Hungary visa guideA Hungarian family and friends visit visa is a Schengen short-stay visa (type C) for visiting relatives or friends who live in Hungary, such as a son or daughter studying there. It allows up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Applicants from Punjab lodge at VFS Global in Chandigarh, Jalandhar, New Delhi or Gurugram, and the Embassy of Hungary in New Delhi decides, normally within 15 calendar days.
Hungary's list is short and strict on one point: the invitation is a formal document produced in Hungary. VFS says it must be issued by the Hungarian immigration office, and the embassy's checklist asks for a notarised invitation and Hungarian public documents on the relationship. Original documents are shown at a personal interview if the officer asks for one.
Do Indians need a visa for Hungary, and which one?
Yes. Parents flying to Debrecen or Pécs for a son's or daughter's graduation, or anyone visiting a relative or friend who lives in Hungary, need a Schengen short-stay visa, type C. VFS files it under "visiting family members or friends". It allows up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the whole Schengen area.
The decision belongs to the Embassy of Hungary in New Delhi for anyone living in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh or Delhi. What makes a Hungarian family file different is the invitation: it is a formal document produced in Hungary, not a letter your relative types and signs at home.
Visiting family in Hungary: the short version
- Visa
- Schengen type C, visiting family or friends
- Longest visitLonger stays need a residence permit for the purpose of visit
- 90 days in any 180
- The invitationIssued by the immigration office or certified by a notary
- Formal, produced in Hungary
- Lodged at
- VFS Chandigarh, Jalandhar, New Delhi or Gurugram
- Decided byWithin 15 calendar days, up to 45
- Embassy of Hungary, New Delhi
- Family of EU citizensUnder the free movement rules
- No visa fee
Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs consular information, Embassy of Hungary in New Delhi and VFS Global Hungary India, checked 14 Oct 2026
Where do applicants from Punjab apply?
Through VFS Global, which has 16 Hungary centres in India. Jalandhar and Chandigarh are the closest for Punjab and are open Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 16:00. The Embassy in New Delhi's consular district runs across the north and east, including Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi, while Mumbai's Consulate General serves the south and west.
Family rules at the centre:
- Children under 12 do not have to attend, VFS says, because they give no fingerprints. From 12 to 17, a parent or guardian consents and stays present while fingerprints are taken.
- One adult with a child. Only applicants and one parent or caregiver accompanying a child under 18 are allowed in.
- Older parents. Someone for whom fingerprinting is physically impossible gives a medical certificate instead.
- Repeat visitors. The foreign ministry does not take fingerprints again from people fingerprinted in the previous 59 months, and asks them to note the date in field 28 of the form.
- E-mail. Column 17 must carry an e-mail ID; VFS says parents without one should give a close relative's, and that leaving it blank will result in refusal.
VFS's family list also allows a third person to submit the application with an authorisation signed by the applicant and certified by a notary, although its centre page says applicants cannot send someone in their place. For parents whose fingerprints are already on file, ask VFS to confirm the notarised authorisation before relying on it. Check open dates on our Hungary appointment tracker.
Which documents depend on your situation?
The standard checklist is printed further down. Hungary's official sources describe the invitation in three different ways, so read them side by side:
VFS family list (live, October 2026)
- What it says about the invitation
- The invitation letter, in original, must be issued by the Hungarian Office of Immigration and Nationality
Embassy's New Delhi checklist
- What it says about the invitation
- A letter of invitation issued and certified by a public notary, plus evidence of the family relations by public documents issued by Hungarian authorities
Foreign ministry's consular page
- What it says about the invitation
- For friends, an invitation that may be a public notarial document, with a copy of the host's ID or passport; for relatives, that invitation or a letter you sign under criminal liability stating the relationship and the relative's name, address and phone number
Follow the strictest version. Ask your host to obtain the invitation through the Hungarian immigration authority, keep any notarised version too, and add Hungarian public documents on the relationship if your host has them. Where the family tie is recorded only in Indian papers, such as a parent visiting a child born in India, bring the Indian birth certificate as well and ask VFS before the appointment which Hungarian document the embassy expects.
Your own papers depend on who you are. Between them, VFS's list and the New Delhi checklist ask for these, with VFS marking several as originals that must be signed and stamped:
Working parent or relative
- What to add
- Original employment certificate granting the leave, and salary slips for the last 3 months, signed and stamped
Retired parent
- What to add
- Pension slips for the last 3 months, signed and stamped
Self-employed
- What to add
- Certificate of registration of the business, signed and stamped
Student travelling in term time
- What to add
- Enrolment certificate granting leave, with the sponsor's salary slips, ITRs and bank statement
Child with one parent
- What to add
- Notarised consent of the other parent, or proof of sole custody, and copies of the parents' signed photo ID
Every adult also gives a detailed bank statement for the last three months, signed and stamped by the bank, and the income tax return acknowledgement for the last two assessment years.
How much is the Hungary visa fee for Indians?
A family visit costs €90 per adult, which VFS charges as ₹9,600, and €45 for a child aged 6 to 11, charged as ₹4,800; children under 6 pay no visa fee. VFS's own service fee, revised from 1 October 2026, is ₹2,560 when biometrics are taken and ₹2,027 when they are already on file (all checked 14 Oct 2026). Family members of EU or EEA citizens pay no visa fee, the foreign ministry says, and may lodge directly at the consulate free of charge. Otherwise the visa fee is not reimbursed after a refusal. Our filing fee is shown at the top of this page.
How long does it take, and when should you apply?
The foreign ministry gives 15 calendar days for a decision, extendable up to 45 calendar days. The window runs from six months to 15 days before the visit, and the ministry recommends applying earlier than the last 15 days.
Add the time the invitation takes in Hungary. Your host has to arrange it first, and the embassy may also call you in: the New Delhi checklist says original documents must be presented at a personal interview with the visa officer. For a convocation or a family wedding with a fixed date, start the invitation two months or more before the trip.
Why do Hungary family visit visas get refused for Indian applicants?
The refusal comes on the EU's standard form. In family files, these are the usual reasons.
An invitation in the wrong form (reason 2)
A letter your relative signed at home does not match any of Hungary's three descriptions. Without the formal invitation, the purpose of the visit is not justified.
Parents whose return is doubted (reason 13)
Parents of a child studying or working abroad are judged on their own ties: pension, property, a running business, other children at home, and a clear return date.
Money shown by the host only (reason 3)
VFS asks for your own bank statement, signed and stamped, in original. A host's support helps, but the applicant's finances still have to be in the file.
Insurance missing for one traveller (reason 16)
VFS says each applicant, children included, needs travel medical insurance from the approved list, valid in all Schengen countries, for at least €30,000.
Each ground is explained on our Schengen refusal reasons page. An appeal must be lodged at the consulate within 8 days of receiving the refusal, at a cost of €160, and our refusal deadline tool keeps track.
Tips for a stronger family file
- Start with the host. The invitation is the slowest document, and only your relative can arrange it.
- Copy the host's ID or residence permit. The foreign ministry pairs the invitation with a copy of the host's identity document or passport.
- Book flights as a reservation. The checklist asks for an itinerary with travel dates and a return flight reservation or ticket; either is accepted.
- Fill in column 17. An e-mail ID for each applicant, even if it belongs to a close relative.
- Bring originals to the centre. Employment certificate, salary or pension slips and the bank statement, all signed and stamped.
- Carry two photos. VFS's family list asks for two, 3.5 cm × 4.5 cm, on a white background.
Can parents stay in Hungary longer than 90 days?
Not on a Schengen visa. Hungary handles longer family visits as a residence permit for the purpose of visit, a separate long-term application that VFS lists under its long-term visa section. The New Delhi checklist for it asks for the residence permit application form with its appendix, the valid and old passports, a flight booking, a statement undertaking to leave voluntarily if the application is refused, valid travel insurance, a police clearance certificate, bank statements for the last 6 months, and an invitation letter with an official consent, which also covers subsistence and accommodation.
VFS lists the long-term visa fee as ₹12,060 (€110), with no fee waiver for this category except for diplomatic and service passport holders, and its fee for D visa applicants as ₹2,347 (checked 14 Oct 2026). For short visits, the type C visa above is the right route. See the Hungary country page for the other visa types.
Official sources
- Short Term Stay, Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs consular information
- Consular district and contacts, Embassy of Hungary in New Delhi
- Hungary visa categories, fees and document lists, VFS Global India
- Hungary application centres in India, VFS Global
- Appointment day rules for Hungary, VFS Global India
- Revised VFS logistics fee for Hungary from 1 October 2026, VFS Global India
- The EU Visa Code, consolidated regulation on EUR-Lex
