Around 228 municipalities have introduced local regulations that restrict a right to residency in certain towns through imposing conditions that include proficiency in the Hungarian language, local media newspaper, Hungary Today reported this month.

Based on local statistics, the number of local governments adopting restrictions and bans to prevent unwanted residents from moving in has more than doubled following the implementation of the Law on the Protection of Local Identity. 

The law, which is based on a 2025 amendment of the Hungarian Constitution, has reportedly allowed local governments to use legal means to impose conditions on residence registration, and in some cases, settlement fees on property buyers.

Protecting local identity and tradition

The law, which came into force last July, allows municipalities to restrict residency and property purchases under the aim of protecting and preserving local identity.

As cited in local media, in Bodrogkeresztúr, a town in northeastern Hungary with a population of about 1,200 residents, the application of the law supports tourism and helps safeguard the town’s World Heritage status.  

The 2025 amendment includes a provision that states:

The exercise of the right to choose one’s domicile shall not violate the fundamental right to self-identity of the local communities of Hungary 

However, the uneven implementation of the law is resulting in the possible exclusion of Hungary's migrant population and other minority groups.

According to official statistics, Hungary issued a total of 407,364 residence permits, the most common of which are employment-related permits, followed by study visas.

However, fewer permits were issued for both employment and study purposes in 2024 compared to the previous two years (2023 and 2022), suggesting a potential shift in migration patterns, with fewer migrant workers and students arriving in Hungary compared to previous years.

The latest breakdown of Hungary's foreign population indicates that the largest migrant groups are: Germans (25,900), followed by Ukrainians (17,300) and Slovakians (17,100). Since 2015, Hungary built a border fence along much of its borders with Serbia and Croatia, in an attempt to prevent migrants from entering the country via the so-called Balkan route.

Centers at the border also tightly restrict the numbers of migrants who can enter the country at all.

Restricting residency

Human rights organizations have criticized the implementation of the law and how it has allowed local governments to use legal means to restrict migration and the rights of minority populations.

An analysis by the European Network of Legal Experts in Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination last July highlighted the following:

• Based on the right to local self-identity, the municipal community may prevent the undesired increase of the population of the settlement and may take action against undesired directions of societal developments
• As a local matter of public interest, the municipal community shall have the right to determine who may move into the municipality and under what conditions. 

Although Article 4(1) of the law expressly states that these measures "shall be applied without violating human dignity and applying unreasonable differentiation, in accordance with the principle of equal treatment," according to reports, municipalities may be using these regulations to keep Roma people and other "unwanted" groups out, which often includes migrant populations.

No to EU's migration solidarity mechanism

Hungary has taken a hardline stance on migration, saying late last year that it will not participate in the European Union’s new migration solidarity mechanism set to take effect in June 2026.

Hungary has held a longstanding opposition to compulsory or voluntary redistribution of asylum seekers and its rejection of the European Union's plans to implement a bloc-wide migration policy. The announcement is poised to set the stage for renewed tensions between Budapest and Brussels ahead of planned changes to the EU’s asylum system, which sets a mandatory migrant quota for every EU member, including Hungary.

In December, Hungary filed a lawsuit against the European Court of Justice over a record fine relating to its migration policy.

News agency Reuters reported on Friday (March 27) that opinion polls in the run up to Hungarian elections on April 12, suggest that current Prime Minister Viktor Orban's party which has been in power since 2010, could lose to the center-right Tisza's party. Under Orban, Hungary has often locked heads with other EU leaders over key policies such as aid to Ukraine and migration.

However, a report by the European Council on Foreign Relations indicates that migration may be one of the issues that remains unchanged under a possible post-Orban government. Tisza has "signalled it will retain a hard line on border protection, including the maintenance of the controversial border fence and opposition to relocation quotas and the Migration Pact," said the report.

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