Tens of thousands of guest workers cannot enter Hungary: large investments in trouble

Guest workers are crucial for a functioning Hungarian economy. Even the Hungarian government acknowledged that without Vietnamese, Philippine or Indonesian workers, the Hungarian economy would not be able to grow. Therefore, the Orbán cabinet plans to invite hundreds of thousands of guest workers, but paperwork was halted in January due to legislative deficiencies. As a result, large investments can be delayed in Hungary.

Hundreds of thousands of Hungarians seek employment abroad, lured by higher wages and superior working conditions in countries like Austria, Germany, and Great Britain. Despite government initiatives like “Come Home, youth!” enticing their return, many remain abroad indefinitely.

The underlying issue is structural, as Hungarian economic pundits often highlight. The Orbán cabinet’s strategy to attract low-value-added investments fails to entice most Hungarians working abroad. Consequently, Hungary relies heavily on foreign workers to fill crucial gaps in its labour force, with a significant portion hailing from non-EU countries, primarily Southeast Asia.

We wrote about that scheme in THIS article. In short, 25 Hungarian companies are “licensed” to acquire the needed documents for the guest workers. Válasz Online suggested last September that some of them are government-close, and the business generates a solid and calculable profit.

However, there is a problem now. A recent report by 444.hu underscores the bureaucratic logjam plaguing the processing of residency applications. From 1 January to 29 February, no new applications for interim, national,or EU residence cards could be submitted, disrupting the influx of guest workers. This hiatus also affected the evaluation of previously filed appeals, with exceptions made only for professional athletes.

The repercussions are profound, with 23,602 prospective guest workers stranded. The number of non-EU citizens working in Hungary is around 120 thousand, so 23 thousand is a considerable number. The largest group of foreign non-EU citizens working in Hungary are Ukrainians (approx. 40 thousand), Serbians and Vietnamese (16 thousand) and Philipines (10 thousand), portfolio.hu wrote.

Alternative solutions for guest workers

The Hungarian economy and the companies badly need the foreign workforce. Therefore, they tend to explore alternative solutions. According to telex.hu, some firms request a “C”-type business visa. That is regularly issued for foreigners travelling to Hungary for business negotiations or short-term missions, not for a Philippine guest worker to build walls and roofs on a construction site.

Another alternative is to do the paperwork in another EU country and transfer the worker to Hungary.

According to 444.hu, it is uncertain what will happen after 1 March. Guest workers will be able to submit the relevant papers after that date. However, the different ministries have conflicting interests, so the legal framework may not be ready by then.

That is because the interior, foreign and economic ministries do not agree on which nationalities should come to Hungary.

Consequently, multiple companies miss out on important deals. As a result, autumn plant inaugurations can be delayed since there is no workforce to build them.

The National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing told 444.hu that they aim to decide about the submitted appeals by 30 April.

Read also:

• Guest workers cause problems at Hungary’s best-known spa – Read more HERE
• Guest workers to drive buses between Budapest city centre and Budapest Airport? – Details in THIS article