Tell us which professions and countries your agency covers, and how you verify skills and protect candidate data.
Budapest, Hungary's capital, has county-level status and is split into 23 districts, each with its own district office under the Budapest Capital Government Office. The city brings together a dense mix of employers in business services, life sciences, and technology. For a recruitment agency abroad, though, the legal paths to bring non-EU staff to those employers are much narrower than many partners assume, and any cooperation has to start from that fact.
Start with what has shut. No eligible country is designated for the guest-worker residence permit, so it takes no new applications. A person who arrived on one before the change may stay until it lapses and may seek a renewal under the old conditions, but a Budapest plan cannot rest on it. The second route, the employment-purpose residence permit, is reserved for citizens of a handful of states picked by government decree, each of which must have a readmission deal or a comparable promise to take back its nationals. The decree’s own wording names three: Georgia, Armenia and the Philippines; the list on oif.gov.hu is the one to rely on, and partners must look there before mentioning any candidate. On top of that, a yearly ceiling restricts how many such permits Hungary grants.
In the capital, the partnership centres on three candidate pools: citizens of those decree-listed states; graduates and specialists eligible for a Hungarian Card or an EU Blue Card; and Europeans from the EU and EEA, who can work without a permit. Volume is never promised. We assess every Budapest request onn its own merits, and cooperation begins only if a suitable, verified request arises.
Clarity about roles matters in the capital. AtoZ Serwis Plus is not registered in Hungary as an employment agency or a temporary work agency, has no office in Hungary, and nothing on this page points to a live vacancy, job order or client in the capital. The Budapest employer carries the employer’s legal duties throughout. A Hungarian agency can join the chain only after the government office registers it, and certain routes allow only a qualified temporary work agency, a category kept on its own register with demanding entry tests.
Material from HIPA, the national investment promotion agency, presents the capital as a base for business service centres where international groups finance and accounting, HR, data analytics, and process automation teams. HIPA has reported a pharmaceutical group’s business service hub in Budapest and announced that technology firms are adding engineering and research teams in the city; partners can confirm current operations with each employer. For partners, these established activities translate into specific candidate profiles:
Working patterns vary sharply between these groups. Office centres may run extended hours to serve clients in other time zones, while hospitality and building employers may roster nights, weekends and public holidays. The pattern belongs in the written request, not in assumptions. For employment and earnings statistics in the capital, partners should consult the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) rather than rely on second-hand figures.
Sourcing for a Budapest employer starts with the route and only then turns to the profile. Before any search, the partner and the employer would agree which permit, if any, the post can use. An excellent accountant whose passport comes from a state missing from the decree simply cannot be put forward for the employment-purpose permit, so citizenship would be asked about at the very first contact and matched against the passport much later.
For qualified routes, the first question is whether the candidate holds a higher-education degree or a designated qualification that the employer and the authorities would recognise. For EU and EEA candidates, citizenship is enough to work, and the focus shifts to skills, language and availability.
At the opening stage, a Budapest shortlist rests on two things: the CV and proof of the main skill, for instance, a diploma, a portfolio of past work, a letter from a former manager, or a brief sample task. Police certificates, passport scans, and other personal records belong to a later stage and would be gathered only if theemployer’ss written list for that permit asks for them.
Before contacting a single candidate, both sides would agree to confirm that the Budapest company is real, financially sound, and properly represented. Hungary’s official company information service, e-cegjegyzek. hu, hu, returns the registered seat, scope of business, named representatives and any pending insolvency or winding-up case when searched by company name, registration number or tax number. NAV, the tax authority, maintains public databases that show whether a tax number is active, suspended, or struck off, and whether the business appears among taxpayers with no public debt.
The written request itself would need to state:
If a Hungarian intermediary appears in the chain, the parties would check that the government office has registered it, and for routes that require it, that it is entered on the separate register of qualified temporary work agencies. The authorities would not process a request that cannot be traced to a real employer or that asks candidates for money.
A Swiss, Norwegian or EU passport holder can sign a Budapest contract and start without any permit. If the stay exceeds 90 days, the person registers an address with the immigration authority, which leads to a registration certificate. This group is the easiest for employers to engage and can include multilingual staff for service centres.
Non-EU candidates face a different position. Being inside Schengen does not help; Hungarian short-stay visas and visa-free visits cover tourism and business trips and exclude paid work. Before the first shift, a non-EU national needs a residence permit naming the employer that will pay them. A Hungarian permit also doesn't travel well: short trips to other Schengen states are allowed, but it grants no right to take a job in any other member state, so a worker placed in Budapest cannot move to Vienna or Bratislava.
Separate arrangements exist under the National Card for nationals of certain neighbouring countries set by decree; employers should confirm eligibility directly with the immigration authority. Candidates hoping to settle in Budapest should understand that the national residence card, Hungary’s long-term status, remains out of reach for anyone whose stay rests on an employment-purpose, guest-worker, or seasonal permit.
Five doors stay open to new non-EU staff heading for the capital:
A typical order of steps would run as follows:
Switching to another employer, post or site means a new permit decision, requested from within Hungary. Employers that break these rules risk heavy fines per worker, and a main contractor in the capital may be held jointly liable for a subcontractor’s failures. A government-ordered review of the whole framework for non-EU employment is in progress, which is one more reason partners must check oif.gov.hu before committing to any plan.
Under the Labour Code, nights, rotating shifts, Sundays, and public holidays all carry a supplement on top of basic pay, which matters for hotels, transport, and round-the-clock service desks in Budapest. Paid holiday entitlement starts at 20 working days a year and rises with age and other personal circumstances.
Hungary operates two statutory pay floors: a general minimum wage and a higher floor for posts that require secondary schooling or a vocational qualification. Government decrees set both. This page quotes no amounts, since they are revised; partners would ask the employer for the gross figure in writing and compare it with the decree in force. For the Blue Card, the salary threshold is a separate and higher test.
Each payday, the worker should receive a written statement that explains the gross figure and every deduction. The law toallowseductions where a statute alpermitshem or the employee has agreed, and alonly withinixed limits. Any charge for housing, meals,, or transportmust be agreed to to in writing before departure and and never introduced after arrival.
No work-related permit file is complete without a Hungarian address. The immigration authority accepts, among other things, a tenancy agreement, a host’s statement, title deeds, a prepaid booking or an employer’s written promise of housing. If the worker later moves flats within Budapest, the new address must reach the immigration authority without delay.
In a city of 23 districts, the distance between a bed and a workplace can decide whether a placement works. The parties would agree to check the travel route from the proposed address to the workplace at the actual shift times, including early mornings and late nights, when some public transport runs less often. A worker on a night roster in an outer district may face a very different journey from an office employee in the centre.
Because accommodation must be shown in every work-related application, the parties should agree on Budapest housing terms in writing and confirm them with the employer: room size, how many people share it, kitchen and washing facilities, any deposit, and the monthly price. Partners would not describe housing as free unless the employer confirms it in writing, and any rent deduction must appear in the contract and the pay statement.
Document requests would grow only as a candidate moves forward. Up to the interview, the CV and proof of the core skill carry the file. After an employer interview and a written intention to proceed, the employer’s written list would set out what the chosen permit needs, which may include a passport, qualification certificates, proof of accommodation and evidence of health insurance. Nothing would be gathered “just in case”.
Two legal layers protect a candidate’s data in Hungary: the EU’s GDPR and the Hungarian Information Act, with NAIH acting as the supervisory body that takes complaints. The parties would agree on who acts as controller at each stage, how long CVs are kept, and how a candidate can request deletion. If CVs or test results move from an EU-based party to one based outside the EU, the GDPR requires a transfer mechanism, typically standard contractual clauses signed by both partiesThe candidate keeps the originals of passports and diplomaste. No party in the chain would hold a worker’s identity documents, and partners would refuse any request to do so.
The Budapest employer would conduct interviews, or participate directly, generally via video for candidates abroad. The employer decides who is offered a post. Partners would agree the format in advance: who attends, which language is used, whether an interpreter is needed and how results are shared with the candidate.
Skills checks would match the actual job. For finance and analytics posts, a case study or spreadsheet task may be used; for software roles, a coding exercise; for laboratory staff, questions on methods and quality procedures documented in the candidate’s past work.
Language levels would be stated as requirements in the request, not assumed. A role in a service centre may need fluent written English and another European language, while a kitchen role may need only basic workplace communication. We would record test results so candidates can receive feedback, and candidates would never pay for interviews or tests.
Before travel, each candidate would receive the signed contract or a binding written offer in a language they understand, together with a plain account of the permit’s limits: the named employer, the named post and the named Budapest address, nothing else. Candidates would hear that moving jobs requires a new decision, that Austria and Slovakia are off-limits for work, and that a spouse or children cannot follow on the employment-purpose permit.
After consular approval, the worker receives an entry visa and must arrive within the window it specifies. Once the worker lands, the employer files the NAV registration before the first shift and tells the immigration authority through its online platform that the job has begun.
A practical arrival plan would cover the first night’s address, the route to the workplace, the name of an employer contact, how the first pay will be calculated and when it is due, and how to reach the employment supervision authority if something goes wrong. For EU candidates, the plan would include registration with the immigration authority if the stay will exceed 90 days.
In Hungary, a private employment agency has no right to collect money from a person looking for work, whatever the label. Any cooperation with AtoZ Serwis Plus follows that rule and never charges candidates for a Budapest post, whether it's called a fee, a deposit, training, or visa help.
The employment supervision authority, part of the Budapest Capital Government Office, enforces labour rights; its employment supervision and occupational safety department is located at Váradi utca 15 in District III. Its inspectors review written contracts, registrations, hours, wages, agency arrangements, and whether non-EU staff hold the right permits. Lodging a complaint costs nothing; you can do it at the counter, by letter, or online, and your identity is kept confidential by default.
If life or safety is at risk, dial 112. People caught up in trafficking or forced labour may also turn to OKIT (the National Crisis Management and Information Hotline), a free line that never closes. Partners would agree to watch for warning signs such as:
Any such sign would stop the process until the facts are checked against official sources.
These public authority pages are the reference points for any plan concerning the capital:
For an overview of the country framework used across these pages, see the Hungary recruiter page.
If your agency can supply qualified specialists, nationals of the decree-listed countrie,s or EU and EEA candidates for employers in the capital, the next step isto send a written enquiry. Please describe the professions you recruit, the countries you work in, how you check qualifications, how you protect candidate data and how you make sure candidates never pay.
Register your agency through the AtoZ Serwis Plus recruiter registration form and mention Budapest in your message. A response wouldexplaint whether a fit existsforh the routes described abov, and what each party would need to verify beforeapproaching any candidatd.
Register your agency and describe the qualified or EU candidates you can present. A reply would explain whether the open routes offer a fit with employers in the capital.
No new ones. Because the designating decree names no country, the guest-worker permit accepts no fresh applications. People in Budapest who already hold it may stay until it lapses and may renew under the old conditions, but planning a new placement on it is not possible.
Only citizens of states on a short decree list, each tied to Hungary or the EU by a readmission or return arrangement; the list as published names the Philippines, Armenia and Georgia. Because the decree can be amended, partners would read the version on oif.gov.hu before putting anyone forward to a Budapest employer.
There is. A single yearly ceiling applies to employment-purpose and guest-worker permits combined, and once it is used up no more can be granted for that period. A Budapest plan should therefore never depend on large numbers or a fixed schedule.
Finance, HR and analytics specialists with degrees may fit the EU Blue Card if the salary threshold is met, or the Hungarian Card where the qualification is designated. EU and EEA citizens need no permit, which makes them a practical source of multilingual staff for Budapest centres.
It can be, for software developers and engineers whose degree is recognised and whose offer in the capital reaches the annual pay floor. A Budapest employer would confirm the figure and the contract terms in writing before any candidate is shortlisted.
It serves people whose qualification sits on a government-designated list, plus certain athletes, coaches, stage performers and film professionals. Holders may stay up to three years with the option of renewal, and the OIF page shows who qualifies.
This permit is limited to farming, forestry, fishing and livestock work, for six months at most in any twelve. Such work may be rare within the capital itself, so this route matters mainly for farm employers elsewhere in Hungary rather than for Budapest offices, hotels or sites.
They do not. Anyone holding EU, EEA or Swiss citizenship may take a Budapest job without a permit. If the stay exceeds 90 days, the person notifies the immigration authority of a Hungarian address and receives a registration certificate in return; the filing can be done online.
Where a labour market test applies, the Budapest Capital Government Office checks whether suitable registered jobseekers are available first, based on a labour demand the employer lodges; some posts are exempt. Partners would ask the employer for written confirmation of how the step was handled.
Only after a fresh decision. Moving to a different employer, post or site in the capital requires a new permit ruling, sought from within Hungary. Meanwhile the worker stays limited to the employer, post and site printed on the existing permit.
The permit names the workplace, so a move to a different Budapest address can count as a change that needs a new permit decision. The employer would check this with the immigration authority before any transfer, and partners would ask for written confirmation that the move is covered.
By the opening day of work, the Budapest employer has to see a valid permit that names it, the post and the site. It then keeps a copy on file until the employment ends, ready for any inspection.
Within short deadlines, the employer tells the immigration authority online when a worker begins, fails to show up, leaves, or sees material changes to the job. Registering with NAV is a separate duty and does not cover these reports. Missed notices can lead to heavy fines.
Yes. The employer must register each employee with the National Tax and Customs Administration before the first working day. This applies to Hungarian and foreign staff alike in Budapest and sits alongside, not instead of, the reports owed to the immigration authority.
Both sides would agree to search the official company information service, read its tax status in NAV databases, confirm who may sign and match the workplace address to the request. A request that cannot be traced to a real Budapest employer would go no further.
NAV lets anyone look up whether a tax number is active, suspended or cancelled, and whether a business is listed among those with no public debt. Queries can cover one number or a batch, which helps when several firms sit in one contracting chain.
No. AtoZ Serwis Plus has no office in Hungary, and no Hungarian authority has registered it as a staffing or placement business. The Budapest employer keeps its own legal duties, and this page implies no live vacancy, job order or client.
Yes, provided the competent government office has registered it as an employment intermediary or a temporary staffing firm, which appears on the national register published by the public employment service. Some routes go further and admit only firms holding qualified status, which sits on a register of its own.
It means the firm has passed demanding tests to join a special register: trained compliance staff, a large blocked cash deposit, a sizeable workforce including Hungarians, clear ownership and a clean tax record. It must brief foreign workers in writing in a language they follow.
Never. Hungarian law bars private employment agencies from charging a jobseeker anything at all. Equally, cooperation with AtoZ Serwis Plus never accepts charges to candidates for Budapest posts, called a fee, a deposit, training or an advance for travel.
It would name the legal employer and signatory, the job title and duties, the exact workplace address and district, gross pay, hours and shifts, the intended permit route, accommodation details with any charge, the selection steps and the documents needed later from the chosen candidate.
A CV plus proof of the main skill, such as a diploma, a set of past work, a manager's letter or a brief sample task. The candidate's own statement of citizenship is noted so the route can be tested. Personal records are collected later, from the employer's written list.
Only after the employer has interviewed a candidate and confirmed in writing that it wishes to proceed. The employer's written list then sets out the documents the permit needs. Originals stay with the candidate, and no one in the chain keeps a worker's passport.
The GDPR and the Hungarian Information Act apply, and complaints go to NAIH, the national supervisory authority. The parties would settle in advance which of them is controller at each step, how long CVs are retained and how a candidate can ask to see or erase their data.
A transfer from an EU-based party to one outside the EU needs a GDPR mechanism, typically standard contractual clauses signed by both sides. Until that safeguard exists, no candidate data for a Budapest request would be exchanged.
The employer, or someone acting directly for it, conducts the interview, generally by video for candidates abroad. The parties agree beforehand on the language, any interpreter and how results reach the candidate. The employer alone decides on any offer.
They can be. A Budapest employer may set a case study for finance staff, a coding exercise for developers or questions on laboratory procedures. For trades, a practical test recorded in the candidate's country can give useful evidence. Candidates never pay for any test.
Forty hours, split into eight-hour days, is the full-time standard. Other patterns are lawful only inside the Labour Code's limits. The Budapest contract has to spell out the working time, and the employer's request should already describe any shift system.
A yearly cap limits overtime, and the hours worked beyond it are compensated by extra pay or by equal rest. The employer would explain in writing how much overtime the post may involve, so that candidates are not surprised by expectations that were never stated.
The Labour Code adds supplements when work falls at night, on Sundays, on public holidays or within a rotating shift system. These premiums matter for Budapest hotels, transport operators and round-the-clock service desks, and the contract or pay statement should show how they are calculated.
The base is 20 working days per year, and older employees and those in some other situations earn extra days. A foreign worker in the capital has the same entitlement as a Hungarian colleague, and the written contract would confirm it.
Government decrees fix a general minimum wage and, above it, a floor for posts requiring secondary education or a vocational qualification, and both are revised periodically. Partners would set the gross offer from a Budapest employer against whichever decree is in force.
Only inside legal limits, and only with a statutory basis or the worker's consent. Any rent or service charge would be agreed in writing before departure and shown on the written pay statement. Charges added after arrival without agreement would be a warning sign.
It must. A work-related permit file needs a Hungarian address supported by, say, a tenancy, a host's declaration or an employer undertaking. A later move to a different Budapest flat has to be notified to the immigration authority promptly.
The parties would check the route from the proposed address to the workplace at the actual shift times, including nights and weekends. Journeys across the capital's 23 districts can differ greatly, and an early or late shift may need a different plan from office hours.
No. Holding a Hungarian permit allows brief trips around Schengen, but taking a job in another member state depends on that state's own rules. A worker placed in Budapest cannot be sent on to employers in Vienna or elsewhere.
No. Short-stay Schengen visas and visa-free visits are for travel, not employment. Before any work in the capital, a non-EU national must hold a residence permit naming the employer, and working without one breaks the law for both sides.
Not on the employment-purpose permit, which allows no family reunification. Candidates with families should understand this before applying for a post in Budapest, and the parties would say so in the first written description of the job.
They do not. Years spent on employment-purpose, guest-worker or seasonal permits give no access to Hungary's national residence card, and the employment-purpose permit cannot be converted into another permit from inside the country. Settlement is not a realistic expectation on these routes.
Up to two years, with one extension, and the extension is applied for inside Hungary before expiry. The total period is limited. Candidates would be told at the outset that a Budapest placement on this permit is temporary.
With the employment supervision authority of the Budapest Capital Government Office. Its employment supervision and occupational safety department sits at Váradi utca 15 in District III, and complaints can be made in person, by post or online, at no cost.
Yes. The employment supervision authority protects the identity of a person who reports an employment problem unless they agree otherwise. This allows a worker to raise concerns about pay, hours or permits without exposing themselves to the employer.
Dial 112 whenever life or safety is under threat. OKIT, the National Crisis Management and Information Hotline, answers trafficking and forced labour cases at no cost, day and night, and the Budapest employment supervision authority receives reports of abuse at work.
Offers of guest-worker permits, requests for payment for a job or visa, offers naming no employer or workplace, pressure to travel on a short-stay visa and any plan to hold workers' passports. Any of these would stop the process until official sources confirm the facts.
Only through a route that is open and only when the driver satisfies Hungarian rules. Professional bus and truck drivers need Hungary's GKI driver qualification certificate, the local form of Code 95, and its theory papers are offered in English and Russian too.
A non-EU licence has to be exchanged after a period of residence, and the conditions should be checked with the government office. A Budapest employer would confirm the position for each driver before driving work begins.
The government offices' transport authority hands them out, on personal application, to licence holders who normally live in Hungary. A haulier running international trips with a non-EU driver also requires a driver attestation for that person.
This is possible solely for an employer holding a government agreement plus advance group approval. The permits are linked to the particular project and its timeline, so very few Budapest employers can use them.
The immigration authority's website, oif.gov.hu, publishes factsheets on each permit and notices about changes. Partners would check it before every plan, because country lists, conditions and caps can be amended by decree at short notice.
KSH, Hungary's statistics office, releases official tables on jobs, pay and population for the capital and the wider Central Hungary region. Partners should go to those tables directly rather than repeat figures that carry no source.
The Budapest Capital Government Office has a district office for each of the capital's 23 districts, and employment customer service points in several of them. Its head office is at Váci út 172 to 176 in District XIII.
Laboratory, quality and regulatory posts can require recognised degrees and documented experience. The Budapest employer defines the requirements, and the route may be the EU Blue Card or the Hungarian Card where the qualification is designated, or EU mobility for European candidates.
Through the recruiter registration form, with a description of the professions and countries you recruit from, how you verify skills and protect data, and how you ensure candidates never pay. A reply would state whether the open routes give any fit with Budapest employers.
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