About us

The procedure for obtaining a residence permit has three stages. 1) First, you need an investor visa. 2) Then you make the required investment. 3) Finally, you receive the residence permit. Together with you (the investor), the direct family members you have named will also receive their residence permits. The state has full authority to issue visas and residence permits. There is therefore no guarantee that the procedure will end successfully in every case.

Essentially, you must be able to prove the legal acquisition of the amount to be invested in Hungary and have a good reputation. We will tell you exactly which documents you need to provide. It goes beyond the above, but the other proofs are of a more formal nature. The procedure is purely document-based. All evidence must therefore be provided in writing. There is no interview or similar.

The investor (you) and the family members involved must submit a whole series of documents, which may vary from case to case. We will tell you exactly which documents you need after evaluating your individual situation. You will have to appear in person at least once at the Hungarian consulate in your country so that the biometric data can be recorded.

Here we are talking about the visa and not the residence permit. The visa is the first step towards a residence permit. You then make the investment required by law. Finally, you receive the residence permit. The visa allows you to travel to Hungary and make your investment. If you want to buy a property, a trip to Hungary to view the real estate is certainly a good idea. If you want to invest in a real estate fund, your personal presence is not necessary, but of course possible. The visa allows you to travel to Hungary as often as you like within 6 month and to spend here as much time as you like. As soon as you receive the residence permit, the visa expires automatically. However, the rule is that we must notify the authorities of your investment no later than 3 month after your first entry into Hungary. This deadline is very important, so please take note of it.

There are three ways to invest under the Golden Visa Program: a.) Investment in a Hungarian real estate fund of at least €250,000: These funds are supervised by the Hungarian National Bank. The fund management companies have been operating in the market for many years and have a track record. They invest directly in the fund, this money never flows to us. These funds pay an annual dividend if they are successful. Your money is therefore not spent, but invested. After 5 years at the earliest, you can sell the fund units again. Even if you sell them, your 10-year residence permit remains valid until the end of this period. b.) Investment in a residential property located in Hungary with a value of at least €500,000: The investment amount goes directly to the seller of the property, never to us. You can use the property freely, you can use it yourself or rent it out. You can sell the property again after 5 years at the earliest. Even if you sell, your 10-year residence permit remains valid until the end of this period. Please note that when you buy a property, you will have to pay legal and valuation fees as well as purchase tax amounting to 4% of the property value. This option is available from 1 January 2025. c.) Donation of 1 Million Euro: It is also possible to make a donation of 1 million euros to state institutions such as universities. However, unlike the two investments above, you will not get this amount back. Accordingly, it is not clear who would choose this solution.

Although the investor visa is valid for a maximum of 6 month, we must report the completion of the investment - with supporting documents - to the competent authority no later than 3 month after your first entry into Hungary. If this is not done on time, your visa will expire. As things stand at present, it is not possible to apply for a new investor visa.

In order to obtain a residence permit, we must first apply for an investor visa for you. To do this, you must essentially prove the legal origin of the funds to be invested and be of good repute. After an individual evaluation, we will tell you exactly which documents you need to obtain so that the application can be submitted. Once you have received this visa, you can make the legally required investment. You and your family members will then receive a 10-year residence permit. The right to issue residence permits lies solely with the Hungarian state. Accordingly, there is no guarantee of success. However, if the documents are well compiled, the prospects are very good.

The application is the last step in the three-stage process for obtaining a residence permit. In addition to the application form, the effort involved here will be less than when applying for an investor visa because we can reuse some of the documents we needed for the visa application. We will inform you in good time and in detail which documents you would like to obtain.

We have outlined the advantages of a Hungarian residence permit on our website. Please read this page: https://www.bentleygoldenvisa.com/ .

Your permanent residence permit can be extended for a further 10 years after 10 years. As you know, you can part with your investment after 5 years at the earliest. Even then, your residence permit will remain valid until the end of the tenth year. However, in order to obtain an extension, you must - according to the current status - have an investment. As the law is unclear here, it is possible that this position will be refined. It is therefore possible that you will sell your investment after 5 years and then invest again before the end of the tenth year in order to meet the requirements for the extension.

There are three ways to invest under the Golden Visa Program: a.) Investment in a Hungarian real estate fund of at least €250,000: These funds are supervised by the Hungarian National Bank. The fund management companies have been operating in the market for many years and have a track record. They invest directly in the fund, this money never flows to us. These funds pay an annual dividend if they are successful. Your money is therefore not spent, but invested. After 5 years at the earliest, you can sell the fund units again. Even if you sell them, your 10-year residence permit remains valid until the end of this period. b.) Investment in a residential property located in Hungary with a value of at least €500,000: The investment amount goes directly to the seller of the property, never to us. You can use the property freely, you can use it yourself or rent it out. You can sell the property again after 5 years at the earliest. Even if you sell, your 10-year residence permit remains valid until the end of this period. Please note that when you buy a property, you will have to pay legal and valuation fees as well as purchase tax amounting to 4% of the property value. This option is available from 1 January 2025. c.) Donation of 1 Million Euro: It is also possible to make a donation of 1 million euros to state institutions such as universities. However, unlike the two investments above, you will not get this amount back. Accordingly, it is not clear who would choose this solution.

The fund management companies we work with all have a long track record. Real estate funds have existed in Hungary for many years without any scandals or bankruptcies. We work with several funds, but you are free to decide which one you want to invest in. The money flows directly from you to the funds, never to us. Only investments in Hungarian real estate funds registered with the National Bank of Hungary are permitted. You receive your fund units in the form of dematerialized shares. As the dematerialized shares are allocated directly to the investor and the fund is secured by an independent custodian bank and depositary, this form is considered one of the safest forms of investment. In addition, the units are securely backed in the event of bank insolvency, so that they remain at the disposal of the investor. The funds we recommend meet the requirements of the AIFM Directive (Alternative Investment Fund Managers). This is a legal framework created by the European Union to monitor the management and distribution of alternative investment funds (AIFs) in the EU. The directive applies to various types of AIFs, including real estate investment funds.

The law on investor residence permits stipulates that 40% of the funds of real estate funds must be invested in residential real estate. This is new in Hungary. Previously, real estate funds had only invested in commercial real estate, as these historically promised higher returns. Accordingly, there are no empirical values for these new funds, which will also own residential real estate. The fund managers estimate that the return could be between 6% and 8% (in euros). However, there is of course no guarantee that a return of this magnitude can be achieved. What is certain, however, is that there is a shortage of rental apartments in Budapest, so demand clearly exists.

From a Hungarian perspective, the fund is tax-exempt, i.e. it is not subject to corporation tax or local taxation. Whether you have to pay tax on the fund income earned in Hungary depends on numerous factors, e.g. whether there is an agreement between your country of origin and Hungary to avoid double taxation. We are therefore unable to make a general statement here. If you are still liable to pay tax in your country of origin, you may be subject to tax on capital gains and dividends there. As this does not fall within our area of expertise, we advise you to seek advice from a tax expert in your country. If you move your main residence to Hungary, you will fall within the scope of the tax regulations there. Consequently, your fund income will be subject to a tax rate of 15%. You must also pay a health insurance contribution, which is limited to a maximum annual amount of around USD 1400. It is imperative to note that the nuances of each case require individual consideration. We offer our services to carefully review your specific situation. However, please consider the information provided here as non-binding and not as definitive tax advice.

The law stipulates that you must hold your investment for at least 5 years. After that, you can sell it at any time. Even if you sell it, your residence permit remains valid for 10 years. In order to obtain an extension for a further 10 years, you must again have an investment in accordance with the law. However, this does not have to be the same as the one you used to obtain your original residence permit. The law is vague as to whether you must have an investment at the time of the extension. We will amend this text as soon as the issue has been clarified.

Purchase of real estate fund units The real estate funds can only accept payments in euros. Real estate purchases The parties are free to agree in whichever currency they wish. Such transactions are usually in the major currencies USD, EUR, CHF and the local currency HUF. If you want to exchange larger amounts of a foreign currency into EUR/USD/CHF/HUF, we strongly recommend that you ask the bank for special conditions. There are also online banks (such as Wise or Revolut) that exchange currencies mostly free of charge at the mid-market rate. If the exchange is to take place at a Hungarian bank, we will be happy to assist you.

We are currently in negotiations with several fund management companies that are setting up funds specifically for the Golden Visa program. Please enquire with us, we will be happy to provide you with information.

In order to obtain Hungarian citizenship, you must have resided in Hungary for at least 8 years. You will also have to pass a civics and a language test. Therefore there is no automatic transition from right of residence to citizenship. These are separate procedures. There are, even if unofficial, exceptions. If you invest significantly more than required, are important to Hungary for some reasons, the process can be much quicker. If you think that you have such reasons, we kindly make inquiries for you.

There is no minimum period of residence in Hungary for holders of a residence permit for investors. This means that you do not have to use your residence permit and there is no risk that it will expire as a result. Accordingly, you can regard it as security for a rainy day in your home country. However, you also have the right to move to Hungary with the family members involved in the process and spend an unlimited amount of time here.

Holders of an investor visa or an investor residence permit may stay in the Schengen area for a maximum of 90 days within a period of 180 days. Except Ireland and Cyprus all EU-countries are members of the Schengen-area, Romania and Bulgaria with limitations. For example, if you travel to Paris on January 1, you must leave France by April 1 at the latest. You can then return to France on July 1 at the earliest. You can enter and leave the Schengen area as often as you like. However, you may only take up residence in Hungary. You may work in Hungary without restriction. We are currently clarifying whether you will also be allowed to work in the Schengen area.

You can travel to the EU within 180 days for a maximum of 90 days. However, you may only take up residence in Hungary.

person holding a residence permit the spouse common and not common minor children (including adopted and foster children), minor children over whom they have parental authority, the holder's of a residence permit and the spouse's dependent parents the brother or sister of the holder of the residence permit and of the spouse, and their direct relatives, if they are unable to care for themselfs because of ill health. During the preliminary examination of your application, we will be happy to help you determine whether one of your relatives is eligible for a residence permit.

As things stand today, your personal appearance in Hungary is not necessary. The first applications will be processed from July 1, 2024. We will have clarity on these issues by then at the latest. However, if you are buying a property, it makes sense to visit it before you buy. However, this is not obligatory.

The Act does not contain any statement in this regard. As the investor visa is valid for a maximum of 2 years, we assume that your passport must be valid for at least 2 years at the time of the visa application. We will be able to verify this information at the time of processing the first applications, from July 1, 2024.

We charge a one-off fee for our services, depending on the number of applicants. This includes our assistance throughout the entire official process from the investor visa to the residence permit for the investor and their family members. We are also at your side during the investment process. Not included in the above costs are official costs and other direct costs (for translation, notarization, apostille, courier, etc.). We assume that investing in a real estate fund will incur additional costs of a maximum of EUR 2000. In the case of a real estate purchase, these costs will amount to 4-5000 euros, as a real estate purchase must be handled by a lawyer and a valuation of the property by an official valuer is required by law. In addition, there is a property purchase tax of 4% of the property. The initial consultation, during which we determine together with the potential investor whether you are eligible for the Hungarian Golden Visa Program, is free of charge. If we invoice a foreign legal entity, no VAT is charged. In the case of natural persons and domestic legal entities, we must charge VAT (27%). We therefore recommend that we conclude our contract with a foreign legal entity. Please contact us to get a personal quotation. myquotation@bentleygoldenvisa.com