A “new era” for guest workers in Hungary: New regulations and National Card
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The employment of guest workers in Hungary has recently been subject to major changes. The government has introduced strict rules to ensure that the presence of guest workers is limited to the strict extent and duration required. In addition, a new type of residence permit will be made available for cross-border commuters.
The Hungarian government has drafted a new regulation to allow the employment of guest workers until major investments are operational. This means that guest workers can only work in the country with prior group approval and can stay for up to one year. It is important to stress that these workers are included in the national quota for guest workers. This ensures that only a limited number of guest workers are present in the country at any one time, which prevents excessive labour imports.
Cross-border commuters and the National Card
Another important element of the draft regulation is the extension of the National Card to cross-border commuters. This measure will mainly affect Ukrainian and Serbian citizens, making it easier for them to work in Hungary. The aim is to facilitate access to the Hungarian labour market for workers from neighbouring countries, provided they meet the legal requirements.
In addition, the quota for the employment of guest workers has been tightened. The government has reduced the maximum number of workers from third countries to 35,000 from 65,000. The number of guest workers will therefore remain under control, and they will only be granted work permits if the employer can prove that Hungarian labour is not available to fill the job.
As of January 2025, ten countries, including Vietnam, have been removed from the list of countries eligible to send workers, significantly reducing the number of workers coming from these countries. Currently, Georgia, Armenia and the Philippines are the countries with a quota in Hungary.
According to Világgazdaság, the share of workers from third countries in Hungary remains low compared to other countries in the region. While the share of guest workers in Hungary is only 2.8%, it is 4.3% in Slovakia, 6.8% in Poland and 16% in the Czech Republic. This shows that Hungary’s labour market is less reliant on foreign labour than its neighbouring countries.
Keeping a tight rule on able bodied men & women under retirement age to not access social programs will help keep numbers low for labour from outside. When people are complaining about life being expenisive but not working and training to upgrade themselves in their free time is not in the best interest of any country. In many countries guest workers disapear ….work for years without contributing taxes, volunteer work etc just taking taking taking. I see on the news that the US has been finding such people who cheated all other taxpaying citezens for decades in many cases. Now crying on the news cus they finally got caught. These types of people cost twice…once when they cheat the system working under the table, 2nd if a local stays unemployed since they somehow also cost society $ in one type of service or another that they are not contribuiting to thru employment.
Another thing to watch closely is that guest workers are not abused, missused by employers or those who brought them in…tht happens a lot in England. Esp in construction, domestic jobs or other jobs where people work in locations where the general public stays at a distance, nor pays attention to the hours each person is working, where they live etc.
Get used to it Hungary, avoid these nativist populist electoral strategies and expect more guest workers and/or temporary immigrants, why?
It’s not just employment short falls, but ageing population with more retirees or pensioners accessing budgets and services, but fewer Hungarian working age tax payers; declining fertility and increasing old age dependency ratios equals medium long term demographic decline……
Temporary or guest workers, like international students and tourists, increase aggregate demand and pay taxes especially áfa so are deemed to be ‘net financial (budget) contributors’.
Alternative? Increase taxes or decrease government services and delivery, including pensions?