A month in Budapest

Non-EU visitors may stay 90 days in any 180 across the whole Schengen area, and since 10 April 2026 the EU Entry/Exit System registers them at the external border, where it can take fingerprints and a photo. British passports must be under 10 years old on arrival and valid for three months after leaving the Schengen area.

EU and EEA citizens who stay beyond 90 days in 180 apply for a registration certificate at the immigration authority's regional office or through the Enter Hungary portal, for HUF 1,000. Non-EU remote workers can apply for the White Card, Hungary's digital nomad permit: it lasts up to one year, can be extended once by up to one year, and needs a net income of at least EUR 3,000 a month over the six months before entry, kept throughout the stay.

The Local Taxes Act taxes each guest night of anyone without a permanent address in the district, and it has no exemption for long stays. In Districts 5, 6 and 8 the rate is 4 per cent of the accommodation price for every night of the month. The exemptions depend on who the guest is: under 18, a student, a patient, or someone working for a business based in the district.

Whether a residential lease, as opposed to a stay in registered accommodation, counts as guest nights was not verified as of September 2026. Ask the host whether the price includes the tax and how it appears on the invoice.

The host scans the ID card or passport of every guest aged 14 or over at check-in and sends the data to the national storage the Tourism Act designates; without a document the host must refuse the stay. This applies to a month as much as to a night.

A listing offered through a platform must show its NTAK registration number and accommodation type. Since no new private or other accommodation can be registered in Budapest until 31 December 2026, and District 6 has banned both categories since 1 January 2026, a Terézváros apartment offered for a month is worth questioning before a deposit is paid.

Parking decides the choice for anyone with a car. In zones A, B and C a paid stay ends after three hours on working days, and paying again does not extend it, so a car cannot live on those streets during the week. Zone D, in Kelenföld and Albertfalva, costs HUF 300 an hour from 08:00 to 18:00 with no time limit, and weekends are free in every zone.

Bartók Béla út and Újbuda put a month among residents, with galleries, coffee houses and bars along the boulevard and zone D a short drive south; the boulevard itself is residents-only at night. The Palace District, behind the National Museum, is about 2 km from Deák Ferenc tér by road. The P+R sites, about 3,800 spaces, charge HUF 500 per occasion by day and HUF 300 an hour at night.

Airbnb calls 28 nights or more a monthly stay. It charges the first month up front and releases it to the host 24 hours after check-in, then charges each later month 10 days before it starts. How other platforms label long stays in Budapest was not verified as of September 2026.

Booking an apartment in District 6. Private accommodation there has been banned since 1 January 2026.

Counting Schengen days only in Hungary. The 90 days in 180 run across the whole Schengen area.

Leaving a car on a zone A, B or C street through the week. Three hours is the limit on working days.

Planning to pay for parking by text on a foreign SIM. Text and call payment work only on Hungarian networks.