Federal Republic of Germany vs Hungary
A neutral side-by-side of immigration systems, routes and regulators. Each row links to the underlying visa page with its primary government source.
Last reviewed:
Source basis
This comparison combines Federal Republic of Germany and Hungary government portals with the primary sources for each side's dominant skilled route. Every detailed figure links through to the underlying route or data page.
Reviewed
Primary sources
- Make it in Germany — Official portal for skilled workers
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) - verified
- National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing
National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (Hungary) - verified
- Make it in Germany — EU Blue Card
BMWK / Federal Government - verified
- Residence permit for Hungarian Card - National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing
National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (Hungary) - verified
Federal Republic of Germany
Germany offers one of Europe's widest work-migration toolkits after the 2023–24 Skilled Immigration Act reforms: the EU Blue Card, Chancenkarte (Opportunity Card), general skilled-worker visas, and recognition-partnership routes for non-EU professionals. Student and self-employment routes also lead to long-term residence.
- Languages
- German
- Currency
- Euro
Hungary
Hungary's National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing administers residence, with applications filed through the Enter Hungary system. The third-country admission regime was comprehensively overhauled by a new Act effective 1 March 2024, which separated high-skilled routes (the Hungarian Card and EU Blue Card) from guest-worker permits and introduced a Guest Investor "golden visa" from July 2024; the White Card is the dedicated digital-nomad permit.
- Official portal
- National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (Hungary)
- Languages
- Hungarian
- Currency
- Hungarian forint
How Federal Republic of Germany and Hungary differ
| Dimension | Federal Republic of Germany | Hungary |
|---|---|---|
| Total routes covered | 8 | 8 |
| Routes without employer sponsor | 4 | 4 |
| Routes leading to permanent residence | 6 | 5 |
| Typical full settlement timeline | Arrival → Niederlassungserlaubnis (21-60 months depending on route and German level) → citizenship (5 years). | — |
| Dominant skilled visa | EU Blue Card (Germany) | Hungarian Card |
| Skilled visa salary minimum | €50,700/year | — |
| Skilled visa processing time | Make it in Germany - EU Blue Card does not publish one fixed, route-wide end-to-end processing time that can be stated responsibly for this application route. | — |
| Skilled visa government fees | The EU Blue Card in Germany has EUR 175 in core government application fees for a visa-required single applicant: EUR 75 for the national visa and EUR 100 for first residence-title issuance. Photos and any translations are separate third-party costs. | — |
| Official languages | German | Hungarian |
| Currency | Euro | Hungarian forint |
| Primary regulator | BRAV | MÜK |
| Policy changes (last 12 months) | 0 | 0 |
Skilled-route head-to-head
Comparing each country’s most-used skilled-migration route side by side.
Federal Republic of Germany
EU Blue Card (Germany)
- Salary minimum
- €50,700/year
- Government fees
- The EU Blue Card in Germany has EUR 175 in core government application fees for a visa-required single applicant: EUR 75 for the national visa and EUR 100 for first residence-title issuance. Photos and any translations are separate third-party costs.
- Processing time
- Make it in Germany - EU Blue Card does not publish one fixed, route-wide end-to-end processing time that can be stated responsibly for this application route.
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Hungary
Hungarian Card
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- —
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Routes unique to Federal Republic of Germany
Visa routes side by side
Federal Republic of Germany (8)
EU Blue Card (Germany)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Up to 4 years, or the employment contract plus 6 months if shorter.
Chancenkarte (Germany Opportunity Card)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Up to 12 months initial (Such-Chancenkarte); one-time extension as a Folge-Chancenkarte for up to 2 further years if you hold a qualified job offer but do not yet meet the requirements of a work residence title. The Folge-Chancenkarte cannot be extended again.
Skilled Worker residence permit (§18a/§18b AufenthG)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Residence permit up to 4 years; if the employment contract is shorter, the permit is issued for the contract period plus 6 months.
Recognition Partnership (Anerkennungspartnerschaft)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Up to 3 years.
Freelance / Self-employment residence permit (§21 AufenthG)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Up to 3 years initially; renewal and any settlement permit depend on the applicable title and evidence.
Job Seeker visa (§20 AufenthG)
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Post-study/post-training job search: up to 18 months. The from-abroad 6-month route is closed to new applicants.
German Student residence permit
Sponsor · Non-settlement · 1–2 years at a time; renewable for programme duration.
Family reunion residence permit
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Typically 1–3 years at a time; leads to settlement.
Hungary (8)
Hungarian Card
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Up to three years, extendable for up to a further period subject to conditions - confirm current validity on the official page.
White Card (digital nomad residence permit)
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to one year, extendable once for a further year - confirm current validity on the official page.
EU Blue Card (Hungary)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Issued for a fixed validity tied to the contract and renewable - confirm current validity on the official page.
Guest Worker Residence Permit
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Temporary and tied to the employment, with limited extension; it does not lead to settlement - confirm current validity on the official page.
Guest Investor Programme (golden visa)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · A long fixed validity, renewable, for the guest investor residence permit - confirm current validity on the official page.
Study Residence Permit (Hungary)
No sponsor · Non-settlement · At least one year, or aligned to a shorter course, up to a maximum, renewable while enrolled - confirm current validity on the official page.
Family Reunification Residence Permit (Hungary)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Validity depends on the sponsor's status and is renewable - confirm current validity on the official page.
National Permanent Residence / EC Long-Term Residence (Hungary)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Indefinite settlement status, subject to conditions on continued residence - confirm current rules on the official page.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has an easier skilled-migration route, Federal Republic of Germany or Hungary?+
Federal Republic of Germany’s EU Blue Card (Germany) requires a salary of at least €50,700/year; Hungary’s Hungarian Card is the dominant skilled route. “Easier” depends on your salary, sponsor situation, and nationality — see each visa’s eligibility detail.
Cite or reuse this dataset
This comparison is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the page for the compiled head-to-head table and use the country-comparisons JSON endpoint to retrieve the indexed pair, destination profiles and underlying source datasets.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "Federal Republic of Germany vs Hungary immigration comparison", https://visaatlas.org/compare/germany/vs/hungary. Last verified 1 June 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/country-comparisons