Tens of thousands could flood the Hungarian labour market: will guest workers be sent home?

The official explanation is that the Hungarian economy depends heavily on foreign guest workers, primarily from Southeast Asia, because domestic companies cannot meet their labour needs from local sources. However, a newly issued government decree could unleash tens of thousands of Hungarians onto the labour market, potentially depriving many guest workers of their livelihoods.

Life is not easy for guest workers in Hungary

Being a guest worker in Hungary is no simple matter. On the one hand, the regulatory environment makes it practically impossible to settle permanently or obtain Hungarian citizenship, even if the individual marries and starts a family there. In August, we reported the story of Rena from the Philippines, who, despite having a child with her Hungarian husband, is expected by the authorities to return to her home country and apply for family reunification from there — a near-impossible task for a mother with a breastfeeding infant.

For many guest workers, the working conditions are far from what was promised back home. They often do not work in the positions advertised and, more painfully, earn much less than they were promised. Most arrive in Hungary already in debt, and instead of supporting their families back home, they struggle merely to avoid starvation themselves. Their only option is to live almost ascetically, spending little beyond what is needed for food and clothing.

• More and more industries in Hungary dependent on guest workers: new reality of the labour market?

Tens of thousands of Hungarians might enter the labour market

While these changes could affect guest workers, Hungarian employers will also face new realities following a recent government decree. The Orbán cabinet has decided that only after an individual assessment may those who have worked exclusively as public workers for at least ten years remain in the programme.

According to the government, this opens the door for their entry into the wider labour market, portfolio.hu reports. The state employment agency will conduct the assessments and will allow continued participation in the public work programme only if it is proven that the employee has no other employment prospects. This will likely affect only a small number of workers. The evaluation will consider many factors, including educational attainment, skills assessments, and the number of available jobs in the region.

• Government crackdown on guest workers puts Hungarian jobs at risk

Reliability, endurance, and work ethic could prove decisive

Many have worked as public workers for decades, as there was previously no upper limit on time spent in the programme, but the government believes it is unwise for this to become a permanent form of livelihood.

Under the new system, only one exception remains: anyone less than three years from retirement may stay in the public work programme without assessment.

According to the latest statistics from February 2025, 65,100 public workers were employed in Hungary — a figure that has remained stable for some time. Most have low educational qualifications and are over 50 years of age. Among them, 15,000 reside in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County and 14,000 in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County.

The question remains how companies will react if tens of thousands of new workers flood the labour market, and how many will decide to send guest workers home. For employers, reliability, endurance and work ethic will likely be the decisive factors.

For our articles on the guest workers in Hungary, click.