Budapest Airport: Foreign Citizens Barred from Entering Hungary

A government decree which entered into force on Tuesday, March 17 prohibits foreign citizens from entering Hungary. From today, the travel documents of all arriving passengers are checked at Budapest Airport, according to a press release by its management company. Following this inspection, only Hungarian citizens and EEA citizens holding a residence permit in this country are permitted to enter Hungary.

The document states that Budapest's Liszt Ferenc International Airport is not closing; it will continue to welcome and launch flights. However, only Hungarian citizens - and citizens of the European Economic Area (member states of the European Union, Switzerland and Norway) who have permanent residence in Hungary and can prove this by a permanent residence card - can enter Hungary from this Tuesday. In this case, they will be treated equally with Hungarian citizens. All other foreign citizens are turned away by the authorities, and they must wait in the designated transit area until departure.

Anyone, Hungarians and foreigners alike, are free to depart from the airport in the coming days.

The Airport Police Directorate checks the travel documents of the passengers of all flights at the border crossing point. In the case of families traveling together, if at least one of the parties is a Hungarian citizen, the foreign family member (child, parent, grandparent, husband or wife) is permitted to enter Hungary. EEA citizens holding a residence permit will be allowed to enter the country.

The requirement that Hungarian citizens arriving home from South Korea, Iran, Israel, China and Italy must undergo mandatory medical screening upon entry to the country remains in force.

Foreign citizens who are not permitted to enter Hungary must wait in the designated transit area until departure. Budapest Airport provides blankets, food, mineral water and, upon request, face masks for such passengers waiting in the transit area.

 Together with the Airport Police Directorate, Budapest Airport is prepared to implement border controls. To ensure a seamless process, all flights will arrive at Terminal 2B where the inspection of travel documents takes place.