Hungary border control

Beware! Several Hungarian border crossings fell due to increased pressure

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Many guest workers travel home for the Easter festivities, but the passport control process is still long. As a result, long queues evolved at the busiest Hungarian border crossings to Serbia.

Based on the users of the BorderWatcher app, we have to wait for a long time at the following border crossings:

  • Röszke–Horgos motorway: 60-90 min
  • Röszke–Horgos main road: 90-120 min
  • Tompa–Kelebia: 15-60 min
  • Tiszasziget–Gyála: 45-60 min
  • Ásotthalom–Királyhalom: 70-80 min

You may choose from the following options if you do not want to linger too long: Hercegszántó–Béreg, Kübekháza–Rábé, Bácsalmás–Bajmok and Bácsszentgyörgy–Rastina, index.hu wrote. Meanwhile, you can easily cross the border from Serbia, provided you have valid travel documents.

Austria closed busy border crossings from Hungary: ministry wants urgent talks

Austria Hungary border crossing border control

The Austrian local governments closed two busy border crossings between Austria and Hungary. The Hungarian mayor of Sopron called the act unfriendly and discriminative, which harms the community law. The foreign ministry wants urgent talks with the Austrians.

Border crossings to Austria closed

According to Magyar Nemzet, Sopron’s mayor, Ciprián Farkas, said that the Austrians closed the border crossing between Ágfalva (Hungary) and Somfalva (Austria) and another near Szentmargitbánya (St. Margarethen). Therefore, he would like to start talks about connecting the Austrian A3 motorway and the Hungarian M85 high-speed road to reduce traffic at that border crossing. As a result, the border crossing might reopen for the Hungarians driving to work in Austria each day.

A meeting on the issue might take place in April, Magyar Nemzet wrote. The mayor of Sopron (Fidesz) is hopeful they could reach a kind of compromise. However, he does not believe that the Austrians would ever reestablish the operation of the Ágfalva-Somfalva border crossing like it was before.

According to Mr Farkas, the Austrians would not like to build the road connection, while the Hungarian government is committed to finishing the job by the end of 2024. He added that the Austrian authorities did not share their intentions to close the border crossing with their Hungarian counterparts. He also learned about the measure from social media. He believes that the act harms the freedom of movement in the European Union. Besides, they completed the renewal of two roads leading to the border crossing from EU funds. The money aimed to facilitate the free movement of people between the countries.

The mayor of Sopron highlighted that 10-15 thousand Hungarians are affected who used the crossing every day since they work in Austria but live in Hungary. Getting to Austria from that region is difficult now, and there are long queues at other border crossings. That is because the local government of Szentmargitbánya (St. Margarethen) banned all vehicles from the road leading to Hungary. The only exceptions are cars owned by citizens of the nearby villages.

Farkas talked about the issue in an interview:

Anti-Hungarian atmosphere in Austria?

Mr Farkas said in a letter he wrote to Thomas Hoffmann, the mayor of Somfalva, that politicians generate an anti-Hungarian atmosphere in Austria even though the talented and hard-working Hungarians strengthen the Austrian economy with their work. He asked his counterpart to take measures against unknown locals, who caused minor damages to the Hungarian cars. Mr Hoffmann said in his reply that such allegations are absurd. Local police denied that vandals damaged cars with Hungarian license plates. We wrote about this problem in detail HERE.

Here is the letter:

Read also:

Official: Hungary under siege because of illegal migration

The pressure of migration remained constant during the winter period, and all arrivals, without exception, reached the borders with the help of people smugglers, the prime minister’s chief domestic security advisor said on Friday.

György Bakondi told public television that large, well-functioning and well-financed criminal gangs were fighting each other to grasp the spoils of people smuggling. This year so far, 24,500 border violators reached Hungary’s borders through the Balkans route, he said. Criminal proceedings have been launched against 230 human smugglers and 2,500 are currently held in Hungarian prisons. They will be expelled from the country once they serve their sentences, he added.

Besides routes through North Macedonia and Serbia, in recent weeks migrant routes through Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia have come to the fore, he said. Bakondi told public radio on Friday that the European Union had barely participated in financing border protection tasks in the past eight years. Despite recent statements about the need to protect external borders and plans to finance the acquisition of certain technical equipment, the EU would still enable masses of people of unknown identity to enter EU territory, and it would be impossible to expel them even if funds were flowing, Bakondi said.

If the proportion of migrants reached 10 percent of the population, serious demographic, social, security, economic and political consequences could be expected, he added. Masses of people in Tunisia and Libya are ready to set off for Europe, only waiting for the smuggling boats to arrive, and nearly five million illegal migrants live in Turkey, a number that may further increase as a result of the recent earthquakes, he said.

Hungary’s security went far beyond protecting its borders

Border hunter Hungary Viktor Orbán

Since illegal migration traces its roots to Africa, Hungary’s defence minister said he had held talks with his counterparts from Kenya and Niger in Brussels with the aim of “protecting the Hungarian people and Europe”.

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said in a video posted on Facebook on Wednesday that Hungary’s security went far beyond protecting its borders, and he noted “the constant pressure of illegal migration” at the country’s southern borders.

He said this pressure could be traced back to Africa, so it was “highly important to monitor what’s going on in these countries”.

As well as the meeting of EU defence and foreign ministers, a security policy conference is taking place in Brussels, attended by representatives of many African countries, he noted.

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Read alsoThe Hungarian government would further extend the state of emergency

International cooperation needed to combat people smuggling

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International cooperation is the only way European law enforcement can take effective action against people smugglers, the prime minister’s chief domestic security advisor said on Thursday.

Since people smugglers operate within an international network, EU law enforcement bodies like border agency Frontex would play a key role in coordinating the exchange of information and conducting international operations aimed at eliminating people smuggling rings, György Bakondi told public news channel M1.

But as long as the EU’s migration policy treats migration as a positive phenomenon or something to be supported, the bloc will continue to attract people smuggling rings, he said.

The Hungarian authorities have prevented more than 20,000 people from crossing the border illegally so far this year, and have launched proceedings against more than 200 people smugglers, Bakondi said.

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Hungary turns to Burgenland governor over Austria-Hungary border traffic constrictions

Austrian flag

Hungary-Austria border traffic on the Burgenland side has become constricted at several crossing points, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on Monday, noting that he has talked to Burgenland governor Hans Peter Doskozil by phone with a view to lifting the constrictions so that locals can continue to enjoy normal living conditions.

In a social media post said the governor was a “constructive and fair person”, and he had not been disappointed in the progress of their talks.

Professional discussions will get under way and a proposal will be prepared on how to ensure free-flowing traffic at the border.

The mayor of Sopron, Farkas Cipirian (Fidesz-KDNP), turned to Szijjártó after the mayor of Schattendorf in Austria indicated that traffic at the road crossing between Ágfalva and Schattendorf would serve as a footpath but for exceptional cases. Also, the Austrian side wants to limit traffic at the Sopronkőhida-Sankt Margarethen crossing.

The two crossings ensure that Hungarians working in Austria can reach their workplaces. Cipirian said the measures violated basic freedoms of the European Union, namely the right to free movement and employment.

As we wrote in December, Austrian Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler said Hungary should be kicked out of Schengen, following the logic of the Austrian Interior Minister. According to Kogler, most unregistered crossings into Austria come from Hungary, read details HERE.

Ammo smuggler arrested at the Hungarian border

Hungarian police Macedonia migration

A Greek national attempting to smuggle ammunition into Germany via Hungary was arrested at the Röszke border station, the Csongrád-Csanád County Prosecutor’s Office said on Thursday.

The Greek man is suspected of having bought 100 rounds of handgun ammunition in Bulgaria at the request of a client on Tuesday, Ferenc Szanka, the office’s spokesman told MTI. He then set off for Germany via Hungary. When inspecting his vehicle at the border station, excise officers discovered and seized the illegal ammunition.

The prosecutor’s office has initiated the suspect’s pre-trial detention, saying he was a flight risk or could undermine the proceedings, Szanka said.

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Hungarian police contingent travel to Serbia

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The European Union’s migration policy has failed, a state secretary of the interior ministry said on Wednesday, greeting a contingent of policemen leaving to relieve colleagues working in border protection in Serbia.

Bence Rétvári said 30 Hungarian policemen were leaving for Serbia on Thursday, as part of the cooperation between Austria, Hungary and Serbia, to cooperate with local authorities there. “Putting defence lines as south as possible” eases the pressure on the policemen working at the Hungarian-Serbian border, he said.

Hungarian authorities thwarted 270,000 illegal entry attempts last year, twice as many as in 2021, he said.

The EU’s policy to “allow everyone in and then decide whether they are in the EU legally” has failed, he said. Less than 10 percent of those expelled from the EU return to their homeland, he said.

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Read alsoPHOTOS, VIDEO: Hungarian rescue team in Türkiye already saved many lives and work 24/7

Defence Minister: We cannot wait, Hungary must be combat-ready

Hungary Defence Forces NATO ministry

Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said the combat readiness of Hungary’s armed forces must be “the best at all times” in a video message posted on Facebook on Sunday.

Putting young commissioned and non-commissioned officers in command positions is “indispensable” for the enhancement of the armed forces’ combat readiness, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said.

Officers with modern training, international experience and a command of foreign languages are necessary to operate the cutting edge, digital equipment that the armed forces are getting, he said. The same kind of people are needed to apply combat techniques that can be learned in modern conflicts, he added.

Commanders also need to be in top physical shape to ensure they can keep up with their troops, he said. Szalay-Bobrovniczky noted that the armed forces have taken delivery of Leopard and Lynx armoured vehicles and will get radar systems of the kind used by Israel’s Iron Dome for air defence this year. He said a ten-year plan for the armed forces aims to bring the latest, world-class technologies to Hungary.

Szalay-Bobrovniczky acknowledged that Hungary can rely on the support of NATO, but said the country must be able to defend its borders or at least show enough deterrent power to prevent security threats. “That’s why we can’t wait, we can’t delay. The Hungarian armed forces must be in the best state of readiness in the shortest time possible,” he added.

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Cross-border transport will be sped up at Hungary-Ukraine border

Mihály Varga Finance Minister in Záhony at the Hungary-Ukraine Border

Top officials of the customs and border control authorities of Hungary and Ukraine and representatives of freight carriers met to discuss speeding up cross-border transport in Záhony on Tuesday, Hungary’s tax and customs office NAV said.

The meeting was initiated by NAV in the framework of an agreement concluded in 2011 on accelerating cross-border passenger and cargo traffic, NAV said in a statement.

The participants reviewed results achieved so far thanks to the measures, NAV said, noting a 3 percent increase last year in the number of freight carriers crossing the border daily at Záhony from Ukraine compared with 2019.

At the Beregsurány border crossing station, the increase was 130 percent during the same period, NAV said.

Viktor Orbán and Željka Cvijanović
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Many foreigners escape to the West through Hungarian universities

Graduation University Higher Education

About 10-20 percent of foreign students studying at Hungarian universities vanish and move to a Western European country. There was also a class where 30-40 percent of students disappeared without any information.

Foreign students in Hungarian universities

“There are a lot of talented young people from African and Asian countries. Many of them learn some level of Hungarian as well as English. The vast majority of them go home after graduation,” an education expert who asked not to be named told index.hu. He added that “university faculties can earn up to several hundred thousand euros from the tuition fees of foreign students”.

While there are many advantages to having foreign students, integrating international students is not always an easy task. There are many cases where students disappear after enrolment. Foreign students can travel easily with a visa and most of them leave for Western Europe.

“It is a smarter, less costly and more convenient form of migration. Children from wealthier African and Asian families can enter the European Union by air and with student visas. Here, they don’t have to trust their lives to people smugglers, climb fences or wade through the Mediterranean on tinder-boxes,” said the expert.

Many disappear

“The phenomenon is not unknown in the university sector. At institutions that have minimum admission requirements for applicants and charge low tuition fees, the proportion of ghost students is estimated to be between 10 and 20 per cent of all fee-paying admissions nationally,” said another education worker.

It is said that there have been Hungarian universities where 30-40 per cent of the students in the same year group became invisible to the educational institution and the immigration office in the first semester.

Is it a real problem?

Index contacted several major Hungarian universities, but only the University of Debrecen responded.

“Over the past 30 years, the University of Debrecen has developed a quality assurance system and practical procedures for its foreign language courses, which have made it possible to neglect the number of students who do not start their studies after arriving in Hungary,” said the University of Debrecen’s Press Centre.

About 1,900 foreign students arrive here every year, but because of the high tuition fees, hardly any stay. There are no exact figures, so it is not known exactly how real the problem is, and if so, how serious it is. There are no organised criminal circles behind it, hvg.hu reports.

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Strict border control may be reinstated on the Austrian-Hungarian border

Migration Hungary border

In end-December, the Austrian vice-chancellor, Werner Kogler, said that Hungary should be kicked out of the Schengen zone, following the logic of the Austrian Interior Minister. Kogler highlighted that most unregistered crossings (mostly illegal migrants) into Austria come from Hungary. Now, an Austrian mayor talks about the importance of reinstating strict border control on the Austrian-Hungarian border. Is this the end of Schengen for Hungary?

The mayor is furious

According to rtl.hu, it is not always beneficial if the EU pays for asphalting a road connecting two settlements on the different sides of a Schengen border. That is what happened between Somfalva ( Schattendorf, Austria) and Sopron/Ágfalva in Hungary in the 2010s. The former dirt road transformed into a brand new asphalted one resulting in a drastic rise in traffic.

Theoretically, you are forbidden to use the new road on weekdays between 5 and 8 AM and 4 and 7 PM. That is the peak time for Hungarian commuters going to work in Austria and coming home. However, not everybody sticks to the rules. And despite the Austrian army is being stationed near the border crossing, they cannot sanction the commuters.

And the volume of traffic is ever-increasing. That is because everybody uses the road, who goes to work in the direction of Nagymarton (Mattersburg) or Bécsújhely (Wiener Neustadt) in Austria from Sopron and the neighbouring Hungarian villages. The other option would be a 30-minute-long turnout towards the Klingenbach/Sopron border station. Thus, it is understandable that everybody chooses the new road despite the ban.

Strict border control between Austria and Hungary soon?

ORF, Austria’s national broadcaster, talks about 4,000 commuters there even though Thomas Hoffmann (SPÖ, Austrian Socialists) introduced the previously mentioned travel restriction in 2015. He aimed to reduce the traffic in his small village. Therefore, he wants to build a barrier and put out CCTV cameras. The latter would be able to read license plates, and the barrier would only open if the car owner had permission to cross the border. Mr Hoffmann would only issue such permits to the residents of Ágfalva and Somfalva, the two small Hungarian villages near the border.

However, the Austrian interior ministry did not give a green light, and another turn of negotiations will take place on 20 January.

The mayor said he would put concrete blocks and columns to block the road from 1 March if he cannot construct the barrier. He highlighted that he needed to protect the village residents living near the country’s busiest minor road.

In the previous weeks, two traffic accidents happened. Cars hit a cyclist and a 90-year-old pedestrian. Meanwhile, the road is not wide enough to create two lanes.

Some commuters found a solution to evade the mayor’s ban legally. They let their car on the Hungarian side of the border, walk to Austria and jump into their company vehicle there. Therefore, Mr Hoffmann would like to extend the village’s short-term parking zone. The regional governor’s office said they supported the mayor’s ambitious plans to keep the region’s traffic increase at bay.

Cooperation key to optimal border protection slovakia hungary
Read alsoHungary’s southern border is being protected by Hungarian, Slovak, Czech, Austrian and Turkish policemen

Huge jump in traffic on the Serbian-Hungarian border in recent years

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The number of lorries entering Hungary from Serbia at the Röszke border station was up by 23 percent between 2019 and 2022, while Tompa station saw an increase of 55 percent, the customs and border control authority said in a statement on Monday.

According to the statement, a daily 459 vehicles crossed into Hungary at Röszke in 2022, and 344 at Tompa.

Leaders of the authority met their Serbian counterparts last week to review a 2020 agreement, aimed at increasing border traffic between the two countries. They reinforced both countries’ commitment to further increase the capacity of border stations through bilateral cooperation. They also decided to set up a team of experts, scheduled to meet in Budapest in April.

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Read also Illegal border crossings to Hungary doubled

Illegal border crossings to Hungary doubled

Migration Hungary border

The number of illegal entrants apprehended at Hungary’s border jumped to 269,254 last year from 122,239 in 2021, amounting to a daily average of 738 attempts, the prime minister’s chief domestic security advisor said on Wednesday.

Hungarian authorities last year detained 1,924 people smugglers, up from 1,277 in 2021, György Bakondi told journalists at a round-table discussion in Budapest. The number of people smugglers kept in Hungarian prisons is 2,500 and they came from 73 countries, he said, noting that related tasks cost the central budget an extra 3 billion forints.

Border protection duties were carried out by a force of 500 armed security guards and 13,476 civil guards helped by 237 Czech, 70 Austrian, 50 Turkish and 39 Slovak police officers along the Serbian border, said Bakondi. Border protection cost a total of 650 billion forints (EUR 1.63bn) last year, 98.5 percent of which was covered from Hungary’s central budget, he said.

Bakondi noted violence on 265 instances when migrants attacked Hungarian patrol guards along the Serbian border in which 29 troops and 12 police officers were injured.

“The number of illegal entrants is rising; Hungary is still the main route for undocumented migrants coming from the Balkans with the aid of people smugglers,” he said, adding that the migrants came mostly from Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan, Morocco and India.

In connection with the war in neighbouring Ukraine, Bakondi noted that a total of 1,025,667 refugees arrived in Hungary last year, 210 of whom filed for asylum. As many as 186,756 people applied for a temporary stay and another 33,182 received protected status. Hungarian authorities arranged accommodation for 13,472 refugees and Hungarian hospitals provided care to 674 people, he said.

Hungarian Armed Forces border
Read alsoPHOTOS: Hungarian Armed Forces leave Hungarian-Serbian border

PHOTOS: Hungarian Armed Forces leave Hungarian-Serbian border

Hungarian Armed Forces border

The Hungarian Armed Forces on Thursday ended active service on the Hungarian-Serbian border, and were replaced by the border patrol units set up earlier this year.

Bence Rétvári, a state secretary of the interior ministry, said addressing the handover at the Hercegszanto army base near the border that more than 263,000 illegal entry attempts had been thwarted this year on that border section alone.

Those serving here “are protecting one of the most-attacked border sections in the European Union”, he said. Tamás Vargha, a state secretary of the defence ministry, said that three-quarters of all Hungarian troops had already served at the border, “a testimony to their preparedness, love of country and commitment to peace”.

Here are some photos:

Taliban extremist caught Hungarian border
Read alsoDangerous Taliban extremist caught near the Hungarian border

Dangerous Taliban extremist caught near the Hungarian border

Taliban extremist caught Hungarian border

An Afghan extremist was caught near the Hungarian-Romanian border crossing, Kürtös, on Friday. He escaped from the closed migration centre in West Romania a couple of days ago after he was expelled for ten years.

The Taliban extremist did not show resistance. The Bucharest court decided to expel him based on the information of the Romanian intelligence services (SRI), which stated that he was in connection with Syrian terrorist organisations, he is a devotee of their extremist ideology and knew how to use weapons. Furthermore, he watched videos and photos of armed soldiers and executions, Telex.hu wrote.

The man entered Romania one year ago from Bulgaria in Giurgiu, and authorities put him in the Újpanád migration centre near the Hungarian border.

Foreign minister: Europe ‘will not be safe until it stops illegal migration’

Growing migration pressure is to a large extent due to the European Union’s pro-migration policy, and Europe will not be safe until it stops illegal migration, Hungary’s minister of foreign affairs and trade said in Valletta on Friday. After meeting his Maltese counterpart Ian Borg, Péter Szijjártó told a joint press conference that both countries were under double pressure from illegal migration and the war in Ukraine.

Hungary thwarted 263,000 illegal entry attempts this year alone, and Malta reported rising numbers of arrivals across the Mediterranean, he said. “We shall not be safe from illegal migration as long as Brussels doesn’t change its pro-migration policy and until we all speak with one, clear voice and say that only those arriving legally may enter Europe,” he said. Szijjártó accused NGOs of colluding with people smuggler rings and working with them to pressure sovereign European states: “They want to decide who we should accept.”

Read also: Shooting near the Hungarian border: 600 migrants found by Serbian police

“These organisations are presented as heroes in the West but they are actually members of criminal organisations,” he said. The war in Ukraine has also brought severe problems to Hungary and Malta, with the former suffering from the energy crisis and the latter from maritime restrictions, Szijjarto said. The two countries agree that “peace is needed as soon as possible”, and neither deliver arms to Ukraine, the minister said.

Malta and Hungary both see the European Union as an alliance of sovereign countries, he said. “We don’t support the decision-making process to move towards qualified majority [replacing unanimous decisions]. We do not support the idea that the EU should take over further competencies from member states, and we want Brussels to respect all member states, regardless of their size,” he said.

Bilateral cooperation has been beneficial for both countries, he said. Trade volume grew by 60 percent and tourism also picked up last year. The number of nights Hungarian guests spent in Malta has jumped by 41 percent and twice as many Maltese guests have arrived in Hungary so far this year than they did all year in 2021, he said.

Hungarian President inspects southern border with Serbian counterpart, former Czech PM

Novák Katalin

The protection of the Hungary-Serbia border also serves the protection of Europe, President Katalin Novák said after inspecting Hungary’s southern border with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and former Czech prime minister Andrej Babis on Thursday.

The border is a symbol of sovereignty “which guarantees our ability to preserve our security”, Novák told a press conference in Kelebia.

In order for Europe to remain “an island of peace” in the long run, a distinction must be made between illegal immigrants and refugees, Novák said. Hungary takes in the refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine and helps them in every way it can, she said, noting that more than a million people have been admitted since the start of the conflict.

But Hungary has been taking the firmest possible action against illegal immigration “from the very first moment”, Novák said. Migration pressure is rising, she added, noting that 261,000 migrants had attempted to enter Hungary illegally so far this year, which was twice as many as last year.

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Novák said there was a growing number of human smugglers and those that want to cross the border illegally are more aggressive than ever before. Attacks against border patrols have become frequent, she added.

Some 90 percent of border violators arrive from the direction of Serbia which makes the two countries’ cooperation in protecting the borders especially important, she said. Hungary and Serbia also act together against illegal migration at the border between North Macedonia and Serbia, she added.

Babis said that illegal migration was organised by human smugglers who collect billions of euros from those that flee their countries and are encouraged to leave their home with promises of a better life.

Vucic said Serbia had introduced two measures against illegal migration. In line with an EU request, it stopped the issuance of visas for the citizens of four countries, and strengthened the protection of borders with North Macedonia and Bulgaria.

In response to a question, Novák said it was not in Europe’s interest to keep Romania and Bulgaria outside the Schengen area. “This is also connected with migration because external borders are easier to protect if they are closer to the countries of origin,” she added.

In response to another question, Novák said the war in Ukraine posed a serious challenge to Europe and a great part of the world. In addition to the direct effects of the war, challenges include inflation, economic difficulties and hitches in energy supply, she said.

One of the solutions is to strengthen Europe’s energy independence, she said, adding that leaders who are able to effectively handle economic difficulties were needed.

Novák said she agreed with a journalist’s suggestion that stronger police presence was needed along the Hungarian-Serbian border.

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No more border control at the Croatian-Hungarian border from 2023 – here is why

Border crossing Röszke Serbia

Romania and Bulgaria have been working hard to protect their borders and have done a lot to rein in illegal migration, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Facebook on Friday, adding that the two countries should have been allowed to join the European Union’s Schengen zone.

Referring to a Thursday vote in the European Parliament, Szijjártó said that Croatia had been granted Schengen status, while Romania and Bulgaria were rejected “whereas both were deserving”.

Szijjártó insisted that their rejection was due to a veto by Austria and the Netherlands, while “everybody else was in support”. He regretted that “wailing journalists of the liberal mainstream, Brussels bureaucrats, and ministers of liberal governments” were silent, whereas all new positions presented by the Hungarian government were met with “clamourous” criticism.

“If a central European country uses their veto, that is the end of the world and destroying European unity, while a veto by western Europeans is okay,” he said.

Hungary border fence
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