General information for entering Hungary
From December 21, 2007 Hungary is a member of the Schengen Area, and applies the Schengen legislation in full. From December 21, 2007 24 states, 22 of the 27 member states of the European Union (Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden) as well as Norway and Iceland are part of the Schengen Area. At the same time several members of the European Union, i.e. Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and the United Kingdom do not yet participate in the Schengen cooperation.
Significant changes subsequent to Hungary’s Schengen-membership are that
- visas and residence permits issued by one of the Schengen States are valid also for Hungary,
- visas issued by Hungarian representations abroad and residence permits issued by Hungarian national authorities are also valid for the entire Schengen Area.
The visa sticker, which looks the same for all Schengen States, bears the words "valid for Schengen States".
The Schengen visa and entry regulations are only applicable for a stay not exceeding 90 days. Rules for a long stay exceeding 90 days are laid down by the national law of the member states concerned.