EU Commissioner raises concerns about Hungary’s new visa rules

EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson on Thursday raised concerns about a new Hungarian visa rule for foreign workers from Russia and Belarus.

It must be ensured that “Russian citizens who may constitute espionage or other security threats face the highest level of scrutiny,” Johansson wrote in a letter to Hungarian Interior Minister Sándor Pintér, which he shared on the social media platform X.

Johansson wrote that the scheme threatens to undermine the protection of Europe’s passport-free Schengen travel area, and called on the Hungarian government to explain itself.

Hungary previously operated a special visa regime for foreign workers from Ukraine and Serbia. Budapest expanded the rules in July to eight countries, including visitors from Russia and Belarus.

According to visa regulations, foreign workers can stay for two years and then have their stay extended for three years at a time – as many times as they wish.

Foreign workers can also pursue any profession. However, to benefit from the regulation, they must prove that they have employment, accommodation and health insurance in Hungary.

The regulations have sparked outrage in the EU in recent days. The president of the European People’s Party (EPP), Manfred Weber, warned the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, in a letter that the visa liberalization measure could pose a “serious risk” to the security of the EU.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government is seen as close to Russia by other EU member states.

Orbán has been heavily criticized by other EU countries for recent visits to Kiev, Moscow and Beijing on a self-proclaimed “peace mission” to end the war in Ukraine.