Hungary Guest Investor Programme
- Processing time
- 1–3 months
- Physical presence
- The ten-year guest-investor residence permit carries no minimum-stay rule. Naturalisation is a separate, far longer path requiring eight years of residence and a language exam.
- Family
- The investor can include a spouse, minor children and dependent parents.
Investment routes
Investment fund
From €250 000
- Capital
- Refundable
At least 250,000 EUR in units of a real-estate investment fund registered with the Hungarian National Bank, held for a minimum of five years. At least 40% of the fund’s net assets must be in Hungarian residential property. The capital is recoverable only after five years and its value is not guaranteed.
Contribution
From €1 000 000
- Capital
- Non-refundable
A non-refundable donation of 1,000,000 EUR to a higher-education institution maintained by a public-interest trust. This route buys nothing back.
Limits and drawbacks
- This is residence, not a passport. Citizenship needs eight years of residence and a Hungarian-language exam — a separate, much longer road.
- The “recoverable” fund route locks your capital for five years and does not guarantee its value; it is an investment at market risk, not a safe deposit.
- The 1,000,000 EUR donation route is money gone for good.
- The programme is new (relaunched late 2024) with a short track record, and Hungary’s rule-of-law standing within the EU is a factor some will want to weigh.