The Ministry of Economy in Hungary has announced its decision to limit the issuance of temporary worker visas for individuals from non-European Union countries to 65,000 in 2024. This move is part of the government’s efforts to restrict the number of work visas granted to foreign temporary workers, as reported by SchengenVisaInfo on Friday.
Furthermore, the government has imposed a ban on temporary workers from outside the EU taking up employment in specific sectors. In the previous year, only 39,000 temporary worker visas were issued, which fell below the maximum limit established by an earlier decree, as per Reuters.
Facing a demanding election calendar, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s administration is striving to stimulate economic growth following a downturn induced by inflation in 2023. Orban’s strict stance on immigration has previously garnered support for the nationalist leader during elections.
As part of these measures, the government has identified approximately 300 jobs that individuals from outside the EU will be prohibited from undertaking. This list includes positions such as vineyard and orchard worker, photographer, legal aide, roofer, and elevator mechanic.
The Ministry of Economy emphasized in a statement, “The government will protect Hungarian families and jobs, which means that by law, it is only possible to hire foreign workers if there are no Hungarian workers to fill the vacancies.”
Hungary’s unemployment rate over the September-November period stood at 4.3%, based on the country’s rolling three-month unemployment rate.
According to Hungarian law, the hiring of foreign workers is permissible only when there are no available Hungarian workers to fill the job vacancies.
