Student visa for Hungary, for students from Canada

Non-EEA students need a residence permit for the purpose of studies. If you need a visa to enter Hungary, you apply at a Hungarian embassy or consulate, which issues an entry visa to collect the permit. If you can enter visa-free, you may apply inside Hungary. Extensions must be filed electronically through Enter Hungary.

The money: no fixed figure. Hungary does not publish a minimum amount for students. The National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (OIF) requires you to show you can cover "subsistence, accommodation, return/onward travel and healthcare services from legally acquired income and savings". In practice that means bank statements, a scholarship award or a sponsor's documents that plausibly cover a year of tuition and living costs. Because there is no published floor, a thin or unexplained balance is judged on its face: use the living cost figures above as your guide, not the minimum you think you can get away with.

Fees (OIF):

• €110 for a residence permit and entry visa applied for at an embassy or consulate
• HUF 26,000 if you apply through Enter Hungary, HUF 39,000 in person in Hungary
• HUF 26,000 to extend

Other requirements include your admission letter or student status certificate, proof of tuition payment where tuition is charged, a certificate of adequate language skills for your programme, comprehensive health insurance (or proof you can pay for care), and a real Hungarian address declared on the form.

Processing time. OIF reviews the file within 15 days and must decide within 60 days of submission. Once the permit is approved you must enter Hungary within three months.