Living and Working in Hungary

 Population: (2010 December estimate) 19  Counties:19 (7 regions) Budapest  Capital:Budapest (population ) 93,030 km 2  Area:93,030 km 2 (country comparison to the world: 109th) Continental  Climate:Continental with hot summers with low overall humidity levels but frequent rainshowers and mildly cold snowy winters. GMT+1hr (winter), GMT+2hr (summer)  Time Zone:GMT+1hr (winter), GMT+2hr (summer) Facts about Hungary

 Currency: Hungarian Forint (HUF) Exchange rate: 1 Euro = app HUF  Government: Parliamentary republic  Prime Minister: Dr. Viktor Orbán  Religion: 54.5% Roman Catholic, 21% Reformed (Calvinist) Protestant, 6% Evangelical (Lutheran), 18.5% other Facts about Hungary  Accession to the European Union: May 1, 2004  Between 1 January and 30 June 2011, Hungary hold the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first time since joining the EU.

 Official language: HUNGARIAN For 95% of the population, the mother language is Hungarian, a Finno-Ugric language unrelated to any neighbouring language and distantly related to Finnish and Estonian.  Most of young Hungarians speak English and/or other Western languages. Language

The Labour Market Average unemployment rate for the year: 11.2% Labour force (est.):4,3 million Vacancies: Registered jobseekers total: From this - without qualification graduates registered jobseekers longer than a year December 2010

 Food processing industry  Chemical industry (especially pharmaceutical)  Textile industry  Metallurgy  Agriculture  Construction and motor vehicle industry Major Industries

The main motor vechile industries

TECHNICAL  construction engineers, welder, operator, CNC turner, fitter, meat packer, bricklayer, plasterer, carpenter, etc.HEALTH  doctors, nursesIT  IT-specialists, engineers, software developers, tech-supports & helpdesks BUSINESS / TRANSPORT  sales, logistics The Labour Market: Shortages

 Written labour contract!  3 months probationary period  Salary paid once a month  Employer draws tax from your monthly pay  The normal daily working time is 8 hours  40 working hours per week (maximum 48 hours with 2-day rest period) Working Conditions

Taxes and Contributions …that you must pay in Hungary are one of the highest in Europe 6% of all incomes.  Personal Income Tax is deducted from the employee’s salary by the employer: 16% of all incomes.  The tax return is made by the employer or the Tax Office if the employee does not have any other taxable revenue but his/her salary.  The deadline for Tax Return is 20th of May following the tax year.

Contributions (deducted from the gross salary) 17,5 % 17,5 % of the gross salary is deducted: 10 % 10 % old age pension contribution, 6.0 % 6.0 % health insurance contribution 1.5 % 1.5 % employee contribution.

 Price of the energy (gas, electric, heating, water) and food rise every year.  One beer will cost about 1-2 Euro and a glass of wine will cost about 3 Euro in a pub/restaurant. One coffee will cost about 2,50 Euro  Cars and petrol are very expensive. The prices will vary from week to week. On average it costs about 1,4 Euro per liter.  Some prices (February 2011): ► Milk (1 L)219 HUF (ca. 0,8 Euro) ► Bread (1 Kg)304 HUF (ca. 1,2 Euro) ► Sugar (1 Kg)263 HUF (ca. 1 Euro) ► Gasoline (1 L)361 HUF (ca. 1,4 Euro) ► Electricity (10 kWh)453 HUF (ca. 1,7 Euro) Costs of living

Accommodation In Hungary, approximately 93% of homes are occupied by their owners. Rented flats and houses not used by the owners for their own purposes can be found across the country The level of rents varies considerably, depending on location, accessibility, and the condition of the real estate. The rental fees: 1.5-room or 2-room apartment in good condition without overheads: 50,000 HUF / ca. 185 Euro Above 100 m²: 100,000 HUF / ca. 370 Euro

Some photos about Hungary

Salaries HUF Fulltime job average (Brutto): HUF High payed sectors HUF HUF HUF Financial and insurance HUF Information & Communication HUF Electricity, Gas Services HUF Low payed sectors HUF HUF Accomodation Services, Hospitality HUF Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing HUF HUF Minimal wage: HUF (ca. 290 Euro) Januar 2011

60-70% of jobs are not advertised Make a Curriculum Vitae (CV) in Hungarian and/or English Europass CV increasingly common Use company web sites and job portals Contact employers directly Use your personal network Personal references and reference persons are welcome Jobseeking Getting a job and working in Hungary requires you to firstly consider three important facts: language skills, professional experiences and personal contacts.

Where to find jobs Job portals These portals are only available in the Hungarian language, but you will find that there are also some vacancies published in English, German or other languages National Employment Service: EURES: eures.europa.eu,

Before you start to work... „TAJ” Number In case an EU citizen wants to work and finds a job in Hungary, first he/she has to get a „TAJ” Number (TAJ = Social Security Number) at the Health Insurance Found („OEP”) before the employment starts. Tax Number The employee must register and ask for a Tax Number at the Tax Office (NAV, formerly „APEH”)

Employment of EEA citizens and their family members EEA citizens and their family members do not need a work permit in Hungary. The employer shall notify the competent labour centre of the employment not subject to work permit. Employment of third country nationals Employment of third country nationals General rule third country nationals (i.e. non-EEA) in Hungary shall only be engaged in employment except for a few cases specified by national legislation in possession of a valid work permit. The work permit is issued by the labour centres. Staying longer than 90 days? – Residence permit needed! The employee has to register at the Immigration Office and apply for his/her Residence Permit (Residence Card) Work / Residence permits

Arriving in Hungary The new SkyCourt has opened at Ferenc Liszt Airport in Budapest

Most important online sources National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) NationalHealth Insurence Found Immigration Office Government Portal of Hungary Infos about Hungary National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) en.apeh.hu / National Health Insurence Found Immigration Office Government Portal of Hungary Infos about Hungary

Telecommunication Important telephone numbers 104 Ambulance 107 Police 105 Fire department 198 Directory Assistance 199 International Directory 112 International Emergency Call Hungary country code: 36 Budapest area code: 1 (+7-digit number) International pre-dial: 00 + country code + local number Domestic long distance pre-dial: 06 + area code + local number Access to the Internet hotspotter.hu There are Internet cafés all over the bigger cities and a growing number of hotels and cafés offer WiFi access for laptop users. For a comprehensive listing, with maps, visit hotspotter.hu

NES and EURES in Hungary New name & new structure in 2011  National Employment Service (NES) instead of PES  Splitting employment and social & youth policies  Labour Centres are part of the County-Level Government Offices (Prefecture)  Two types of LC  Country-level organisation only  Country-level (& Budapest) organisations and branch offices Hungarian EURES Team with 39 EURES Advisers.

Made in Hungary

Thank you for your attention! Thank you for your attention! Come and visit us in Hungary!