VisaHungary’s 2026 EU Blue Card salary rules also apply to existing holders
The normal monthly threshold is HUF 1,001,048, with a lower figure for specified health occupations. Workers should compare current pay and occupation codes before relying on an older approval.
Official source date: 2026-11-02
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Check the current salary rather than the year of approval
Hungary’s immigration authority says the 2026 EU Blue Card minimum monthly remuneration applies to all foreign nationals holding a valid card, including cases started in 2025 but decided in 2026. The normal threshold is HUF 1,001,048. A lower HUF 800,838 threshold applies to the specific healthcare occupations listed in the authority’s factsheet. This article explains the current requirements checked on 2 November; it is not a newly announced salary increase.
The lower category is defined by occupation codes, not by an employer’s broad description as a healthcare business. The listed roles include specified doctors, pharmacists, optometrists, dieticians, physiotherapists, nurses, ambulance officers and midwives. The practical step is to compare the actual remuneration and occupational classification with the current factsheet before assuming an existing card resolves compliance.
Salary alone does not establish Blue Card eligibility
The European Commission’s Hungary Blue Card page describes the accompanying conditions: a contract or binding offer for highly qualified employment lasting at least six months, relevant qualifications, a valid travel document and sickness-insurance evidence. Regulated professions require proof that the national professional requirements are met. Applicants should use this resource to distinguish a high salary from a complete qualifying employment case.
The Commission page is dated 1 April 2025 and still displays salary figures specifically labelled for 2024. Those historic amounts should not be used to assess a November 2026 application. An illustrative case is a worker whose pay would have met the older threshold but is below the current one: a screenshot of the older European summary does not establish compliance with the Hungarian authority’s 2026 requirement. The employment contract, professional evidence and applicable current salary must be assessed together. The Commission also identifies a labour-market test for Hungary. A qualifying offer should therefore be reviewed through the official employment-assessment process rather than treated as a private agreement sufficient on its own.
Use the current Hungarian fee schedule for the filing channel
The national authority’s Procedural fees resource separates Blue Card applications made in Hungary from those filed electronically. It lists HUF 39,000 for domestic issuance and HUF 26,000 for issuance through Enter Hungary. The residence-permit extension fee is HUF 26,000. For a residence permit and associated collection-entry visa handled through the foreign mission route, the schedule lists €110.
These charges should not be taken from an older third-party checklist or from a fee quoted for another card. The Commission’s older Blue Card page still shows earlier domestic figures, making the current Hungarian schedule the appropriate payment reference. Applicants should identify whether they are seeking first issuance, extension or another procedure before paying. Currency conversion, translation, professional recognition and other costs are not included in the stated administrative charge. Paying that charge does not replace the required employment and qualification evidence.
Understand which authority assesses the employment
The authority’s Single application procedure factsheet explains that the process combines permission to reside for more than 90 days in a 180-day period with the proposed employment relationship. EU Blue Card cases are included. The procedure is therefore more than issuing a travel sticker: the employment proposed to support residence is part of the assessment.
The factsheet explains that the competent government office normally follows the place of employment, with different arrangements where work spans counties or several employer premises. It can require clarification of the facts, and its specialised-authority stage is not counted within the stated single-procedure time limit. Employers and applicants should ensure that workplace and employment details are consistent across their records rather than infer a guaranteed completion date from one headline processing figure. There is no general November filing deadline established by the cited resources. Existing holders should address a salary shortfall promptly with the authority; first-time applicants should resolve the salary, qualification and filing-channel questions before submission.
