Hungary’s GIP: 192 Visa Applications Yield Just 25 Residence Permit Requests

Hungary’s Guest Investor Program (GIP) attracted just 25 residence permit applications by February 2025, according to Szabad Európa.

Chinese nationals were the majority, accounting for nine applications, four already approved and five still under review.

Vietnamese citizens followed with five applications; authorities approved two, and three remain pending. South Africans submitted two applications, both still awaiting decisions.

Eleven individual applicants came from various other countries. Officials approved applications from citizens of Burundi, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and Turkey.

Pending applications include individuals from the United Kingdom, Dominica, Israel, India, and Saint Kitts & Nevis.

The program operates through a two-stage application process. Applicants must first obtain a six-month guest investor visa. Recipients must complete their investment within three months of visa approval, after which they can apply for the ten-year residence permit.

The process requires an in-person appearance for biometric data collection and includes a National Security Service background check.

HVG reports that 192 individuals applied for these preliminary visas by February’s end. According to HVG, only 109 visa applications existed by September 2024, showing the program gained just 83 new applicants over five months.

Russian citizens make up a substantial portion of visa applicants. Among the 192 requests, 63 came from citizens of sanctioned countries, primarily Russia and Belarus.

Among 50 Russian applicants, authorities approved only four visas and rejected 24 applications up to February 2025. The Constitutional Protection Office cited national security concerns for five of the rejections.

The government has authorized only two companies to manage the real estate funds required for the investment: Sprint Asset Hungária Fund Management Ltd., which the government approved in fall 2024, and Granite Fund Management Ltd in January 2025.

At least three more funds await licensing in 2025.

Hungarian local media is highlighting the approved fund’s close ties and influential interests in Hungary’s residence-by-investment landscape.

According to Szabad Európa, Sprint Asset shares ownership with the former main distributor of settlement bonds, the offshore company Hungarian State Special Debt Fund.

Szabad Európa reports that the latter fund manager, Granite, belongs to István Tiborcz, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s son-in-law.

The program now offers two investment pathways after the government had eliminated direct real estate purchases as an option in late 2024.

Investors may contribute €250,000 to qualified real estate funds or donate €1 million to public-interest foundations supporting Hungarian universities.