Hungary plans to close its guest investor residence route from 2027

Hungary’s Ministry of Interior has published a draft law that would remove the guest investor visa and the guest investor residence permit from Hungarian law on 1 January 2027. The proposal was released for public consultation on 4 November 2026, and comments close today, 12 November. It is a government draft, not an enacted law: it still has to be tabled, debated and passed by the National Assembly, and its wording may change along the way.

The change is easy to miss. It sits in a long package amending a range of law enforcement statutes, from police organisation to fire and civil protection, rather than in a stand-alone immigration bill. The government’s own announcement of the consultation, published on 5 November, confirms the point in a single sentence: the guest investor visa and residence permit would be phased out from 1 January 2027, permits already issued would remain valid but could not be extended, and transitional rules would apply to pending cases, to holders of valid visas and to family members.

What the route offers today

Hungary’s guest investor programme was created by Act XC of 2023 on the entry and residence of third-country nationals and began operating in 2024. Before it opened, the option of buying residential property directly was removed, leaving two qualifying investments:

• at least €250,000 in units of a real estate fund registered with the Hungarian National Bank, held for a minimum of five years; or
• a donation of at least €1 million to a Hungarian higher education institution maintained by a public-interest trust foundation, supporting education, research or the arts.

Under the current law the residence permit can be issued for up to ten years and extended once for up to ten more. Holders may work in Hungary, include eligible family members and move within the Schengen area under the usual rules, with no general minimum stay in Hungary each year.

How the transition would work

The draft replaces an existing transitional provision of the 2023 Act with new rules for the closure. As published, they would operate as follows.

• Pending applications. A visa, permit or extension application that has not been finally decided by 31 December 2026 would be handled under the rules in force on that date, but only if the administrative service fee had been paid by then.
• Visas already issued. A person holding a valid guest investor visa could still apply for the residence permit after 1 January 2027 under the 2026 rules. That permit could not be extended.
• Existing permits. Permits issued before 1 January 2027 would remain valid for their full term, with the right to work, but no further extension would be possible.
• Family members. Family residence permits linked to a guest investor would be capped at ten years in total.
• Visa-exempt nationals. From 1 January 2027, nationals of visa-exempt countries who are already lawfully in Hungary could no longer file a guest investor residence permit application.

The draft also provides that a permit should be withdrawn if the qualifying investment can be shown to no longer exist. The explanatory memorandum describes the aim as removing the two documents from the Hungarian legal system while protecting acquired rights, and gives no further reason for the decision.

Why it matters for investors

Hungary had been one of the newer residence by investment options in the European Union, and its fund-based route sat at the lower end of the price range for Schengen residence. If the draft passes as written, the practical window for new applicants would close at the end of December 2026, and the decisive date would be the payment of the administrative fee rather than the date of approval.

The bigger shift may be for people who already hold a permit. A residence status of up to ten years that cannot be renewed changes the long-term picture. Holders who wish to remain in Hungary after expiry would need to qualify for a different status, such as national permanent residence, and should review their position well before their permit runs out.

The move also fits a wider pattern. Several European governments have narrowed or closed investor residence routes in recent years, while others have raised thresholds or added conditions on the type of investment. Families comparing options increasingly weigh not only the entry price but also how secure the status is over time, how renewals work and whether the route leads towards permanent residence.

What happens next

Once the consultation has closed, the ministry will review the comments before the package can be submitted to Parliament. Neither the consultation page nor the government announcement sets a date for a vote. Until a law is adopted and published in the official gazette, the current provisions of Act XC of 2023 continue to apply, and anyone considering an application should confirm the latest position with the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing and a qualified Hungarian adviser before committing funds.

Sources

• Government of Hungary, Társadalmi egyeztetés indul a rendészeti törvények módosításáról (announcement of the consultation), 5 November 2026.
• Government of Hungary, Public consultation on the draft law amending certain law enforcement acts, published 4 November 2026, comments due 12 November 2026.

Read more: European residence by investment programmes compared

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal, tax or investment advice. It reflects a draft law as published for consultation on 4 November 2026; the final text may differ. AT Express is a private consultancy and is not affiliated with any government or official programme.

Featured image: “Budapest Parliament 4604” by Dirk Beyer, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, resized.