Hungarians returning from abroad can draw on new state subsidy

Budapest, December 29 (MTI) – Hungarians and their partners returning home after a spell working abroad will be eligible for the government’s new family home-building scheme, a ministry of human resources official said on Tuesday.

Bence Retvari, parliamentary state secretary, commenting to the press about an amendment to the relevant law, said returnees would have to prove they had worked abroad or at home for the previous six months, and they must provide proof of two years of health insurance contributions in order to receive a grant of 10 million forints (EUR 32,000).

In addition, the amendments also cater to families in which one partner is over forty years old, he said.

Further, parents can draw on the subsidy if their child is below the age of twenty, as opposed to the initial cut-off point of 16. In the case of higher-education students, the scheme can be extended by five years.

Couples who have adopted can also apply, he added.

Under the scheme a 10 million grant is available to families with three children towards the purchase of a new home. This is complemented by a further 10 million preferential loan. The interest on the loan can be changed every five years and the government will provide an interest subsidy for 25 years.

The subsidy for families with a single child buying a new home is 600,000 forints and 2.6 million for families with two children.

The subsidy will also be available for purchasing resale homes. The available amount will vary depending on the size of the home bought and the number of children in the family.

For families with one child the subsidy will be 550,000-600,000 forints, for those with two children 880,000-1.43 million, for families with three children 1.32-2.2 million and for families with four or more children between 1.76-2.75 million.

According to Retvari there are more than 200,000 families with three or more children that are eligible for non-refundable grants. The government hopes the number of such families will grow, therefore they will allocate funds for the home purchase subsidy programme without an upper limit for the time being.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters