New Hungarian Golden Visa programme: Orbán cabinet allows lots of foreigners to come!
The Hungarian government is preparing a new Hungarian Golden Visa program, which may help foreigners, especially Chinese nationals, to access the Schengen Zone with Hungarian papers. Furthermore, it may result in another boom in Hungary’s property market.
The new Hungarian Golden Visa program is not for the poor foreigners
According to Szabad Európa, many foreigners can get a residence permit in Hungary from July thanks to a new government scheme the Orbán cabinet is working on. The program will target Chinese nationals who can buy property instead of state bonds to get the documents allowing them to travel freely in the Schengen Zone. Another option will be for them to invest their money in property funds owned by government-close oligarchs, Szabad Európa wrote.
Based on the paper, the new scheme will not be beneficial for the state or the people. On the contrary, since Chinese investors are expected to appear on the Hungarian property market, prices may begin to skyrocket again in the big cities. Other EU member states halted such programs since they wanted to protect their urban citizens from the housing poverty caused by the scheme.
The government is working on a decree concerning the issue and listing the broker companies. Such companies realised incredible profits in the previous programs and are connected to the Orbán cabinet or, in specific, Orbán’s most important minister, Antal Rogán.
Photo: depositphotos.com
Hungarian Golden Visa program: start date will be after the elections
The CEO of a company in the business said many await the start of the well-advertised program in China. The future decree will create a new status for the foreigners, the guest investor. If somebody has enough money to buy property or invest in real property funds in Hungary, they can get a residence permit valid for ten years.
The new decree will be in effect after the European parliamentary and municipal elections held on 9 June. Szabad Európa writes that the new scheme will kick off on 1 July.
Gaining guest investor status in Hungary will not be cheap. You can either invest in a Hungarian property fund of EUR 250,000, buy property for EUR 500,000 or support a Hungarian foundation university in Hungary with EUR 1 million.
Photo: depositphotos.com
Chinese citizens will come
Ádám Zebegnyei, a Hungarian lawyer, said the Chinese are ready to come to Hungary in masses when the program kicks off. He added the most popular version will be the investment in a property fund. Thanks to that, their money will grow while they get free access to the Schengen Zone.
According to Zebegnyei, the program will probably be popular in China, the Middle East, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. That is because the administration of Russian citizens became difficult after Putin invaded Ukraine.
According to Szabad Európa, the Hungarian state and budget will not benefit from the new Hungarian golden visa program. Meanwhile, the state promises to issue the residence permit in three weeks, provided the guest investor meets all requirements. That makes authorities’ task very difficult e.g. to complete a satisfying national security check.
Chinese tourists in Budapest. Photo: Alpár Kató
Even the investor’s family can come
The new Hungarian golden visa program will favour foreigners. The future guest investors will get a two-year visa allowing them to travel to and from Hungary and the Schengen Zone if they prove that they have enough money and promise to invest, an anonymous source told Szabad Európa.
The foreigners will not have to show a certificate of good conduct. Furthermore, one investment will allow the spouse, underage and adult children to get a ten-year residency permit in Hungary and enter the Schengen Zone.
Moreover, guest investors having a residency permit in Hungary will be able to travel home or anywhere else for more than three months. That means a Chinese guest investor family can get their papers in Hungary for EUR 250,000 and live anywhere in the European Union. That seems to be a fair business for them.
Between 2013 and 2017, almost 20,000 foreigners got fixed-term or permanent residence permits in Hungary in an earlier but similar version of the planned scheme during which foreigners could buy state bonds. 81% of them were Chinese.
A new playground for government-close oligarchs?
The Fidesz-led Economy Committee of the Hungarian Parliament gave the permit for the broker firms, all of them offshore companies. They realised a solid HUF 162 billion in revenue on the program.
The European Parliament expressed several times that they do not support such schemes. Furthermore, they asked the European Commission to present legislation paving the way for a universal regulation in the EU. The Hungarian government wanted to reestablish the program before but was afraid of the opposition of the EU.
The new Hungarian guest investor program will be Europe’s cheapest. Similar programs are ongoing in Spain and Greece, but they both increased the investment threshold lately. The European Parliament would like to end similar programs until 2025.
Read also:
- New era for investors: Golden Visa Law enters into force in Hungary – Read more HERE
- Hungary restarts golden visa scheme: everyone can join
Featured image: depositphotos.com
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14 Comments
Can’t blame the Hungarian government for doing this, other countries in EU have been doing it for years and are just now giving up or planning to do so as problems are piling up for locals. Tons of money has been made in many EU countries with golden visas. Could be a good income for Hungary too if they can implement and regulate it in a way that Hungary is not just a transit country for the rich to emigrate somewhere else in EU. Just don´t sell the visas for any cheaper than they were sold in Western European countries and allow at least some of the money to go for others than government close partners.
So Fidesz is working to flood the EU with Russian and Chinese migrants as a money making scheme. Keep the migrants out and stop your hypocrisy. The EU needs to do something about this.
“Orbán cabinet allows lots of foreigners to come” Yes, foreigners with a lot of money, who satisfy the stipulated legal conditions. These people will not be loitering in the dark alleys of Budapest looking to rape women and kids or rob seniors before staging a few riots in their no-go-zone ghettos. Try blowing this smoke up somebody else’s a…
Disgraceful emotionless “hollow” journalism – John Woods, to state, write, that the Chinese, through the Golden Visa Program & “other” – that you refer, could EFFECT “another” – Boom into – my knowledge & opinion, the DEPRESSED Property Real Estate Markets, that is FACT – occurring happening and worsening in Hungary.
John Woods, you are best advised to disassociate yourself, retain journalistic creditability, not get caught up in the “saturation” of PROPAGANDA obviously coming across your desk, to your attention – that are just dismissive of Fact & Truth.
STUFF the Chinese – and concentrate on DNA Hungarians – assisting THEM first – in making an investment into there FUTURE, there Families FUTURE – before having say the Chinese growing influx on mass number, that are entering into Hungary, and EFFECT probably – a BOOMING outcome, on the Property Real Estate Market.
DO you REALLY with any form of compassion understand that if what you write – the PROBABLE BOOM, the number in there thousands of DNA Hungarians – that your probable BOOM – will “kill off” there AFFORDABILITY capacity, to make a life-time investment into PROPERTY ?
Hungarians first & foremost, and as you write in this appalling “Cold” article to-wards Hungarians – the CHINESE never, never never, they be “gifted” nor granted ANY favouritisms – over HUNGARIANS.
Hungary first – for OUR country’s BENEFIT.
So, Chinese can enter EU more easily now..:-)
Header should indicate “New Chinese glodan visa program “
I was thinking of acquiring Hungarian Citizenship by decent, but this is giving me second thoughts!
Hey Mikey, you sound like a nut:
“These people will not be loitering in the dark alleys of Budapest looking to rape women and kids or rob seniors before staging a few riots in their no-go-zone ghettos”
What country are you living in? None of the above statement is true even a little.
They’ll be happy and secure in knowing that there will also be Chinese police on the street and shared with Russia, former independent nation of Hungary from which working age emigrate in numbers…. there is something fundamentally wrong with Hungarians’ supposed ‘patriotism’ and love of their country; corruption by political etc. elites, cowed middle class, emigration, dodgy allies, economic decline; education, health and budget stress with more retirees vs. fewer working age….. join the dots.
It may take a few smaller or one larger ‘black swan event’ for a ‘tipping point’……
More money for the already rich Hungarian Fidesz oligarchy. Where will their money be kept? Cayman Islands or Panama bank’s.
May God help us
This is only beneficials for Chinese people. Why using the headers as foreigners? A country where you don’t even value your citizens.
A country you have been living in for 10years, working for 6 years, have a Hungarian wife and a child. And you still denied your citizen husband a common PR who has been paying tax for 6 years.
So, basically this is for Chinese people and that’s why they are also bringing chinese police into the country. What a disaster.
As per the article: the REAL bait is the Schengen visa … Not many people wanting to live in Hungary, learn the language, assimilate. And I always thought that was the important bit, for our Politicians.
Re people with disposable income not perpetrating crimes – unfortunately, that’s a fairy tale. They can outrun the law for longer (expensive lawyers…), and then there’s obviously the possibility that you are Politically connected – a “friends in high places” thing. Get you a pardon for pedophilia, make evidence disappear, pay off European Union funded projects using state funds to avoid OLAF procedures, etc. Magic!
No wonder why Hungarian youth packs up and leaves this ridiculous regime forever. Orbánistan, the joke of Europe.