COVID-19: CHANGES TO THE ENTRY REGULATIONS TO HUNGARY

FROM 1 SEPTEMBER 2020 (updated: 08/08/2021):

We raise awareness that the rules of entry may change fast; getting vaccinated as soon as possible and becoming protected is strongly recommended and expected even if it is not mandatory. The information page of the police is always up to date on entry regulations.. Please, make sure to check if you fulfil the requirements of the rules in effect before beginning your travel!

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Except in the case of entry by civil aircraft, entry into Hungary from Croatia, Austria, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine regardless of nationality or protection against the coronavirus, is possible without epidemiological restrictions, but providing other general conditions of entry (e.g. valid travel document) is necessary.

In the case of border crossing by air, foreign students travelling to Hungary need to submit an equity request, unless they have:

valid Hungarian Residence permit (for a period exceeding 90 days) or the equivalent residence permit visa (D-visa), or
certificate of immunity officially accepted by Hungary (see the "Traveling with immunity certificate" section),

in which case they can enter Hungary without submitting the request prior to their arrival.

HOW TO ARRANGE AN EQUITY REQUEST

1) Contact your Faculty Coordinator and notify him/her that you need this document to enter Hungary.

2) They will ask you for some specific details about your arrival, and send you a certificate (for full degree students find it HERE; for mobility programmes find it HERE) which you will need for the equity requests and entering the country.

3) You need to submit your equity request electronically in Hungarian or English using the standard forms given by the authorities. The form and the customer information can be find HERE. You must attach your certificate received from your faculty to your request. If you overcame the COVID-19 desease in the last 6 months and you are able to attest it by a document (eg. final report, other certificate issued by a health care provider or an authority) written in Hungarian or English you should also attach that. If you need help to fill and upload the request, please contact your faculty coordinator.

Don't forget to bring along your certificate as at the Hungarian border you may need to show it!

TRAVELING WITH IMMUNITY CERTIFICATE

You can enter the country without being subject to restrictions (equity request, quarantine), if you have a Hungarian or Hungary-recognized immunity certification:

EU Digital COVID Certificate: the bilingual, digital or printed Covid-certificate issued on request by a member state of the European Union is valid in every country of EU and is directly accepted in Hungary as well. Types: vaccination certificate, recovery certificate, negative test certificate.
The mutual acceptance of foreign immunity certificates is regulated in bilateral agreements between states. The consular service’s website lists these countries and shares the samples of each acceptable foreign immunity certificate. Please note that the list is constantly updated!
By presenting an immunity certificate issued by a country listed in MFAT Decree No. 17/2021 (V. 22.) on the unilateral recognition of immunity certificates, you can also get exemption from the restrcitions.
In case you can prove that you have been infected with COVID-19 within 6 months prior to the notification of entry, you are also exempted from the restrictions.
if you certifie that SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was not detectable in your body at the time of the study with a SARS-CoV-2 PCR test in Hungarian or English, which is not older than 72 hours, made in a country according to the 60/2021. (II. 12.) of the Government paragraph 3 (2a) a)-i).

Verifying the COVID immunity with a certifying application is equivalent to presenting an immunity certificate. When certifying immunity with an application, the person concerned may be called upon to present an official document certifying his/her personal identity.

UPON ARRIVAL

Upon entry, the police determine, whether a person entering the country is subject to the quarantine obligation or exempted from it. Cases of exemption from quarantine:

exemption with an Hungarian or Hungary-recognized immunity certificate,
presenting proof that the person has undergone COVID-19 infection within 6 months prior to reporting to entry;
showing two negative PCR tests (must be performed within 5 days with a difference of at least 48 hours; the second test must be performed in Hungary).

To whom a quarantine obligation applies, must undergo a medical examination upon their arrival at the border of Hungary. Those who enter Hungary from any foreign country, except those who are able to attest that they overcame the COVID-19 disease during the last six months (see the equity request section above), are to be quarantined for 10 days.

The person subjected to mandatory quarantine are asked to give the following information to the police:
1. date of broad crossing;
2. name and name of birth
3. place and date of birth
4. mother’s name
5. permanent address
6. place of residence
7. place of quarantine
8. phone number
9. email address
10. citizenship
11. the number of the document used for crossing the border

These information can also be given electronically (we strongly encourage incoming students to do so, as it significantly shortens the time spent at the border/airport upon entry) 24 hours prior to entering Hungary HERE (select the COVID-10 form)

After the border control students must go to their given accommodation directly and also contact their university (via email preferably their faculty coordinators) within 24 hours.

QUARANTINE

Please note that you must not leave the quarantine – except with a special permission for conducting the test – until the mandatory 10 days are over or you have the two negative tests. We would like to point out that compliance with the regulations is checked by the authorities and we ask you to adhere to the rules at all times. The breach of the rules will entail the termination of your student and/or scholarship status.

Students may be exempted from such quarantine if they attest with a document containing the results of two SARS-CoV-2 tests (molecular biology examination in compliance with professional medical practice) performed in Hungary at two different times with at least 48 hours between them that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was not detected in their body at the time of the tests. However, it is also acceptable if the first of the two tests is performed in one of the Schengen countries, Coratia, the United States of America or Canada.

For more information on quarantine visit: Information for students staying in quarantine

Police website: Information on general rules of border crossing