Whether or not you need a visa to Hungary depends on a variety of factors: your nationality, the purpose and the expected duration of your stay, as well as other things like family relations and your employment status.
Hungary joined the European Union in 2004, so citizens of the EU and EEA member states do not require a visa. The only documentation they require is either their passport or identity card. These countries are:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden (new type of identity card) and the United Kingdom.
Apart from the citizens of these 31 countries, the citizens of the following nations do not need a visa to enter Hungary with their private passport provided that:
Hungary is a signatory of the Schengen Agreement. Therefore a visa for Hungary entitles you to travel within the whole Schengen area . This way you do not need to apply for a separate visa to enter Schengen Treaty member states. The opposite is true as well: a ’Schengen visa’ is valid for entry to Hungary.
Citizens of Non-EU/EEA countries (those who are required to get a visa) can apply for various types of visas. The visa type you should apply for depends on the purpose and the duration of your stay. It is very important to apply for the correct type of visa, because you cannot change your status in Hungary after entry. To do this you will normally have to leave the country, apply for the correct type of visa and then return to Hungary once it has been granted.
You can apply for a short-term or a long-term visa. The application process for a long-term visa usually takes between 30 and 60 days; while an application for a short-term visa will normally be processed in 5 to 15 days. The application fee for the visa that you will be charged depends on the country of application, ask in the Hungarian consulate in your current country of residence for details (this is also where you will need to make the application for a visa).
In case of a long-term visa first you will receive a Visa which you can travel into Hungary with. This Visa is valid for 30 days from the date you entered the Schengen Area. During this period you will need to go to the Hungarian Immigration Office in person to receive the final Schengen Residence Permit and to arrange the Address Registration too.
Family members can get this type of visa for the same period as the head of the family. The process is the same and the applications should be made at the same time. The applicant has to prove that he/she will have accommodation, financial means with which to live, cover/insurance for health care treatment, the means to pay for education for minors and any other requirements specified by the consulate handling the application. Proof of the family relation will be required in the form of birth and/or marriage certificates.