Visa procedure

08.06.2017.

Updated: 10.10.2024.

After you successfully pass the entrance exam, you receive an official notification from ELTE that you are admitted to the study program (a Letter of Acceptance document is issued and sent to you). Before you start your studies at ELTE, you need to ensure your legal status in Hungary. Depending on which part of the world you are coming from to Hungary, choose the appropriate way to make your stay legal.

If you are a citizen of an EU/EEA member state (EEA = EU member states and Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and Lichtenstein), you may travel to Hungary without a long-term study visa, but you need to obtain a registration card for the duration of your studies in Hungary. For more information, visit: EEA students - Registration certificate.

If you are a citizen of a country that is not part of the European Economic Area (EEA), you are required to obtain a residence permit, and you need to register your accommodation after your arrival in Hungary. You may also need a visa! For more information, visit: Non-EEA students - Visa/Residence Permit.

If you are a mobility student from within the EU, special rules may apply to you. For more information, visit: For Non-EEA Nationals with EU Residence Permits.

Important information:

Non-EEA citizens who fall under visa obligation need to apply for the residence permit at a Hungarian embassy/consulate in their country, along with the visa.

Non-EEA citizens who travel to Hungary visa-free need to apply for a residence permit after their arrival in Hungary online. After you arrive in Budapest, you can arrange your registration card (EEA) or residence permit (non-EEA) online, on the Enter Hungary website of the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (in Hungarian: Országos Idegenrendészeti Főigazgatóság), formerly known as Immigration and Asylum Office (in Hungarian: Bevándorlási és Menekültügyi Hivatal, abbreviated as BMH). On the website, you can arrange a registration card, a first residence permit application, an extension of your residence permit, and a report of accommodation.

Please note that from 2023.01.01 all applications must be submitted online (or in case of a D-visa at a Hungarian embassy/consulate) and cannot be submitted personally in the office! Exceptions can be made in special and vis maior cases.

Contact of the visa coordinator at ELTE

dr. Zoltán Kalácska

visa@elte.hu

Please make sure to include your full name, Neptun code (if you already have one) and nationality in your letters to ensure a smoother process.

Contact of the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing

Visiting address: 1135 Budapest, District 13, 35-37 Szegedi út (Twin Office Building, Ground Floor)
E-mail: bp2@oif.gov.hu
Web: https://oif.gov.hu
Phone: +36-1-463-9100