Information for university citizens on the automatic prolongation of residence permits
In the state of the national health emergency, declared to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) - in order to protect the citizens of foreign countries, legally residing in Hungary - the Government of Hungary in it’s Goverment Decree 85/2020. (5th of April) ordered the automatic prolongation of the documents entitling to reside in Hungary as follows.
Under Section 6 of the Government Decree, the period of validity of residence permits, establishment permits and immigration permits issued under Act I and II of 2007 (regulating the entry and residence of foreign citizens) shall be automatically extended until the 45th day after the end of the emergency, with the exception of short-stay entry visas and a visas entitling the holder to obtain a residence permit.
In the light of the above, residence permits expiring on or after the 6th of April 2020 - during the period of the health emergency - do not require an application for an extension, their validity is automatically extended until the 45th day after the end of the emergency. The application for an extension of the aforementioned documents must be submitted to the customer service office of the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (hereinafter: NDAP) by the 15th day after the end of the emergency.
The above special regulation does not apply to residence permits expired before the 6th of April 2020. Requests for extension that are already submitted will not be affected by the special regulations, they will be assessed according to the general rules.
Illustrating the special regulations by examples.
In the event for example that if the national health emergency were terminated on the 1st of July 2020:
- Residence permits expired before the 6th of April 2020 are not subject to automatic prolongation.
- Residence permits expired between the 6th of April 2020 and the 1st of July 2020 will be valid until the 15th of August 2020. The application for an extension of the permit shall be submitted by the 16th of July 2020.
- Residence permits expireing between the 1st of July 2020 and the 15th of August 2020 will also be valid until the 15th of August 2020. The application for an extension of the permit shall be submitted by the 16th of July 2020.
In case that the conditions on the basis of which the residence permit is issued change in the meantime (eg. in case of an intention to continue the studies at another institution, to to stay in Hungary for work purposes, etc.), a new permit shall be applied for. In these cases applications can only be submitted electronically via the EnterHungary platform, for more information please visit www.oif.gov.hu.
We call to attention that leaving Hungary during the time of the health emergency is not recommended, given that the entry to the country is limited and re-entry cannot be guaranteed even with holding a valid residence permit.
We would also like to inform you that the NDAP only intends to handle face-to-face client requests in the course of the health emergency in duly justified cases, at a pre-arranged time. Should you have any further questions regarding the special procedures, you can request information from the Regional Directorate of the NDAP by phone at +36-62-549-140 or by e-mail at dar@oif.gov.hu.
SZTE Experience
Olney Rodrigues - Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
My name is Olney Rodrigues de Oliveira and I am from Brazil. I am currently pursuing my PhD studies in the Doctoral School of Education at SZTE. I chose the University of Szeged because it’s one of the best universities in Europe, especially in the field of education. I personally love Szeged because it is safe and I love the architecture, the cultural events, the local Market Mars Tér and so many other beautiful destinations. For my studies I wanted to have an excellent university in a good quality life city and Szeged offers me that. It’s neither too big nor too small, I can ride my bike to go to my classes and practically everything is within a walking distance. I would advise the prospective students to enjoy the city during their stay, the cultural and historical events, know other international students and make a lot of friends, visit other cities in Hungary and make good memories. I am pretty sure that you will be proud of this priceless experience. Before coming to Hungary I worked several years as a teacher. I love the academic environment, the libraries, relationship with students and the feeling to be involved in the acquisition of new knowledge. That is why I plan to be part of a University as a professor as well as to keep researching in different aspects of the process of education. I am so thankful to be here and I believe that the Universe brought me to Szeged because the city and the University are the experience that I need in my life now.
Ferdous Rahman – Faculty of Law and Political Sciences
My name is Ferdous Rahman and I am from Bangladesh. I am pursuing doctoral studies at the Department of Private International Law at the Faculty of Law and Political Science under the Stipendium Hungaricum Programme. Currently I am in the first year of my four-year PhD programme. I came to know about SZTE while exploring for the Stipendium Hungaricum programme. Among the other available options, this was my first choice. Apart from its excellent ranking, I got my supervisor with similar research interest. The increasing number of international students gave me a comfort of having a cosmopolitan environment. After starting my studies here in September 2019, I am convinced that I could not expect more. For prospective students, I would advise that SZTE can be their next home as I got mine. Everyone here including the professors, the administrators, and the students are very friendly and helpful. They make studies a joyous journey instead of pile of classes and books. After my graduation, I will return to my home country. The knowledge and the experience that I have been receiving here will be a great resource for my academic career. I intend to continue my research further and expect to contribute to policy formulation at national and international level."
