The Employer’s Handbook

In this article we would like to provide guidance to employer’s who are considering employing third-country nationals in Hungary. It is not so difficult to get lost in the sea of ​​legislation and one mistake can lead to a high amount penalty.

It is no longer a question that the labor shortage in the Hungarian market can be filled by workers from third countries outside the European Union. Furthermore, the recruitment costs of Hungarian workers and the fluctuation among them is pretty high considering they can change their workplace faster and easier.

The Basics

First of all, the employer has to claim their manpower from the competent Labour Office. Do not need to meet this requirement the employer who is intended to employ Ukrainian and Serbian workers in specific shortage professions.

Secondly the employer and their future worker have to sign a preliminary work agreement, containing the basic details of the employment.

Last but not least, the third-national workers have to submit their residence permit application to the immigration office. In this regard if the employee is a beneficiary Ukrainian or Serbian nationality the procedure is smoother.

The 3 Obligation

1Control

The employer is required to ascertain before the first day of employment of a third-country national that he/she has a valid residence permit or some other form of residence authorization.

2 Preservation

The employer is required to keep a copy of the third-country national’s valid residence permit or other form of residence authorization for the entire duration of employment.

3Report

The employer has to report to the immigration authority within 5 days:

a) the start of employment of the third-country national,

b) if the third-country national failed to report for work,

c) if employment is terminated before the expiration of the validity period of the work permit,

d) if a third-country national holding a residence permit issued in the European Union for the purpose of intra-corporate transfer taking up work.

The immigration authority shall impose a penalty for the protection of public policy on the employer for any violation of the obligations mentioned above. The penalty may be imposed in an amount up to HUF 500,000 per employee.

The employer may be exempted from the obligation of payment of penalty if able to prove that his/her obligations relating to control, preservation and reporting has been duly satisfied.

Every third-country national wishing to engage in gainful employment in the case of stay exceeding ninety days shall have a residence permit or an EU Blue Card. The employer shall not be exempted from the payment of penalty if the employer knew or should have been aware that the document presented as a residence permit or other form of authorization turned out to be false.

The bureaucratic procedures are never simple, and the employment of third-country nationals is no exception. Don’t be reluctant to ask for help of an expert!