Visa requirements for Hungarian citizens

Travel restrictions have been considerably relaxed since the end of communism and the removal of Hungary's border fence with Austria in May 1989.

During the communist era, travelling to the West was a long and difficult process for Hungarian citizens. The first step was to obtain an invitation, preferably from a relative in the country to be visited, and a promise of full financial support. With such an invitation, and assuming a passport could be obtained, a Hungarian could travel westwards once a year. However, in the absence of such an invitation, travel to the West was possible only once every three years.[2] The Communist-era visa restrictions restricted Hungarian artists and musicians since it hindered their ability to travel abroad. As a result, many chose to leave Hungary and settle in the West, such as famed cellist János Starker, who emigrated to the United States in 1948 because it was impossible for him to tour abroad with a Hungarian passport.[3]

Domestic events in Hungary have affected the visa requirements imposed on Hungarian citizens by Western countries. The Revolution of 1956 and the ensuing domestic repression resulted in the United States deciding to expedite all Hungarian visa requests.[4]

The end of communism in 1989 led to a rapid relaxation of visa restrictions. Visa-free travel for Hungarians was introduced by several countries, including Sweden in 1986,[5] the United Kingdom in 1990,[5] Germany in 1990,[6] France (1990),[5] Spain in 1990,[5] Belgium in 1991[5] South Korea in 1991[7] and Chile in 1992.[8] 1993 saw Israel,[9] South Africa,[5] Portugal[5] and Tunisia abolish the requirement for ordinary Hungarian tourists to obtain visas in advance of departure.[5] Canada [10] and Slovakia followed in 1994.[5] Italy waived prior visas in 1995,[5] Mexico in 1997,[11] Austria in 1997,[5] Japan (1997),[12] Slovenia (1998),[5] Panama (1998),[13] Morocco (1999).[14] New Zealand scrapped requirements for visas in 2000 [5] followed by Croatia that same year,[5] and Brazil in 2001,[5] Hong Kong in 2002,[15] Serbia in 2003,[5] Ukraine in 2003[5] and Peru later that same year of 2003.[5]

Despite the tremendous increase in the number of visa waiver agreements, there have also been setbacks. In June 2001, the visa-free travel agreement between Hungary and Russia came to an end, and both countries now require visas of one another's citizens.[16]

A Hungarian identity card is valid for travel to most European countries

Hungary's accession to the European Union on 1 May 2004, along with its fellow V4 companions, radically boosted reciprocal visa-free arrangements.

Hungarians can now not only travel visa-free to any member state of the EU, but also have a right to settle there. A valid Hungarian passport or identity card is sufficient for any stay shorter than three months. For periods longer than three months, a residence permit is needed. Hungarians are allowed to settle in any EU country for more than three months if they work or study there, or if they are financially self-sufficient.[17] By virtue of the agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA), those rights also apply to Hungarians in Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.[18] The same rights also extend to Hungarians in Switzerland as a result of the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons.[19] Following the accession to the European Union in 2004 and the Schengen Area in 2007, visa requirements were also lifted by several other countries including Georgia (2005),[20] Bosnia and Herzegovina (2005),[5] North Macedonia (2005),[5] Colombia (2005),[5] Moldova (2007),[21] Botswana (2008),[22] Taiwan (2008),[23] and Thailand (2011).[24]

The Hungarian government's decade-long efforts to have U.S. visa requirements abolished for Hungarian citizens finally came to fruition on 17 November 2008 when the United States decided to include Hungary in its Visa Waiver Program.[25] The inclusion of Hungary in the Visa Waiver Program was considered a major event there. Kinga Göncz, the country's then foreign minister, even went as far as to describe it as "a landmark in our relations [with the United States], since the visa waiver was essentially the single unresolved issue."[26] However, Hungarian President László Sólyom, who had promised upon his election in 2005 never to visit the United States as long as fingerprint requirements were part of U.S. visa procedures, refused to sign the agreement on the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, fearing it would give the United States too much access to Hungary's criminal registry. His refusal did not affect Hungary's inclusion in the program.[27]

Visa requirements for Hungarian citizens were lifted by Qatar (July 2012),[28] Kyrgyzstan (July 2012),[29] Armenia (January 2013),[30] Jamaica (March 2013),[31] Turkey (February 2014),[32] Papua New Guinea (March 2014),[33] Bahrain (October 2014),[34] the United Arab Emirates (May 2015),[35] Timor-Leste (May 2015),[36] Samoa (May 2015),[37] Indonesia (June 2015),[38] Kazakhstan (July 2015),[39] São Tomé and Príncipe (August 2015),[40] Tonga (November 2015),[41] Palau (December 2015),[42] Marshall Islands (June 2016),[43] Tuvalu (July 2016),[44] Solomon Islands (October 2016),[45][46] Belarus (February 2017),[47] Cape Verde (1 January 2019),[48] Uzbekistan (1 February 2019),[49] Oman (December 2020).

Hungarian citizens were made eligible for eVisas by Guinea and Malawi (October 2019), Saudi Arabia (September 2019), Suriname and Pakistan (April 2019), Tanzania and Papua New Guinea (November 2018),[50] Ethiopia (1 June 2018), Angola (March 2018), Djibouti (February 2018),[51] Egypt (December 2017),[52] Azerbaijan (January 2017),[53] Tajikistan (June 2016),[54][55] India (August 2015)[56] and Myanmar (October 2014).[57]

The number of visa-free destinations for Hungarian citizens grew exponentially over the last few years, in 2009 Hungarian citizens could travel to 131 countries without a visa,[58] to 142 in 2010,[59] 153 in 2012 and 182 in 2020.[60]

Visa requirements for Hungarian citizens for visits to various territories, disputed areas, partially recognized countries and restricted zones:

Visitor to	Visa requirement	Notes (excluding departure fees)
Europe
Abkhazia	Visa required[319]
Mount Athos	Special permit required	Special permit required (4 days: 25 euro for Orthodox visitors, 35 euro for non-Orthodox visitors, 18 euro for students). There is a visitors' quota: maximum 100 Orthodox and 10 non-Orthodox per day and women are not allowed.[320][321]
Brest and Grodno	Visa not required	Visa-free for 10 days[322]
Crimea	Visa required	Visa issued by Russia is required.[323]
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus	Visa not required	3 months[324] ID card valid
UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus	Access Permit required[325]	Access Permit is required for travelling inside the zone, except Civil Use Areas.
Faroe Islands	Visa not required[326]	ID card valid
Gibraltar	Visa not required[327]	ID card valid
Guernsey	Visa not required[328]
Isle of Man	Visa not required[329]
Jan Mayen	Permit required	Permit issued by the local police required for staying for less than 24 hours[330] and permit issued by the Norwegian police for staying for more than 24 hours.[331]
Jersey	Visa not required[332]
Kosovo	Visa not required	90 days[333] ID card valid; only new generation biometric ones (issued after January 1, 2016)
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic	Visa required[334][335]	Travellers with Nagorno-Karabakh visa (expired or valid) or evidence of travel to Nagorno-Karabakh (stamps) will be permanently denied entry to Azerbaijan.[336]
Russia	Special authorization required	Several closed cities and regions in Russia require special authorization.[337]
South Ossetia	Visa not required	Multiple entry visa to Russia and three-day prior notification are required to enter South Ossetia.[338][339]
Transnistria	Visa not required	Registration required after 24h.[340][341]
Africa
British Indian Ocean Territory	Special permit required	Special permit required.[342]
Eritrea outside Asmara	Travel permit required	To travel in the rest of the country, a Travel Permit for Foreigners is required (20 Eritrean nakfa).[343]
Mayotte	Visa not required[344]	Freedom of movement ID card valid
Réunion	Visa not required[344]	Freedom of movement ID card valid
Ascension Island	eVisa[345][346]	3 months within any year period
Saint Helena	Visitor's Pass required	Visitor's Pass granted on arrival valid for 4/10/21/60/90 days for 12/14/16/20/25 pound sterling.[347]
Tristan da Cunha	Permission required	Permission to land required for 15/30 pounds sterling (yacht/ship passenger) for Tristan da Cunha Island or 20 pounds sterling for Gough Island, Inaccessible Island or Nightingale Islands.[348]
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic		Undefined visa regime in the Western Sahara controlled territory.
Somaliland	Visa on arrival	30 days for 30 US dollars, payable on arrival.[349][350]
Sudan	Travel permit required	All foreigners traveling more than 25 kilometers outside of Khartoum must obtain a travel permit.
Darfur	Travel permit required	Separate travel permit is required.[351]
Asia
Hong Kong	Visa not required[352]	3 months
India PAP/RAP	PAP/RAP required	Protected Area Permit (PAP) required for whole states of Nagaland and Sikkim and parts of states Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh. Restricted Area Permit (RAP) required for all of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and parts of Sikkim. Some of these requirements are occasionally lifted for a year.[353][354][355][356][357][358]
Iraqi Kurdistan	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival for 15 days is available at Erbil and Sulaymaniyah airports.[359]
Kazakhstan	Special permission required	Special permission required for the town of Baikonur and surrounding areas in Kyzylorda Oblast, and the town of Gvardeyskiy near Almaty.[360]
Kish Island	Visa not required	Visitors to Kish Island do not require a visa.[361]
Macao	Visa not required[362]	90 days
Sabah and Sarawak	Visa not required	These states have their own immigration authorities and passport is required to travel to them, however the same visa applies.[363]
Maldives	Permission required	With the exception of the capital Malé, tourists are generally prohibited from visiting non-resort islands without the express permission of the Government of Maldives.[364]
North Korea outside Pyongyang	Special permit required	People are not allowed to leave the capital city, tourists can only leave the capital with a governmental tourist guide (no independent moving)
Palestine	Visa not required[365]	Arrival by sea to Gaza Strip not allowed.[366]
Taiwan	Visa not required[367]	90 days
Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province	OIVR permit required	OIVR permit required (15+5 Tajikistani Somoni) and another special permit (free of charge) is required for Lake Sarez.[368][369][370]
Tibet Autonomous Region	TTP required	Tibet Travel Permit required (10 US Dollars).[371][372][373]
Turkmenistan	Special permit required	A special permit, issued prior to arrival by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is required if visiting the following places: Atamurat, Cheleken, Dashoguz, Serakhs and Serhetabat.[374]
Korean Demilitarized Zone	Restricted zone.
UNDOF Zone and Ghajar	Restricted zone.
Phú Quốc	Visa not required	30 days[375]
Yemen	Special permission required	Special permission needed for travel outside Sana’a or Aden.[376]
Caribbean and North Atlantic
Anguilla	Visa not required[377]	3 months
Aruba	Visa not required	30 days, extendable to 180 days[378][379]
Bermuda	Visa not required	Up to 6 months, decided on arrival.[380]
Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba	Visa not required[381]	3 months[382]
British Virgin Islands	Visa not required[383]	30 days, extensions possible
San Andrés and Leticia	Tourist Card on arrival	Visitors arriving at Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport and Alfredo Vásquez Cobo International Airport must buy tourist cards on arrival.[384]
Cayman Islands	Visa not required[385]	6 months
Curaçao	Visa not required[386]	3 months
French Guiana	Visa not required[387]	Freedom of movement ID card valid
French West Indies	Visa not required[344]	Freedom of movement ID card valid | French West Indies refers to Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy.[388]
Greenland	Visa not required
Margarita Island	Visa not required	All visitors are fingerprinted.[389]
Montserrat	Visa not required[390]	6 months ID card valid (for max. 14 days)[391]
Puerto Rico	Visa not required[392]	Visa not required under the Visa Waiver Program, for 90 days on arrival from overseas for 2 years. ESTA required.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Visa not required[344]	ID card valid
Sint Maarten	Visa not required[393]	3 months[394]
Turks and Caicos Islands	Visa not required[395]	90 days
U.S. Virgin Islands	Visa not required[396]	Visa not required under the Visa Waiver Program, for 90 days on arrival from overseas for 2 years. ESTA required.
Oceania
American Samoa	Electronic authorization[397]	30 days
Ashmore and Cartier Islands	Special authorisation required	Special authorisation required.[398]
Clipperton Island	Special permit required	Special permit required.[399]
Cook Islands	Visa not required[400]	31 days
Lau Province	Special permission required	Special permission required.[401]
French Polynesia	Visa not required[402]	ID card valid
Guam	Visa not required[403]	Visa not required under the Visa Waiver Program, for 90 days on arrival from overseas for 2 years. ESTA required.
New Caledonia	Visa not required[344]	ID card valid
Niue	Visa on arrival[404]	30 days
Northern Mariana Islands	Visa not required[405]	Visa not required under the Visa Waiver Program, for 90 days on arrival from overseas for 2 years. ESTA required.
Pitcairn Islands	Visa not required	14 days visa free and landing fee US$35 or tax of US$5 if not going ashore.[406][407][408]
Tokelau	Entry permit required[409]
United States Minor Outlying Islands	Special permits required	Special permits required for Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island.[410][411][412][413][414][415][416]
Wallis and Futuna	Visa not required[344]	ID card valid
South America
Galápagos	Pre-registration required	Online pre-registration is required. Transit Control Card must also be obtained at the airport prior to departure.[417]
South Atlantic and Antarctica
Falkland Islands	Visa not required	Visa is not required.[418]
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	Permit required	Pre-arrival permit from the Commissioner required (72 hours/1 month for 110/160 pounds sterling).[419][420]
Antarctica		Special permits required for  British Antarctic Territory,  French Southern and Antarctic Lands,  Argentine Antarctica, Australian Antarctic Territory, Chilean Antarctic Territory, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Peter I Island, Queen Maud Land, Ross Dependency.[421][422][423][424][425][426][427][428][429][430][431][432]

  European Union (unlimited access)

  Visa-free

  Visa on arrival

  Pre-arrival Internet registration required (ESTA, eVisitor)

  Visa required

A Hungarian ordinary passport, with visa-free access to all of the world's developed countries, is a very convenient travel document by international standards. However, it is not as handy as a Hungarian diplomatic passport, which has even less visa restrictions attached to it. Several countries offer visa-free access to holders of a Hungarian diplomatic passport, but not to ordinary passport holders. This is notably the case with the People's Republic of China since 1992,[433] Russia (since 2001).[434] and India (since 2003).[435] As of July 2009, Hungarian diplomats can enter all G8+5 countries without a visa.[436] The Hungarian diplomatic passport holds the distinction of being the only travel document in the world granting such visa-free entry to all G8+5 member states.^[a]

In total holders of various categories of official Hungarian passports have additional visa-free access to the following countries – Algeria (diplomatic passports), Azerbaijan (diplomatic or service passports), Belarus (diplomatic or service passports), China (diplomatic or service passports), Cuba (diplomatic or service passports), Egypt (diplomatic passports), India (diplomatic or official passports), Indonesia (diplomatic or service passports), Iran (diplomatic passports), Kazakhstan (diplomatic or service passports), Laos (diplomatic or official passports), Mongolia (diplomatic or official passports), Russia (diplomatic and service passports), Tajikistan (diplomatic or service passports), Turkmenistan (diplomatic or service passports) and Uzbekistan (diplomatic passports), Vietnam (diplomatic, official, service or special passports), Yemen (diplomatic passports). Holders of diplomatic or service passports of any country have visa-free access to Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Mali and Zimbabwe.

Countries with Hungarian diplomatic missions

When they are in a territory with no Hungarian consular facilities, because Hungarian citizens are also citizens of the EU, they have the right to get consular assistance from any other EU country with a diplomatic mission in that territory.

Many countries have entry restrictions on foreigners that go beyond the common requirement of having either a valid visa or a visa exemption. Such restrictions may be health related or impose additional documentation requirements on certain classes of people for diplomatic or political purposes.

Vaccination

Main articles: Vaccination requirements for international travel, International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, and Vaccine passports during the COVID-19 pandemic

Cover of the new International Certificate of Vaccination issued by the Bureau of Quarantine in the Philippines since 2021

Many African countries, including Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo, South Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia, require all incoming passengers older than nine months to one year[438] to have a current International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, as does the South American territory of French Guiana.[439]

Some other countries require vaccination only if the passenger is coming from an infected area or has visited one recently or has transited for 12 hours in those countries: Algeria, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.[440][441]

An increasing number of countries have been imposing additional COVID-19 related health restrictions such as quarantine measures and testing requirements. Many countries increasingly consider the vaccination status of travellers with regard to quarantine requirements or when deciding to allow them entry at all.[442]

Persona non grata

Entry Permit to Nagorno-Karabakh issued in Yerevan as a stand-alone document rather than a visa affixed in a passport

The government of a country can declare a diplomat persona non grata, banning entry into that country. In non-diplomatic use, the authorities of a country may also declare a foreigner persona non grata permanently or temporarily, usually because of unlawful activity.[455]

For example, Azerbaijan bans visits by foreign citizens that have previously entered Azerbaijan through non-Azerbaijani controlled borders. This includes the illegal entry into the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh[456] (the de facto independent Republic of Artsakh), its surrounding Armenian-occupied territories, and the Azerbaijani exclaves of Karki, Yuxarı Əskipara, Barxudarlı, and Sofulu which are de jure part of Azerbaijan but under the control of Armenia. Foreign citizens who enter these territories will be permanently banned from entering the Republic of Azerbaijan[457] and will be included in their "list of personae non gratae".[458] As of 2 September 2019, the list mentioned 852 people.

Israeli stamps

Israeli border control Entry Permit (issued as a stand-alone document rather than a stamp affixed in a passport)

Kuwait,[459] Lebanon,[460] Libya,[461] Syria,[462] and Yemen[463] do not allow entry to people with passport stamps from Israel or whose passports have either a used or an unused Israeli visa, or where there is evidence of previous travel to Israel such as entry or exit stamps from neighbouring border posts in transit countries such as Jordan and Egypt.

To circumvent this Arab League boycott of Israel, the Israeli immigration services have now mostly ceased to stamp foreign nationals' passports on either entry to or exit from Israel (unless the entry is for some work-related purposes). Since 15 January 2013, Israel no longer stamps foreign passports at Ben Gurion Airport. Passports are still (as of 22 June 2017) stamped at Erez when passing into and out of Gaza.

Iran refuses admission to holders of passports containing an Israeli visa or stamp that is less than 12 months old.

• Visa requirements for European Union citizens
• Hungarian passport
• Hungarian identity card
• Visa policy of the Schengen Area

References