Author
In Hungary, persons with protection status do not get a residence permit, but a Hungarian ID. Since 1 June 2016, the duration of refugee status and subsidiary protection were brought to 3 years. According to the Asylum Act, refugee and subsidiary protection statuses shall be reviewed at least every 3 years.[1]
According to the law, the issuance of ID and address cards should take up to 20 days.[2] However, in practice it takes at least 1 month. Persons with international protection status are able to stay in the reception centres only for 30 days after the delivery of the decision on the status.[3]
Between the age of 18 and 65, the ID card is issued for a period of 6 years. Under the age of 18, children are provided with an ID card valid for 3 years. Both refugee and subsidiary protection status have to be examined by the NDGAP ex officio after at least 3 years counted from the day the status was granted. If the status is withdrawn as a result of the procedure, the ID card should be also invalidated. Until the end of the procedure, the beneficiary of international protection is still entitled for the ID card.
However, the Lutheran Church reported though in 2019 that the ID cards of beneficiaries of subsidiary protection were not prolonged during their status review procedure, therefore beneficiaries were without ID card for months. The same incident was reported by the Lutheran Church in 2020, when the ID cards of the older children of a family, having a pending procedure before the court on the revocation of their subsidiary protection, was not renewed, while their new-born baby was not provided by an ID card at all.
Long waiting time for the issuance of the ID cards was also reported in the case of a woman and her children arriving in Hungary as a result of family reunification procedure. They were granted subsidiary protection status in September 2020. Nonetheless, their ID cards were issued only in November which prevented them from arranging an address and health insurance card. Due to the absence of official documents, they could not receive official mails, obtain family financial aid and kindergarten placement.
Menedék Association reported that an Afghan family rescued by the Hungarian Defence Forces in 2021 from Afghanistan and accommodated in the Balassagyarmat reception centre had to go through an excessively long ID card procedure in 2022. Members of the family were recognised as beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. The NDGAP asylum authority notified the competent government office and the reception centre about the family’s status and their right to have an ID card, but the reception centre failed to notify the family, and as a result, it took more than 2 months for the family to receive their ID cards after they moved out from the reception centre. [4]
Menedék Association points out that by 2023, the (first) application for an ID card by a beneficiary of international protection has become quite rare, given the number of asylum seekers and recognised refugees.[5] Regarding renewals of ID cards, Menedék Association reported the following 2023 cases:
- In one case, a beneficiary of international protection has renewed his ID card, attaching to his application a certificate from the NDGAP stating that his/her status is still maintained by the NDGAP. Nonetheless, the renewed ID card was valid for a total of 8 months, for reasons unspecified.
- In another case concerning a renewal of the ID card of a beneficiary of international protection, the beneficiary did not attach the NDGAP certificate of his status, as the administrator did not ask for it. The beneficiary was issued with the requested document, but with the same date that was expired.[6]
In practice, refugee children or children with subsidiary protection who reside in Hungary with only one of their parents face obstacles upon the obtainment of ID cards. According to the law,[7] in order to issue an ID card to children with no legal capacity (below the age of fourteen) both parents’ consent is required. Thus, the parent of the child not staying in Hungary has to give their consent in writing (either in a private document providing full evidence or a statement taken before the Hungarian Consulate) and has to deliver the original copy of it to Hungary. In countries of origin such as Syria, Afghanistan or Somalia where public service does not function or in a limited way, and Hungarian Consulates do not operate this requirement amounts to difficulties for the parent to comply with. Not to mention the level of public security, which makes compliance with the law for a single mother even more difficult. As per the HHC, such a requirement for refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection is unnecessary and disproportionate. Furthermore, the regulation highlights that the law is not tailored to the situation of beneficiaries of international protection. Nevertheless it is reasonable to assume that these requirements continued to be applied in 2023.[8]
Menedék Association reported that in 2022, beneficiaries of international protection who returned to Hungary from other EU Member States faced difficulties in obtaining Hungarian documents, such as ID and address cards before the government offices. Such problems were not reported in 2023.
[1] Sections 7/A(1) and 14(1) Asylum Act.
[2] See more information regarding the requirements and procedures to obtain an ID card in the report issued by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Hungary: Identity cards and address cards for nationals and non-nationals, including requirements and procedures to obtain the cards; description of the cards, including information on the cards (2016-July 2018), [HUN106146.E], 10 August 2018, available at: https://bit.ly/2SK8waD.
[3] Section 32(1) Asylum Act.
[4] Information received from the Menedék Association by the HHC on 28 February 2022.
[5] Information received from the Menedék Association by the HHC on 22 February 2024.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Section 20 Government Decree 414/2015 (XII.23.) on the issuance of ID card and on the uniform image and signature recording rules.
[8] Practice-informed observation by the HHC, January 2024.