Hungary ends new guest worker permits: Decree 92/2026

Government Decree 92/2026 (VI. 5.) empties the guest worker country list in Decree 450/2024 from 6 June 2026. Because Act XC of 2023 requires citizenship of a listed country, no new guest worker residence permit can be granted. Permits already issued stay valid until expiry, and extensions are decided under the list in force on 5 June.

The stalled application: recorded without the fee

The most common employer error concerns the fee rather than the date. Under section 5(3) of Decree 450/2024, an application recorded on the online immigration filing system by 5 June 2026 counts as pending only if the administrative service fee was paid by that same date.

An application recorded without the fee therefore has no transitional protection. It is decided under the rule in force from 6 June, which means the empty country list, and it cannot succeed. HR teams should check the fee payment date on every file from early June, because the recording date shown in the system does not on its own establish pending status.

What changed on 6 June 2026

Decree 92/2026 amended sections 1, 2 and 5 and Annex 1 of Decree 450/2024. The new section 1(1) states that the Government designates no third country whose nationals may be employed in Hungary on a guest worker residence permit.

The legal effect follows from the Act. Section 30(1)(c) of Act XC of 2023 makes citizenship of a decree listed country a condition of the permit. With the list empty, no applicant can meet it. The channel already rested on a narrow group of sponsors: under section 30(1)(b) and (2), only employers registered as preferential employers or as qualified temporary work agencies could sponsor a guest worker. The register is covered in the guide to the qualified employer and labour supplier register, and the permit as it worked before in the guest worker residence permit guide.

Existing permits: validity, extension and change of employer

Under section 5(1) of Decree 450/2024, guest worker and employment purpose permits issued before the amendment stay valid and give a right of residence until their stated expiry. Extension or reissue requests from holders of a guest worker permit valid on 5 June 2026 are decided, under section 5(2)(a), on the country list in force on that date.

The Act caps how far an extension can go. Under section 31(1) and (2) of Act XC of 2023, the permit runs for at most two years, extends one year at a time, and cannot be extended beyond three years from first issue. Workforce plans should therefore count from each worker's first issue date.

A change of employer is not a new application either. Under section 31(8), a guest worker changing employer files an extension request for the existing permit, so the receiving employer also falls under the transitional rule.

The employer's duty when the job ends

Section 29 of Act XC of 2023 applies to the remaining workforce. The employer must ensure that a worker on an employment related permit leaves Hungary by the sixth day after the job ends. Failure can bring a HUF 5 million fine. The deadline runs from the day each job ends. Run off planning therefore tracks three dates for each worker: the permit expiry, the end of three years from first issue, and the expected end of the job.

The decree is published in the National Legislation Database, and so is the Act. Open roles are listed on the Werklist job board.