If you are fleeing from Ukraine as a result of the war, the content on this page does not apply to you. Please refer to the below pages for more information:
▸ Information for New Arrivals from Ukraine
▸ Temporary Protection
What is a status review?
If you received refugee or the subsidiary protection status in Hungary after 1 June 2016, the immigration authority can review your status every three years. This means that the authority will re-examine whether the conditions still apply for you to be granted with an extension of the status. The authority can also review your status if they have a reason to think that the conditions to hold the status are no longer met or in case your country-of-origin requests extradition. The outcome of the status review can result in leaving your status unchanged or withdrawal of the status.
If a status review is initiated, the immigration authority must notify you about it in writing in your mother tongue or in a language you understand well. Make sure that you always inform the immigration authority about your current address, because they send the official notifications there. Not receiving the notification (because you live somewhere else) does not exempt you from the procedure and keeping its deadlines. If you do not show up in time for the hearing requested by the authority, you may risk a negative decision regarding your status. The authority will also call on you to submit reasons why your status should be upheld and prove that there is no basis to exclude you from the status and you will have to go for a personal interview. The procedure should not take longer than 60 days. If the authority decides to withdraw your refugee / subsidiary protection status, you will have 8 days to submit an appeal against the decision at the immigration authority in person, which will then be forwarded to the court. When deciding about your appeal, the court must hold a personal hearing with you, and make their decision in 60 days.
The law states that your status can be withdrawn by the authority if you voluntarily visit or return to your country of origin or to the country from where you were fleeing from (suggesting that you again enjoy the protection of your country), or you retain your original citizenship, or receive a new citizenship and enjoy the protection of that country, or the authority considers the reason to provide you with protection no longer valid. The status is also withdrawn, if you decide to forgo (give back) your status in writing, or if according to the authority the conditions supporting your asylum claim did not even exist when you applied for asylum or the authority believes that you have failed to disclose important information or misled the authority about it or used fake documents.
If you have tolerated status, it will be reviewed by the authority every year. In case you fail to show up in front of the authority after notification to do so, the authority can automatically terminate the tolerated status.
Who can help with status review?
For more information and assistance, please turn to the Hungarian Helsinki Committee at their site (information in English, Arabic, Farsi, Pashto, Russian, Spanish, Urdu) or email at [email protected].
