Background information

The first Hungarian Asylum Law came into force in 1998 and included temporary protection status, but the Hungarian government has never applied it until now. Based on government decree 86/2022 (III.7.), temporary protection applies to:

• Ukrainian citizens who resided in Ukraine before 24 February 2022,
• Third-country citizens (non-Ukrainian and non-EU nationals) with an international protection who resided in Ukraine before 24 February 2022, and
• Family members of persons who belong to the above groups

Temporary protection status granted by Hungary lasts for the time included in the decree until 31 May 2022. But under EU law, temporary protection must be granted for one year, which means that the Hungarian government will have to extend the time of temporary protection.

Content of measure

Beneficiaries of temporary protection have the right to:

• an ID document;
• a residence permit;
• work without a work permit;
• accommodation at a reception centre, with reception services;
• healthcare (available services defined by law)
• reimbursement for costs connected to primary and secondary education (including travel costs);
• reimbursement for travel costs (for purposes connected to administrative procedures, health care, integration services, job- seeking, trips connected with employment);
• reimbursement for the translation costs of their documents;
• financial support for leaving Hungary permanently;
• free participation in a Hungarian language course (520 lessons);
• a monthly subsistence allowance of HUF 28,500 (€62) for adults or HUF 13,700 (€37) for children if they accept the job the Employment Authority offers them (unless they are taking care of a child under 3 years of age, or they are under 18 attending full-time education).
• attend nursery school or school the same as Hungarian children.

Those under temporary protection can still apply for refugee status. Hungarian citizens fleeing Ukraine are entitled to the same rights listed above, unless they are entitled to better options as Hungarian citizens (this mainly concerns health-care services).

Under government decree 87/2022, Ukrainian refugees are also exempt from paying tourism tax when paying for accommodation in Hungary.

Use of measure

Estimates for the number of refugees in Hungary from Ukraine range between 324,397 (UN statistics) and 540,000 (Hungarian government), but it is not known how many people will stay in Hungary in the longer term.

According to data from the National Directorate General for Aliens, just under 18,596 people applied for asylum status so far and 7,749 people applied for temporary protection status. Some of the reasons for the non-uptake is that many people stay as tourists or are unaware of the benefits of the temporary protection status or how to apply. By December 2022 a total of 32,850 applications for temporary protection were filed in Hungary by Ukrainians fleeing the war, of which 28,379 were approved.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Does not apply to businesses	Migrants or refugees

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government EU (Council, EC, EP)	European Funds National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

Measures were discussed at a dedicated meeting of the Permanent Consultation Forum of the Private Sector and the Government (VKF), a tripartite body of representatives of employers, employees and the government, in May 2022.

The National Economic and Social Council ( Nemzeti Gazdasági és Társadalmi Tanács , NGTT) held a meeting on April 28 dedicated to humanitarian aid in connection with the refugees of the war in Ukraine.

Views and reactions

The parties present at the VKF meeting agreed to support measures taken to help refugees from Ukraine.

Sources

• 24 February 2022: Government decree 86/2022 (njt.hu)
• 12 March 2022: Govt decree 106/2002 on temporary protection (njt.hu)
• 30 March 2022: Hungary accused of inflating number of Ukrainian arrivals (www.theguardian.com)
• 31 March 2022: EU money for Ukraine refugees coming, but no idea how man (hvg.hu)
• 01 May 2022: Can Ukrainian refugees count on EU-level support in Hungary (hvg.hu)
• 03 May 2022: What will happen to people fleeing Ukraine? (menedek.hu)
• 09 May 2022: Teachers union demanding pay for teaching refugee children (infostart.hu)
• 14 December 2022: UNHCR Hungary Factsheet (data.unhcr.org)