Hungarian Embassy Washington DC – 5 Easy Steps to Apply for Hungary Schengen Visa
Hungary is a fascinating Schengen country and one that has many things to keep its visitors occupied. Head to the capital of Budapest for its parks and museums or the beautiful town of Eger and explore its ancient castle. If you want to experience Hungary’s beauty, a must-see is the city of Miskolc where you can go hiking in the Bukk Mountains or visit the cave baths, thermal spas and ski resorts in Tapolca! In this article learn more about how to apply for Hungary visa at the Hungarian embassy in Washington, DC, Hungary visa appointment booking, Processing time at the Hungary visa application center, flight itinerary for Hungary visa, hotel bookings for Hungary visa, Schengen travel insurance for Hungary visa application, and Hungary Visa Application Process at the Washington DC consulate.
Hungary Schengen Visa
In 2017, there were 263,940 Schengen visa applications received for Hungary and 14,106 (5.34%) of these were rejected. The Embassy of Hungary in Washington received 216 applications and rejected 5 (2.3%).
Applying for a Schengen Visa from the United States
If you are planning on visiting Hungary, you may or may not need a visa. To find out, check the Embassy of Hungary’s website. If you are from a country not listed, then you will have to apply for a visa to be able to enter and stay in Hungary. As a general rule, US citizens do NOT need a visa, whereas, non-US citizens who are living in the United States permanently DO need a visa.
You have to make sure you apply at the right Hungarian embassy and consulate. If you live in the following areas, you may submit your Hungary visa application to the embassy in Washington:
- Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, DC, West Virginia
Types of Schengen Visas Offered at the Embassy of Hungary in Washington
The Embassy of Hungary in Washington offers 2 types of visas for Hungary:
- Short-stay Schengen visas – if you wish to go to Hungary for a maximum of 90 days for the purposes of tourism, business, family reasons, study, educational, scientific or professional purpose, medical treatment, cultural activities, sports, attending a conference, or airport transit
- Residence permit – this is for stays exceeding 90 days for the purposes of employment, pursuing an income generating activity, educational purposes, family reunification, research or medical reasons
When you apply for your Hungary visa, you can choose how many times you wish to enter the country before your visa expires:
- Single entry – once
- Double entry – twice
- Multiple – unlimited
Schengen Visa Application Process at the Embassy of Hungary in Washington
The Embassy of Hungary in Washington processes short-stay visa applications in 10-15 days, although it could take as many as 60 days in certain cases. Residence permit applications take around 30 days to be processed, although applications for the purposes of study or research take 15 days to be processed.
It is recommended you apply well in advance of your trip to give the embassy sufficient time to process your application. You can apply up to 3 months ahead of your departure date, so don’t leave it too late!
Here are a few steps to help you apply for your Hungary visa:
Step 1: Make an appointment
The first thing you need to do is to make an appointment in order to submit your application in person to the embassy in Washington. All you need to do is to email the embassy at appointment.WAS@mfa.gov.hu to request an appointment.
Step 2: Complete your application form
Step 2 is to complete your application form and you can find this on the embassy’s website. Click on: “Visa and travel information” then “Schengen visas”:
Then, scroll down and you’ll find the link for the application form:
Then, you’ll be able to download the short-stay visa application form, print and complete it:
For residence permits, click on: “Visa and travel information” then: “Residence permits”:
Scroll down and you’ll find the links for residence permit application forms for each purpose:
- Employment
- Gainful activity
- Visiting
- Family reasons
- Research
- Medical treatment
- Seasonal workers
- Other purposes
Step 3: Prepare your documents
Before you start to prepare your documents, take a look at the embassy’s website to familiarize yourself with what is needed for your visa application. If you submit an incomplete file, the embassy will reject your application.
You also need to provide photocopies as well as your original documents, so don’t forget to do this too!
Documents include:
- Fully completed visa application (signed by the applicant, only Hungarian and English version accepted)
- Valid passport valid for at least 3 months after returning from Hungary, issued within the last 10 years and containing 2 empty pages
- 1 passport-size color photo not older than 6 months. Residence permits require 2 photographs
- Original of valid US alien registration card (residence permit, aka green card) or valid US resident visa (type A, E, F, G, H, I, J, L, O, R)
- Roundtrip flight ticket reservation
- Hotel reservation or official letter of invitation signed by the Hungarian Immigration and Naturalization Office
- Confirmation letter from your health insurance company stating that you will be covered for at least $50.000 for any medical and repatriation expenses, for the whole period of stay and for the territory of every Schengen State
- Confirmation of financial resources – the last 3 months of bank statements
- Visa(s) – if necessary – obtained for the country where you intend to go after leaving Hungary
- The certificate of the receiving educational, scientific or training institution plus accommodation details in Hungary
- A letter of invitation from friends/family or business partner or other host organization
- Proof of the existence of commercial business relations
- A certificate of the receiving health institution including reference to the fact that the expected coverage of the medical treatment is available
- Document proving the participation in the sports event or contract with the Hungarian sports club, or the certificate issued by the delegating sports club/Olympic committee/Ministry of Sport, etc.
- Proof of accommodation in Hungary
- A work permit and/or a contract of employment
- A certificate on how you will make a living until you receive your first salary – bank account statement, employer’s certificate, etc., and/or a certificate of the amount of money available in Hungary
- A certificate on the character of the gainful activity (the articles of association) and registration of the enterprise
- Certificate of qualifications
- A declaration regarding expected yearly income
- The simplified balance sheet of the previous year and a certificate that the firm has no public debt (for a firm already operating)
- If the firm has Hungarian employees: their employment contracts
- A certificate of school attendance
- Marriage certificate/birth certificate
- Copy of the passport of the Hungarian relative
- Contract with an accredited research institute
If you’re planning to obtain your flight reservation for visa without paying for the ticket, all you have to do is follow the 3 simple steps below:
- Visit the Visa Reservation website to choose the right package
- Submit the travel details and make the payment online
- Receive flight itinerary in email
Step 4: Attend your appointment
When the day of your appointment arrives, remember the following things:
- Don’t be late – it’s best to arrive at the embassy early, not only too relax a little, but also to prevent your appointment from having to be rescheduled
- Remember ALL your documents – if you hand over an incomplete application, this may result in your appointment being rescheduled, a rejected application or both
- Dress smartly – don’t turn up in shorts and a t-shirt if you wish to make a good impression
The visa officer at the embassy will review your application and supporting documents and they may question your further if they need any more information from you. If this happens, simply answer the questions truthfully.
- Is this your first time traveling to the EU?
- What is your salary?
- Are you married? If so, what does your spouse do?
- Why do you wish to go to Hungary at this time?
- Where do you live in the US?
Don’t jeopardize your Schengen visa interview at the last minute. Use this comprehensive and thorough visa interview guide to crack the visa interview!
You will also pay the relevant fee for your visa. You can pay by card only. This fee is non-refundable even if your visa application gets rejected.
Type of Visa | Fee |
Schengen visa – up to 90 days | $68 |
Residence permit – over 90 days | $68 |
Nationals of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Macedonia, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Russia, and Ukraine | $40 |
Children under the age of 6 travelling with their own passports Family members of EU/EEA citizens either traveling together with their EU/EEA national family members or traveling in order to meet their EU/EEA national family members Researchers with a valid contract with a research institution in Hungary Pupils, students and their teachers traveling for study reasons Representatives of non-profit organizations under the age of 25 participating and attending seminars, conferences, sport, cultural or educational events organized and held by NGOs Belarus citizens between the age of 6 and 12 years Turkish citizens between the age of 6 and 12 years Belarus participants aged 25 years or less in seminars, conferences, sport, cultural or educational events organized by non-profit organizations | Free |
If this is your first time applying for a Hungary visa, you will also provide biometric data which is a scan of your fingerprints and a photograph.
If you have previously applied for a Schengen visa at the Hungarian Embassy in Washington and your fingerprints were collected in the last 59 months by any Schengen country, you can contact the embassy to see if it is possible for you to send your visa application by mail rather than you appearing in person. You can send an email to appointment.WAS@mfa.gov.hu
Step 5: Receive your visa
When your visa application has been processed, you can collect your passport from the embassy or you can have it mailed back to you if you have provided a prepaid and trackable self-addressed envelope.
Visa application decisions:
- Approved – you will find your visa attached to one of the pages inside your passport
- Rejected – the embassy may have had doubts regarding your application. You have the right to appeal within 5 days of being notified
Typical rejection reasons include:
- You have provided false information – you should NOT, under any circumstances, provide information that is not true. You will be found out and your visa application will be rejected
- The acceptance letter was not included – if you are planning on studying in Hungary, you must provide an acceptance letter from the school or university that you will be attending
- Your passport is invalid – if your passport is invalid in any way (see above specifications) you must get a new one before applying for your visa
- The work permit was missing – if you are planning on working in Hungary, you must obtain and provide a work permit before you go to the embassy to hand over your documents
Contact details for the Embassy of Hungary in Washington
Address: 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Tel: +1 (202) 362-6730
Telephone hours: Monday to Friday, 2.00 pm – 5.30 pm (Please check the website for information and only call the embassy if you really need to )
Fax: +1 (202) 966-8135
Email: appointment.was@mfa.gov.hu
Hours:
Monday: 10.00 am – 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm – 4.30 pm
Tuesday: 10.00 am – 1.00 pm
Wednesday: 10.00 am – 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm – 4.30 pm
Thursday: 10.00 am – 1.00 pm
Friday: 10.00 am – 1.00 pm
Conclusion
There are just 5 steps to follow to apply for your Hungary visa:
- Make an appointment
- Complete your application form
- Prepare your documents
- Attend your appointment
- Receive your visa
Once you have your visa, you can get excited about your upcoming trip to Hungary!
At Visa Reservation, we strive to simplify the visa process by providing free visa consultations, cover letter templates and no objection letter templates for our clients from US, UK, Canada, Philippines, India, China, UAE, Europe, Nigeria and globally. We also offer flight itinerary for visa, travel medical insurance, hotel reservations for visa , Book Visa Appointment, Travel Guides, Visa Interview Guides and many more. To learn more about how we can help you with our visa services, please feel free to contact us today.
See Also
How To Apply for Hungary Schengen Visa at Hungarian Consulate in Los Angeles, California
How To Apply for Hungary Schengen Visa at Hungarian Consulate in NYC, New York