Post-study residence permit in Hungary. Is it a thing?
Staying in Hungary after your studies is a hot topic around your graduation. If you already have a job at the time when you finish your studies, the case is easy: you just have to turn your study residence permit into a work permit (your employer can help you in that). What happens however, if you don’t have a job at graduation?

First of all: don’t worry! Surely the time around graduation is a very stressful situation for everyone in the World. No wonder, up to this point in life, everything seemed pretty easly plannable. You go to elementary, then middle school, then high school, then university. But what is happening now? Well, you have to decide whether you continue your studies or start looking for a job. If you stay in Hungary to continue your studies, then you’ll just have to extend your study residence permit when you enroll to your new university program.

However, if you want to start working, you might need some time till you find the perfect placement. This is why Hungary offers a 9-month stayback option for international graduates. This type of permit has many names, we call it post-study permit or study-to-work permit, but it’s official name is ‘Residence Permit for the Purpose of Job-searching or Entrepreneurship‘. This type of permit lets you stay in the country in order to find a job when your studies are already over. During these times you need either to find a job or start a business of your own.

Who can apply for the post-study permit?

Every international student can apply who receives a degree from a Hungarian university or college. However, you must hand in your application no later than 15 days before your student residence permit expires!

For the application, you will need to verify that:

• you are either looking for a job or setting up a company;
• you have the funds to stay in Hungary, for example with a bank statement showing that you either have enough money or regularly receive money from abroad;
• you have a valid health insurance;
• you have accommodation;
• you have the means to leave the EU in case your permit is denied.

Please note that after obtaining a post-study residence permit, you’ll need to find and employment (and turn your post-study permit to a work permit), othervise you need to leave the country.

So to sum it up: staying in Hungary after graduation is perfectly possible, just make sure not to worry, apply to plenty of jobs, and finding a job in 9 months will be a piece of cake!