked securities account; at least 40% of the fund's net assets must be Hungarian residential property; the units must still be held when the permit is extended
- Processing
- 21 days (statutory deadline; the time taken to prove the investment does not count)
- Permit
- 10 years, renewable: once, for up to 10 more years
- Time you must spend there
- No rule published
- Path to a passport
- Citizenship possible after about 8 years.
- Family
- family members can join on a linked family residence permit, with the right to work
- Tax
- Not published
Official source · Second source · checked 2026-10-20
Guest investor residence permit: donation to a higher-education institution
Open52the government that took office in 2026 had pledged to end the scheme, but no change has been made as of October 2026
- Minimum
- €1,000,000 · about $1.12m
- What counts
- €1m donation to a higher-education institution run by a public-interest trust foundation, to support education, research or the arts; the permit can be extended without a further donation
- Processing
- 21 days (statutory deadline; the time taken to prove the investment does not count)
- Permit
- 10 years, renewable: once, for up to 10 more years
- Time you must spend there
- No rule published
- Path to a passport
- Citizenship possible after about 8 years.
- Family
- family members can join on a linked family residence permit, with the right to work
- Tax
- Not published
Official source · Second source · checked 2026-10-20
Guest investor residence permit: residential property purchase
Closedclosed before opening (removed in the Hungarian Gazette of 20 Dec 2024, before its planned 1 Jan 2025 start)
- Minimum
- €500,000 · about $561k
- What counts
- Direct purchase of residential property worth €500,000+
- Processing
- Not published
- Permit
- Not published
- Time you must spend there
- No rule published
- Path to a passport
- No set path to permanent residence or citizenship through this route.
- Family
- Not published
- Tax
- Not published
Official source · Second source · checked 2026-10-20
Residency rules, thresholds and fees change often, sometimes without notice. Everything here is general information, checked on the date shown, not legal, tax or immigration advice: confirm with the official source and a licensed adviser before you act. Continental sells property; we don’t arrange visas or residency.
Hungary residency by investment