Crossing the Hungarian border from Ukraine
Ukrainian citizens can travel to Hungary without visa, if they have a private, diplomatic or service passport. Citizens of other countries can read more about entering rules on the website of the Hungarian government: List of visa-free countries
Since there is an emergency mandate in effect because of the coronavirus pandemic, the government used that to amend the law at a lower level so as to avoid the application of the transitional provision on the asylum procedure, which originally prevented asylum applications from being submitted to the Hungarian embassy in Kyiv. This means that now anyone fleeing from Ukraine can enter the country, whether the person is a dual citizen (Hungarian and Ukrainian), a Ukrainian citizen, or a citizen of a third country who has been living in Ukraine legally. Further information may be found on the website of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, here.
You can get current information about the waiting times at different border crossings here:
https://www.aid4ukr.com/get-help/waiting-times-at-the-borders-of-ukraine
Because of the emergency situation, Ukrainian citizens can cross the Hungarian border without paperwork now. But in that case, they will be transported to one of the five help points and they need to apply for ITJ (a temporary staying permit). This can be issued for 5-90 days.
Help Points in Hungary
The Ukrainian and Hungarian boarder crossing points are open 0-24. In order to keep the areas of boarder crossings free, Hungarian help organisations created 5 "Help Centers" near to the big boarder crossings in Záhony, Lónya, Barabás, Beregsurány and Tiszabecs. These Help Centers can be reached by centrally organised free busses from the border. People can get food, drink, medical help and information. Volunteers can help you to get accommodation and organise transportation after your needs.
Help Center Locations:
- Záhony, Kárpát utca 4. – Szakközépiskola
- Barabás, Árpád utca 28. – Művelődési Ház
- Lónya, Árpád utca 113. – Művelődési Ház
- Beregsurány, II. Rákóczi Ferenc utca 1. – Kastélypark
- Tiszabecs, Rákóczi Ferenc utca 13. – Általános Iskola