Hello Everybody,
I am looking for assistance on steps to take in order to obtain a self employment visa here in Budapest.
As a brief introduction, I am a 35 year old American and have been living here in for 5 months. I have been running into trouble with gaining a long term stay visa. My first attempt at getting the work/residency visa has been nothing short of a total disaster. The process seemed simple enough, but the employer messed up the contract and workforce demand paperwork and I had to restart the process 3 times. The upside of this is that I have gotten temporary residency visas with my most recent being valid until November 21st.
I have been staying afloat by working at a couple different Hostels, but unfortunately they are unable to sponsor the visa. Checking with multiple language schools, there is plenty of opportunity and students available to teach as a Native English speaker with a TESOL certificate that I received through UNI-Prep, but in order to begin with them, I must first get a work permit as they too, will not sponsor a visa. For now, I have been applying to the Shared Service Centers with the hope that my English speaking will be needed enough to qualify me as a candidate for some job openings. If that goes well, it will be enough for me to finally get my feet planted and legal to be able to begin teaching.
While the search is ongoing, I have been researching the process of registering for the Residence Permit for the purpose of Gainful Activity.
Have any of you ever gone down this route or known somebody who has a little insight into the process?
From what I can tell, the it should be pretty straight forward, as the steps seem to be laid out in English. Its just a matter of determining which order to complete them. Any advice, contacts or personal experience will be greatly appreciated.
Self Employment to teach English in Budapest
Few things, I have found, are as simple as they appear. The fact that you had to restart the visa process three times and that few organizations will issue a work visa are indicators how really complex it can be to get a work visa here for a third country nationals.
And while IANAL, my understanding of the work visa for gainful activity for the self employed needed to start with either first registering a business in Hungary or at least a business plan submitted to immigration. Just having hope that you can find work via a Shared Service Center is not a business plan. But, I have been surprised before by what is accepted here, and as I said, IANAL.
I believe that your problem is in not having a permanent home address to obtain a resident and address card. A hostel, hotel is looked upon as a temporary address and possibly eliminates you from getting your official status. You more or less have to prove that you're here for the long haul.
Also, to find other English teaching opportunities, go onto Craigslist Budapest and ask for English speaking jobs. You'll find a few ads looking for English teachers. Chk it out.
Hope this was helpful as I've been there, done that with the proceedings to obtain a Resident Card & Address Card. With these official documents in hand, your possibilities are much better.
Good luck in your search and if I can help further, please ask.
Mailman1942 wrote:go onto Craigslist Budapest and ask for English speaking jobs. You'll find a few ads looking for English teachers.
The OP is trying to be correct and legal by getting a work visa. Jobs at Craigslist may be legit, or black market. Either way, they do not address in any way the need to get the appropriate work visa.
Yes, I am trying to go the legal route in order to get a visa. As an American citizen, I have to have a work visa in order to conduct any business here. I do know there is a large black market for work, and getting private students is not the issue. Finding a school that will sponsor the visa is, and that is what i am searching for now. I do have a place of accommodation that is valid for getting residency and I also have all the correct paperwork that is needed to apply.
After more research, I have found that a self employment visa is no longer an option, as it is geared toward an actual brick and mortar business and not a freelance teaching position.
So now I have decided to focus my search only on finding an employer that will sponsor the work visa that i need to obtain. From my own networks, people have suggested the SSC market, and so I have been sending out my CV to them, as well as to other language schools in hopes that with enough perseverance, I will find an employer before my current visa runs out.
Thanks for your input, and I am open to any suggestions and or contacts that you may know in Budapest.
Why would a school finance a freelancing teacher? The UK is in the EU, they can get any number of english teachers if they wish.
What I am trying to say is that you either commit to a school, and drop the freelancing part, or finance it yourself.
That is what I am trying to accomplish, being hired on by a school.
Hey Dan,
Like I suggested in my first response, go onto Craigslist Budapest and chk out, "ENGLISH SPEAKING TEACHING POSITIONS"-
There are about a dozen or so and some are from schools, LOOKING TO HIRE TEACHERS!
Let me know how you did. I'm happy to assist!
Mailman42
You sent me a message today that you liked my post. What's that all about?
That's gr8 to hear that there r jobs for English teachers!
@ mailman... where is this Craigslist Budapest?
Linzee wrote:@ mailman... where is this Craigslist Budapest?
Did you try Google? I did and the result gave this......
https://budapest.craigslist.org/
Just asking if you managed to resolve your visa problem?
If yes, we are seeking native speakers to our language school.
Best,
Zsolt
Can i apply for this
As per your update freelancing visa is no longer exist in hungary but lot of agencies still promoting this,and assuring they will file application and will get in 3 to 4 months ,they charge consulting fees for this
Articles to help you in your expat project in Budapest
As a member of the EU/EFTA and the Schengen area, as well as holder of visa waiver agreements with thirty ...
If youre an EU/EFTA national, you dont need a residence permit to stay and work in Hungary. All you need to do is ...
Buying a house or a flat can be a good option if you are planning to long term stay in Budapest. However, it is ...
As a member of the EU/EFTA, Hungary supports the free movement of goods within the EU/EFTA area. There are no ...
As Hungary is an EU member, it adheres to the EU premise that all citizens should be entitled to equal childcare ...
Hungary has an extensive road network, big parts of which have been recently updated to facilitate traffic. The ...
