Hungary Golden Visa 2026: a 10-year (renewable) EU residence permit from €250,000 in a regulated fund, no relocation, invest after approval.
Hungary's residency-by-investment offer matters now because it is one of the few remaining EU programmes with a long permit, no relocation duty and an invest-after-approval structure. The Hungary Golden Visa 2026 sits in a market reshaped by Portugal's fund pivot and Spain's closure, and we are seeing genuine HNW interest — but the headline €250,000 figure is only part of the picture. At VisaTier, we don't sell a permit; we build a strategy around how the asset actually behaves over ten years.
Hungary relaunched investor residence in 2024.
The €250,000 investment and the €1 million donation 'Guest Investor Residence' permit pathways both went into effect on 1 July 2024.
The legislation does not actually use the term "Golden Visa" — the formal category is the Guest Investor Residence Permit under Act XC of 2023.
It suits non-EU/EEA investors who want a long-dated EU foothold without uprooting their lives.
The programme provides a renewable 10-year residency permit that allows investors and their families the right to live, work, study, and travel visa-free across the Schengen zone — and applicants can satisfy the eligibility requirements without the need for a physical residency.
A 10-year permit is not a strategy. How the underlying asset behaves in year five is.
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For readers weighing this against passport routes, our explainer on the difference between Golden Visas and citizenship by investment sets out why a residence permit and a second passport solve very different problems.
The entry point is the fund route.
The Hungary Golden Visa requires a minimum investment of EUR 250,000 in units of an approved investment fund regulated by the Hungarian National Bank, with at least 40% of its net asset value in Hungarian residential properties.
Crucially, that capital is recoverable:
the investment must be maintained for a minimum of 5 years.
The donation route is materially more expensive and gives nothing back.
Applicants may make a EUR 1,000,000 donation to a designated higher education or cultural institution.
For most clients the fund route is the rational choice — the donation only makes sense in narrow circumstances.
Note what is no longer available.
As of 15 January 2025, the guest investor pathway for the EUR 500,000 real estate investment was abolished; the other two pathways remain in effect.
Any source still listing a direct property purchase is out of date.
The €250,000 is the investment, not the all-in cost. Expect fund subscription and securities-account fees charged by the fund manager, government permit fees, legal and due-diligence costs, plus per-dependent charges. We model the total before any client commits — the figures below are realistic single-applicant estimates, not headline minimums.
| Programme | Min. investment | Capital recoverable? | Permit term | Total est. cost (single applicant) | Passport rank (Henley 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hungary (fund) | €250,000 | Yes, after 5 years | 10 years; renewable once | ~€275,000–€295,000 | ~6th; 183 destinations |
| Greece (real estate) | €250,000–€800,000 (zone-based) | Asset retained, not refunded | 5 years; renewable | ~€280,000+ | ~4th; 185 destinations |
| Portugal (fund) | €500,000 | Yes, fund-dependent | 2 years; renewable | ~€540,000+ | ~4th; 185 destinations |
| Malta (MPRP residence) | €375,000+ (mixed contribution/property) | Largely non-refundable | Indefinite, conditions apply | ~€400,000+ | ~5th; 184 destinations |
Source: Henley Passport Index 2026; individual programme units and official immigration authorities, June 2026. Costs are indicative estimates, not quotations.
The standout is term length.
Hungary's 10-year residence permit validity is longer than most comparable EU Golden Visa schemes.
If you want a deeper comparison of the two best-known fund routes, our breakdown of Italy versus Portugal Golden Visa rules is a useful companion read.
No — and this is the programme's defining feature for mobile HNW families.
The Hungarian Golden Visa does not require permanent residency in the country; there is no minimum residency requirement.
The trade-off comes later:
to apply for permanent residency or citizenship, you must meet certain residency requirements.
In VisaTier's casework, our licensed advisers consistently see clients conflate "10-year permit" with "fast-track passport". They are not the same.
Any future application for Hungarian citizenship is possible solely through standard naturalisation, which generally requires eight years of continuous residence, language proficiency, and integration.
Hungary's sequencing is investor-friendly.
An applicant must obtain a Guest Investor Visa and declare their commitment to one of the investment options during the visa application — finalising the investment is not mandatory at this stage — then travel to Hungary and complete the investment within three months.
The visa itself is short-lived and the deadlines are strict.
A visa for guest investors is valid for a maximum of 6 months, while the residence permit is valid for up to 10 years; the visa cannot be extended, but the permit can be extended once, for another 10 years.
Miss the investment window and you start again:
the authority will refuse the residence permit application and revoke the Guest Investor Visa if the investment is not completed within 3 months — a fresh visa and new application would be required.
Due diligence is front-loaded, which protects your capital.
Applicants must show they have a sufficient source of funds for the investment and the source must be legitimate.
As Muzaffar Saydiganiev, Managing Director at VisaTier and a licensed investment-migration adviser, notes, rigorous vetting before you wire funds is a feature, not friction — a point we expand on in our guide to why strict CBI due diligence protects investors.
Processing is comparatively quick.
Considering other Golden Visa countries, Hungary offers a short processing time — it typically takes 4–6 months.
Holding the permit does not automatically make you a Hungarian taxpayer.
Holders of Guest Investor Residence Permits are not considered tax residents if they spend less than 183 days in Hungary during any 12-month period.
If you do become resident, the rates are among Europe's lowest.
Hungary is one of the countries with the lowest tax rates in Europe — the income tax rate is 15%, and the corporate tax rate is 9%.
The fund yield is taxed locally regardless:
the yield obtained from the real estate fund is subject to 15 per cent personal income tax in Hungary.
Tax residency is a deliberate decision, not an accident of holding a card — and it should be planned, not stumbled into. This is general guidance, not tax advice.
We model the all-in cost, the five-year fund exit and the tax-residency line before you commit a euro. Strategy first, then the permit.
Open the portal →For HNW families comparing Hungary against a broader EU shortlist, start with [our diagnostic] and our overview of European residency without relocating.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Eligibility, thresholds, fees and outcomes depend on individual circumstances and are subject to change; no approval, return or tax outcome is guaranteed. Figures reflect publicly available information as at June 2026; verify on official sources. Victory Meets Trust.
