Hungary · Digital nomad
White Card — Residence Permit for Digital Nomads
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Last verified July 2026
Introduced in 2022, this programme is still open. One note of caution: the White Card is Hungary's digital nomad permit. It is a completely separate instrument from the Guest Investor Programme. The two are often confused, even by advisors.
At EUR 3,000 a month, this is one of the cheapest ways to gain legal residence in the EU. But it is designed as a dead end. The permit lasts two years at most, it excludes family, it offers no permanent residence, and it can be withdrawn if you engage with the Hungarian economy. This is a place to sit, not a place to land.
Qualifying routes
€3k
Remote employment for a non-Hungarian employer
A net monthly income of at least EUR 3,000 for the 6 months before entry, and throughout the stay
€3k
Ownership of a profitable non-Hungarian company managed remotely
The same income test applies, and profits must be demonstrable
The facts
- Minimum
- €3k
- Total landed cost
- Roughly EUR 150-300 in government fees, plus translation and insurance costs. No investment is required.
- Route type
- Income requirement
- Timeline
- 1–3 months (Applications are made at a consulate, or in limited cases, within Hungary)
- Physical presence
- At least 90 days within any 180-day period are required to qualify for the single extension
- Family
- There is no family eligibility here. Family reunification is expressly not available to White Card holders, except for children born in Hungary during the stay
- Permanent residency
- There is no path to permanent residency. The law expressly bars White Card holders from being granted a national residence card.
- Citizenship
- There is no path to citizenship through this permit.
- Language test
- Not applicable
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- third-country national pursuing no gainful activity in Hungary and holding no share in a Hungarian companynet income of at least EUR 3,000 per month, evidenced over 6 monthsaccommodation in Hungary and health insuranceclean criminal record
What can go wrong
- There is a hard two-year ceiling. The permit runs one year, extendable once, and then you must leave. There is no renewal beyond that and no conversion into any other status.
- Family reunification is expressly prohibited. A spouse or existing children cannot join you. That alone disqualifies it for most families.
- It cannot lead to permanent residence by statute. None of the time counts toward anything.
- The permit is withdrawn if you work for a Hungarian employer or acquire any share in a Hungarian company. That is a real constraint on entrepreneurs.
- The widely repeated claim that digital nomads pay no income tax if under 183 days is dangerously simplistic. The 90-day-per-180 presence needed for extension pushes you toward Hungarian tax residency, and the permanent-home and centre-of-vital-interests tests can make you resident well short of 183 days.