Updated August 12, 2026

HU-DN

The White Card for remote work

Residency in Hungarythe White Card

A residence permit for those who work remotely for foreign companies. It gives life in the centre of Europe and travel around Schengen, is arranged for a year and extended for another. A net income of €3,000 a month has to be evidenced.

Get a preliminary assessment Go through your situation

The conditions are checked against the Hungarian aliens policing authority
Our office works in Budapest
We run the application, the card and the extension

from €3,000 a monthNet income over six months

1 + 1 yearThe card and the extension

Schengen with no visasTravel around Europe

01 / About the program

How the White Card works

Hungary introduced the White Card for remote professionals with foreign income. It is a full residence permit, but within clear limits: a year, an extension of a year and a ban on working inside the country.

Income of €3,000 net

It is evidenced for the six months before entry and kept for the whole term of the stay. The requirement is measured on net income.

A year and one extension

The permit is issued for a maximum of a year and extended once for another year. A second extension for the same purpose is not allowed.

Work only for foreign employers

The permit is withdrawn if the holder works for a Hungarian employer, acts on their behalf or acquires a shareholding in a Hungarian company.

Housing and insurance

A place of residence in Hungary — a lease or ownership — and full medical insurance are evidenced.

02 / What you get

What the status gives you

Life in the centre of Europe

Budapest is two hours’ flight from most European capitals. Hungary is in the Schengen area.

Schengen with no visas

Travel around the Schengen countries — up to 90 days in every 180, with no further permits.

The work does not change

The clients and the employer stay foreign — that is exactly the arrangement the status is designed for.

A clear cost of living

Rent, food and services in Budapest are noticeably cheaper than in Vienna, Prague or Munich.

A full residence permit

This is a residence card, not a long-stay visa: with it an account is opened and everyday services arranged.

Our office on the ground

The BRIDGES team works in Budapest: the support comes from us, not through partners.

A preliminary assessment

Calculate the budget and check the conditions

Tell us who is planning the move. If the family is coming too, we will choose a programme where the spouse and children come into the application.

Who is planning the move?

Get the calculation

about a minuteno calls and no obligationsconfidential

The full calculation for your situation
The timeline for each stage of the process
A choice of programme if the whole family is moving

A Hungarian residence card and a set of documents

03 / Why people apply

Why people arrange the White Card

The White Card is chosen as a way to live lawfully in Europe for two years on foreign income. The limits matter too: family and the path to permanent residence are closed here.

Two years in Schengen

A year and an extension give enough of a horizon to live in Europe and judge whether a long move is worth it.

A threshold below the neighbours

€3,000 net is less than Croatia, Estonia or Greece require at a comparable standard of living.

The location

From Budapest it is convenient to work with European time zones and to reach anywhere in the EU quickly.

Transparent rules

The requirements, the timelines and the grounds for withdrawal are listed directly by the aliens policing authority.

Infrastructure for remote work

Fast internet, co-working spaces and an established international community in Budapest.

A quick entry

No investment, no quotas and no language examination: income, housing and insurance are what is evidenced.

04 / Travel

Where you can travel on the White Card

The card gives the right to live in Hungary and travel around the Schengen area on general terms.

Mode 01

Hungary without limits

Residence, entry and exit for the whole term of the permit.

Mode 02

Schengen, 90 days in 180

Travel around the Schengen countries without a visa — up to 90 days in every 180.

Mode 03

Work only for foreign employers

Employment with a Hungarian employer and a shareholding in a Hungarian company lead to withdrawal of the permit.

Mode 04

The rest of the world on your own passport

You travel to third countries on your passport of citizenship: that is what sets the visa regime.

Sources: the White Card rules of the Hungarian National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing and the Schengen Borders Code (Regulation (EU) 2016/399).

05 / The composition of the application

Who can obtain the status

The White Card is arranged for a single applicant: family reunification on this ground is not provided for.

Remote work for a company outside Hungary
A net income from €3,000 a month over the six months before entry
Housing in Hungary and full medical insurance
No employment and no shareholding in Hungarian companies

A residence permit for family reunification is not issued
A status of their own on another ground is possible
We go through the options for the family before filing

Reunification with children on this status is not provided for
The exception is children born in Hungary while the permit is in force
For a family with children another programme is usually chosen

06 / Cost

What income has to be evidenced

The requirement is a net monthly income of at least €3,000 over the six months before entry.

The first permit · up to one year

€36,000

≈ $42,000

Evidenced The whole term of the permit

A net income from €3,000 a month over the six months before entry
Remote work for a company outside Hungary
Proof of housing: a lease or an ownership document
Full medical insurance for the whole term

The extension · another year

€36,000

≈ $42,000

Evidenced The whole term of the extension

An extension is possible only once for the same purpose
The application is filed no earlier than 90 days before expiry
At the time of filing you must hold a valid permit
The level of income is kept as before

What is closed · the limits of the status

€36,000

≈ $42,000

Evidenced The whole term of the status

Family members are not issued a residence permit for reunification
Working for a Hungarian employer is forbidden
A shareholding in a Hungarian company is a ground for withdrawal
Holders are not issued the national residence card

The stage of the status

The main applicant

Spouse

Children

The conditions are given under the information sheet of the Hungarian National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing. On top of the income come the state fees, the insurance, the housing and the support. This is a preliminary calculation, not a decision of a state authority.

07 / Comparison

Hungary against the neighbouring nomad visas

The White Card wins on the entry threshold but loses to its neighbours on family and on the prospect of a permanent status.

	Hungary	Croatia	Greece	Spain	Portugal D8
Income requirement	€3,000 net	€3,622 a month	€3,500 a month	€2,442 a month	€3,680 a month
The maximum term	2 years	18 months	a year, then 2 years	3 years, extension 2	2 years, extension 3
Family in the application	No	Through reunification	Yes	Yes	Yes
The path to permanent residence	Does not lead	Does not lead	5 years	5 years	5 years
Schengen	A member	A member	A member	A member	A member

The conditions are given as at the date this page was updated; the details for each country are set out on its own page.

Full program comparison →

10 / How it works

How the process works

STEP 1

Checking the income and the employment

We go through the structure of the income over six months and confirm that the work is for a foreign employer or clients.

STEP 2

The work documents

The employment contract, contracts with clients or documents on your own foreign company.

STEP 3

Housing and insurance

We prepare the lease or ownership document in Hungary and a policy with full cover.

STEP 4

Filing the application

The application is filed in the order set by the aliens policing authority. Our office in Budapest runs the process on the ground.

STEP 5

Receiving the card

After approval the residence card is issued and the address of residence registered.

STEP 6

The extension and the plan after it

The extension is filed 90 days before expiry. In parallel we plan which status will suit after the two years.

Two years in the centre of Europe on foreign income — and the BRIDGES office in the same city.

HungaryThe European Union and SchengenThe aliens policing authority’s rules

Go through your situation

11 / Our role

Why people arrange the White Card with us

The main mistake is choosing the White Card without knowing its limits: the family does not move on this status and the path to permanent residence is closed.

We calculate the net income

The requirement is the net figure for six consecutive months. Gaps and irregular receipts we go through before filing.

We check the structure of the employment

A shareholding in a Hungarian company or work for a local client leads to withdrawal of the permit. We check that in advance.

We show the alternatives for a family

If the whole family is moving we choose a programme where the spouse and children come into the application rather than being left without a status.

We run the process on the ground

Our office works in Budapest: the filing, the extension and any questions to the authority are handled by our own staff.

12 / Team

Who runs the Hungarian residency process

The application is run by a permanent team: an immigration lawyer, a documents specialist and a client coordinator.

Andres FerreiraHead of Investment AdvisoryThe strategy for the programme and complex cases

Eva LauriHead of OperationsRunning the application legally and the documents

Yan NovakWealth Structuring AdvisorTaxes on the move and the structure of income

Sofia MendesInvestment Migration ExpertCoordination and contact at every stage

15 / Materials

Useful materials on Hungary

Materials on the White Card: the requirements, the documents, the limits and the order of filing.

The main materialPresentation

The White Card for remote work

The presentation gathers the essentials: the income requirements, the documents, the timelines and the limits of the status.

Inside:

what income has to be evidenced and for what period
which documents are needed from the employer or the clients
what the requirements are as to housing and insurance
why the family does not move on this status
how the extension for a second year works
what to do after the two years
how work with BRIDGES is organised

PDF · free · current as of August 2026

A short check: the net income over six months, the structure of the employment and the family composition.

The list for filing and for the extension, the housing and the insurance included.

We calculate the income required, the fees, the budget for the move and the support.

All the materials are updated regularly by our team and are used when supporting BRIDGES clients.

16 / News

What matters to know

2026-08-12

A White Card can be extended only once: the maximum term of the status is two years.

2026-08-12

White Card holders are not issued the national residence card, and their family members are not issued a reunification permit.

Worth having

Download the Hungary checklist

The short document we give clients before the start: the income, the documents, the stages and the limits.

Inside the document

The net income required and the period of evidence
What is closed under this status
The current conditions for 2026

We will send it after a short form - no call or obligation.

17 / Questions

Answers to common questions

A net monthly income of at least €3,000 over at least the six months before entry. That level has to be kept for the whole term of the stay in Hungary.

For a maximum of one year. It can be extended only once — for another year. A second extension for the same purpose is not allowed.

No. Family members of a White Card holder are not issued a residence permit for reunification. The exception is children born in Hungary while the permit is in force. If the family is moving, we choose another programme.

No. White Card holders are not issued the national residence card. It is a status for a limited period, not a route to permanent residence.

No. The permit is withdrawn if the holder works for an employer in Hungary, acts on their behalf or acquires a shareholding in a Hungarian company.

No earlier than 90 days before the permit expires. At the time of filing you must hold a valid permit.

Proof of a place of residence in Hungary — a lease or an ownership document — and full medical insurance for the whole term of the stay.

Yes. With the residence card travel around the Schengen countries is available for up to 90 days in every 180. The currency in the country is the forint, not the euro.

Plan a move to another ground: a work status, a business or another country’s programme. We go through that scenario in advance, not in the last month.

There are no restrictions on citizenship. The practical difficulty is evidencing the net income and legalising documents from a foreign employer; we go through that part before filing.

INITIAL ASSESSMENT

Tell us what outcome your family needs

We will design a solution for your case, choose the country and the right status, and take the whole process through to the result.

Get a preliminary assessment Book a consultation

Or message us on WhatsApp or Telegram

Anna Kovalevskaya, lead lawyer at BRIDGES GLOBAL

Anna KovalevskayaLead lawyer, citizenship and residency, 12 years of practice