Depending on your citizenship you may or may not need a visa to enter Hungary or Austria. https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/schengen-visa-countries-list/

We must inform you that the Hungarian immigration authority announced that it will be closed from January 1, 2024, until February 29, 2024. During this time, no new visa appointments can be made until March 1st and already submitted visa requests will not be processed until March 1 either. The reason for this shutdown is technical, due to harmonisation with EU law.

Citizens of non-European countries have to apply personally for a student residence permit at the nearest Hungarian Consulate. After the interview, it usually takes several weeks to get a visa. If the Consulate grants a visa, you will get a type D visa that is valid for a single entry to Hungary and after entering Hungary you have 30 days to go to the Immigration Office in Budapest to receive your residence permit.

Requirements for a student residence permit to Hungary:

• official and original school and ID documents,
• IBS's Visa Support Certificates that certifies student status, accommodation in the Residence Hall, health insurance for the first year of studies and English skills,
• considerable financial background on your or parents’ bank account (enough for one year’s stay in Budapest including the return travel costs, around EUR 8,000, coming from a regular income that must be evident from the bank account statements) and if one of your parents/legal guardian/spouse is sponsoring your stay, you have to prove that you are related,
• some knowledge about Hungary, IBS and our programmes,
• health insurance (HUF 110,000, which is appr. 280 EUR to be paid cash in HUF upon arrival in IBS),
• accommodation details (we certify your accommodation in the on-campus Residence Hall address: 1031 Budapest, Reichl Kálmán u. 6., but it is your responsibility to arrange and pay for your accommodation),
• a language certificate of English skills is required.
• you must be able to do a simple maths test during the visa interview if asked, please find a sample test here.
• Draft list of visa requirements

The visa process might take between 4-5 weeks, please book your interview in due time.  At some Consulates you will have to ask and wait for an appointment for the visa interview, so we suggest you arrange an appointment right after you have paid the tuition fee and registration fee and we will send your Visa Support Certificate in your online application after we have administered your payment.

Please find here some useful links:

• Hungarian Consulates and Embassies outside Hungary
• Embassies of other countries in Hungary
• Immigration Office (Downloadable application form for ’Residence permit for the purpose of studies’)
• The Schengen Area

Residence permit application forms:

• Application form for the residence permit
• Appendix 13

In case your visa is rejected for any reason, EUR 400 from your payment is non-refundable. The remaining amount will be refunded to you. (see Refund policy)

Based on our experience with visa refusals, we have compiled a highly useful list of visa problems that you should pay attention to.

Citizens of Norway, Iceland and Switzerland may also travel to Hungary with their ID card or passport.

If you are staying in the EU, you can apply for a Hungarian residence permit at the Hungarian Consulate in the country you are staying or you can travel to Budapest and apply here at the Immigration Office.

If you are staying in Hungary, you can extend your residence permit after receiving our Student Status Certificate. If you wish to transfer from another Hungarian institution, you must report it to the Immigration Office in Budapest.

(Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia)

Citizens of the European Union can enter Hungary with their ID card or passport, and need to have a European Health Insurance Card if they want to use the medical services in Hungary.

Incoming Erasmus students should contact their Erasmus coordinators about the information on IBS and its programmes.

For the residence permit application to Austria you will need the following documents:

• Fully completed and signed application form for a residence permit for pupils (Aufenthaltsbewilligung "Schüler”). As the form is in German, please check the English explanation when filling it out.
• Recent colour photograph, size between 3.5 x 4.5 cm and 4.0 x 5.0 cm,
• Valid passport,
• Birth certificate,
• Notification of admission of IBS (issued after IBS receives your payment),
• Proof of sufficient financial means to finance your stay for 12 months: students up to 24 years must have at least 487.53 EUR/month, students of 24 or older must have at least 882.78 EUR/month on their bank account (the account has to be accessible from Austria, .e.g. Raiffeisen Bank, Erste Bank, Bank Austria, Hypo Group, Volksbank etc. . More) or proof of purchase of traveller’s cheques for the necessary amount. (If the costs for accommodation exceed 282.06 EUR/month, you have to prove additional funds.)
• Proof of accommodation in Austria: e.g. accommodation contract of a student hall of residence,
• Proof of a health insurance ("travel health insurance") valid from entry to the beginning of your studies in Austria or to the beginning of your student insurance. The application for student insurance with the Austrian national health insurance carrier (Gebietskrankenkasse) has to be proved upon request of the Austrian authority.
• Police record/certificate of good conduct (where available).

All documents (except passport) should be first legalized (in some countries it is done only with an apostille in the form of a seal, in other countries first by the regional office, then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then by the Austrian Consulate). All documents must be translated to German with an official translation. Please enclose the original documents with a photocopy, and also a copy of the legalised translation and the legalisation. The residence permit application fee is EUR 120. The application process is at least 3 months, so please start it as early as possible.

As the application requirements can vary in each country, please contact the nearest Austrian Consulate for an exact list of requirements!

If your residence permit is granted, you will need to apply for a type D visa at the Austrian Consulate that grants you one entry to Austria.

The residence permit for pupils allows you to work, but IBS cannot assist you to find a job.