Draconian measures for guest workers to be implemented in Hungary from 1 January
Draconic strictness comes in Hungary concerning the guest workers from 1 January. Fewer can come and they will probably earn less. #guestworkers #labourshortage #money #hungariangovernment
Even though multiple officials of the Orbán cabinet have acknowledged the importance of guest workers in Hungary, the Hungarian government seems determined to stop the inflow of third-country workers from 2025. The first leaked news was about cutting the number of issuable work permits to non-EU nationals to almost zero. Following the first shock and the start of lobbying from enterprise owners, the original initiative softened. However, the changes are still considerable.
Anti-migration government accepts guest workers in large numbers
Starting in 2025, coming to Hungary to work as a non-EU citizen will not be easy. The number of such workers exceeded 80 thousand in Hungary, a country where the government campaigned and won three consecutive landslide victories with its anti-migration policies in the last decade. The original slogan was stopping migration and preventing migrants from taking the Hungarian people’s work.
However, many things have changed in the last few years due to the labour shortage Hungary’s market players face due to low salaries. Talented and hard-working Hungarians leave to earn more in Western Europe. However, the remaining workforce is not trained enough or capable of using the latest technologies in the country’s emerging manufacturing sector.
Therefore, investors building plants and factories in Hungary due to the low corporate taxes were unable to hire enough workforce, so they depended on bringing foreign employees, mostly from Asia. The result is that, for example, Indian and Filipino workers dominate Hungary’s dairy sector.
The Hungarian government decided to introduce draconic rules
Following criticism from Fidesz grassroots and amid a deepening economic crisis, the Hungarian government decided to cut back the number of available work permits for non-EU residents drastically. First, news emerged about granting such permits only to Georgian nationals since Georgia is the only country Hungary signed a readmission agreement with.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of National Economy wrote about a maximum of 35,000 work permits entitling the owner to reside in Hungary. The Orbán cabinet said such a modification is needed for the protection of the workplaces and Hungarian families. It is important to highlight that the new rules will not change the working conditions of those who are already here and working with a permit.
According to Tőzsdefórum, such work permits will only be available for non-EU residents if the vacant position cannot be filled by the Hungarian workforce. The basis of the 35,000 is the number of vacant positions in 2024 Q4, which was above 71 thousand.
Tax benefits narrowing for 3rd-country guest workers
The Hungarian prime minister expressed before that his government does not want Hungary to become a “migrant country”.
We wrote earlier that the government would decrease the tax benefits guest workers are eligible for. As a result, 3rd-country workers will earn less after 2025. The only exceptions are guest workers coming from neighbouring countries like Ukraine and Serbia.
On the other hand, from January, Vietnamese, Indian, Indonesian, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Venezuelan, Montenegrin, Filipino, etc. workers may earn less. They will no longer be eligible for family tax allowance, the allowance for young couples in first marriage, and the tax benefits for employees under 25.
Read also:
- Tax benefits change, 3rd-country guest workers will earn less in 2025 in Hungary!
- HERE is how the enterprises reacted to the cutback
- Shocking proposal: Hungary plans ban on non-EU guest workers starting 1 January
Featured image: depositphotos.com
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