Residensy project and paperwork time line

Sandra&Ove wrote:

Hello I am thinking about moving to Hungary with my boyfriend and it is unclear to me how long does the residensy project last until I have everything in order? We have an apartment for rent in Budapest and we both have regular income from Norway. 

1. I thinking the residensy it self can be finished in month or less?
2. How about registering with the tax office how long does that take or is it just a visit to office and I will get proof I am being taxed in Hungary?
3. How long rent contract have to be? We would like to search for a bigger apartment after we have setled down.

Thank you so much!

What nationality are you?  If you are Norwegian, it's the same as EU and you don't need anything special for residency.

Ålesundsandra wrote:

Yes we are both Norwegian. After we go to immigration to give all required documents how long will the process take before we can get our taxation to Hungary?

Why go to immigration? 

You're Norwegian and therefore EFTA/EEA citizens and treated the same as EU.

Just go and register with the tax office after you register with the authorities in the district where you live.

As far as I am aware, you do not need any special permissions or permits to live in Hungary and you have (almost) all  the same as EU and HU citizens.

Ålesundsandra wrote:

I thought immigration is the where to give the documents needed and to get registration card etc..

Not as far as I know but we might have misunderstood you. 

The central immigration office has regional offices which are immigration offices but you don't have the same procedure as non-EU/EEA country nationals.

As EEA/EFTA citizens the procedure is more or less same procedure as EU citizens.  Go to the registration office nearest you and apply for your address card.  Then you can go to the tax office and do all that stuff.  It takes about 2 weeks to get the address card but instantly done I believe for registration.  You should not have to wait.

You do not need the same permission to live in Hungary as non-EU/EEA but like everyone you still have to show you have money, a place to live, entitlement to the health system etc.

Ålesundsandra wrote:

Another thing what is bothering me is choosing the bank account. We will be travelling a lot and only use online bank. It is normal for me that bank takes something from almost everything what ever you do but I hope they have good banks in Hungary too where you don´t have to pay for making transfers and taking money of automat. I think we will be using automats abroad quite a lot and try to survive never using cash in Hungary but we will see

If you have any advise I will be very greatfull!

ALSO info on credit cards and their limits please! We have many cards now but we should give them back when we move from the country so need to take new ones. I am just thinking the limits can be very small and you have to pay your card loan away all the time to buy things.

As far as I know, all the banks provide onlne services. My own bank does HU, DE and EN versions of their online banking services.  You can do everything online without a problem.

You WILL pay money for banking services and it's not cheap.  If you can get cash out for free at your Norwegian bank, then get out Euro and just change it locally at an exchange place (not on the street  though!).  If you get cash out the bank you pay a fee based on the value. It's a horrible system.  It's cheaper using ATMs to get Forints but still a rip off.   But perhaps the charges will seem cheap to you.  Hungary even though it doesn't use the Euro allows SEPA transactions in Euro. Norway will be the same.  SEPA = Single European Payments Area.  That means fixed fees up to 50K EUR.

If your current plastic card charges you fees for overseas then you will be ripped off the same in Hungary.  If you have income in Norway, keep your Norwegian cards and pay them there and use a debit card or cash in Hungary for local transactions. You'll still be conned by the government on debit card use - same as getting cash out of the bank.

In Hungary, cash is always king.  No-one likes the banks these days. People still pay their household bills by cash. They go to the bank, get the cash and pay at the post office. 

You might want to open a joint account to make it easier.  You'll need your passports to open an account and proof of your address.  It's easy to do.

Some banks are have locations more than others.  If you need to visit a branch, then chose a bank with a branch near you.

Ålesundsandra wrote:

This verifies everything I have been thinking Reading SO much different information different sites on strange language makes my head spin
So everything should be i order less than month? That is great. We have time but now I know how to prepare and plan ahead!

Thank you too for taking time to answer my question!

Oh, it's not very difficult.  Go to this web site BMBAH and you can see what you need to bring. 

Be patient when there. Many of those people in those places are badly paid, miserable and really like making things painful if they are having a bad day.  It's just random. 

Take a Hungarian speaker with you. They can argue about things more easily than foreigners and seem to have mysterious hidden powers which us foreign mortals do not have.  My wife's cousin was able to get instant service by discussion even though the official behind the counter had said the procedure would take 2 weeks. Nuts.