Relocation and Immigration Help in Budapest: Who Does What

The authority itself, and the only body that actually decides your case; the client service for the Budapest and Pest County regional directorate handles residence permits, registration certificates and permanent residence.

Good to know: The Budapest and Pest County Regional Directorate runs two client service offices, one at 1117 Budapest, Budafoki ut 60. and a second at 1135 Budapest, Szegedi ut 35-37. in the XIII. district; its own page gives the same hours at both for every case type, Monday to Thursday 8:00 to 14:00 and Friday 8:00 to 12:00, a client contact line on +36 1 550 1167 and the addresses [email protected] and [email protected], and notes that documents for applications lodged at a foreign mission are collected only at Szegedi ut. Appointments are booked through the OIF site and must quote your Enter Hungary case number. The national call centre on +36 1 463 9292 runs Monday to Thursday 8:00 to 16:00 and Friday to 13:30.

The free do-it-yourself channel: the state platform for submitting and renewing residence documents electronically, in English, Hungarian and Ukrainian, with no intermediary and no queue.

Good to know: Registration is required before a first submission. The OIF states that a third-country national's application counts as lodged only once the passport page, facial photograph and any power of attorney are attached and the fee is paid, and that in the cases provided for by law the applicant must appear at the competent regional directorate within 15 days of the confirmation of admission for identity checks, biometrics and a signature specimen; an unpaid fee triggers a deficiency notification, and using the platform does not exempt you from appearing in person where the law requires it. The platform also carries a standing notice that electronic fee payment periodically fails, in which case the OIF asks for a bank transfer to account 10023002-00283511-02000006 quoting the client name, date of birth and EH number, one fee per transfer, with the proof uploaded to the case.

The best known English-language immigration and company services outfit in Budapest, running since 2005, and one of the very few that publishes a full price list instead of quoting case by case.

Good to know: This is a consultancy, not a law firm, so it files and coordinates rather than represents you in a dispute; all published prices are net and the site states that 27 percent VAT is added where applicable, and the office is in the Budapart Gate building, where visitors are asked to use entrance A and the second floor.

The Hungarian Bar Association's public register lists Madarassy, Bodroghelyi and Partners Ugyvedi Tarsulas as an attorney association recorded with the Budapest Bar since 10 December 2015, and it is one of the few Budapest practices that publishes a flat fee schedule for residence permit work, which makes it easy to compare against a consultancy.

Good to know: Immigration is a service line here rather than a headline practice area: the firm's English site leads with real estate, corporate, employment, IT and data protection work, and residence permits sit in a separate section. Half the legal fee is payable up front and the balance only after the procedure closes; the firm states the listed prices are guidelines that can be adjusted for complex cases, the EUR 100 consultation is credited against later fees, and meetings are by appointment only.

Run by Dr. Luca Anna Pecsvaradi, whom the Hungarian Bar Association's public register shows as an active attorney of the Budapest Bar, chamber ID 36067017, with English and Spanish recorded as her languages and citizenship law among her registered practice areas.

Good to know: Fees are not published, so ask for a written quote; consultations are by appointment and can be held remotely over Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet, which suits applicants still outside Hungary. The firm's site gives the office as Becsi ut 52-54., second floor door 4, while the bar register records Pecsvaradi Ugyvedi Iroda at Becsi ut 52., 2/4. in the same block, so give both if a courier has to find you.

A bar-registered Budapest law firm (registration number 4549 with the Budapest Bar Association per its own site; the Hungarian Bar's public register lists Kecser Ugyvedi Iroda as operating, led by dr. Gyorgy Kecser, chamber ID 36062778) whose site states it communicates directly with clients in English, Polish and Vietnamese as well as Hungarian.

Good to know: Prices are not published; on its residence permit page the firm says that if the client continues after the preliminary consultation, the consultation fee is credited against the total case handling fee, so agree the total in writing before instructing. Expect the office on the sixth floor of a Ferencvaros office building rather than a walk-in shopfront.

One of the older Budapest relocation consultancies, established in 1997 to move foreign employees into Hungary, covering immigration and labour paperwork, orientation, settling in and the physical move.

Good to know: The site publishes an address and [email protected] but no phone number and no prices, so expect to open by email and ask for a written scope; the offer is aimed at employers relocating staff rather than at individual movers.

ISO 9001 certified relocation consultancy and EuRA member built around corporate transferees, covering immigration compliance, authority matters, destination services and the physical move in one contract.

Good to know: Quote-based and clearly oriented to HR departments and company-paid moves rather than individual budget clients; the site lists an offer address ([email protected]) for scoping a package.

Full-service consultancy in the Capital Square building that pairs permit work with the practical settling-in tasks expats forget about, including driving licence localisation and cultural training.

Good to know: Visits are by appointment only and no prices are published, so request a written scope and fee; the firm also advertises a partner network across a long list of other European countries if your move continues onward.

Long-running Budapest office of a regional mover that keeps visa and immigration services in house alongside household shipping, plus one of the few local desks that formally handles pet and working dog transport.

Good to know: Quote-based, and the Hungary page routes enquiries by mailbox: [email protected] for moves, [email protected] for pets and [email protected] for both relocation and immigration. The immigration side is a support service attached to a logistics business, so for a contested or refused case an attorney is the provider who can represent you.

The Budapest branch of a global relocation network, pairing door to door shipping with home finding, orientation and language training under a dedicated move manager, with virtual consultations for people not yet in Hungary.

Good to know: The Budapest office page lists moving, secure storage, packing, pet relocation, home finding, orientation and language training, but no immigration service; immigration appears only on Crown's group services page, where the company describes it as personalised advice from its network of immigration specialists, so get written confirmation that the Budapest office will handle your permit before counting on it. Office hours are given as Monday to Friday 8:30 to 17:00, pricing is quote-only, and this is a corporate-scale service, so compare it against a local mover for a small one-bedroom move.

Global relocation group whose Budapest office has run since 1993, offering visa and immigration work, corporate assignment management and moving from the same Csepel base.

Good to know: Santa Fe and AGS Movers Budapest publish the same Csepel address, Szallito utca 6., and MOBILITAS Group lists both Santa Fe Relocation and AGS Worldwide Movers on its own brands page, so a quote from each is not two independent quotes. This is a depot in the XXI. district industrial zone rather than a city-centre office, so expect contact by phone and email; privately paid moves go through a separate enquiry route and everything is quote-based.

Pure moving specialist with FIDI FAIM quality certification and an unusually wide language list at the branch (English, French, German, Spanish and Hungarian), handy for francophone and Spanish-speaking arrivals.

Good to know: This one really is only a mover, with no immigration desk, so pair it with a consultancy or law firm for permits; the branch page lists international, domestic and office moves, secure storage and vehicle transfer, quotes come through an online form or the branch manager, and no prices are published. AGS Movers Budapest and Santa Fe Relocation Hungary publish the same address, Szallito utca 6. in the XXI. district, and MOBILITAS Group lists both AGS Worldwide Movers and Santa Fe Relocation among its own brands, so treat the two as one supplier when collecting comparison quotes.

Second-generation Hungarian family firm, moving households since 1998 by its own account, a full FIDI member holding FAIM accreditation and a member of IAM, EURA and the Hungarian movers' association MAKOSZ, with fine art shipping and groupage for part-load moves across Europe.

Good to know: Groupage is the useful option if you are shipping less than a full container and can be flexible on dates; the site offers a 3 minute and a 10 minute online survey to generate an estimate, but no prices are published and customs clearance is offered only as part of an international move.