In May 2024 Hungary's National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing published its latest statistical reports for the year 2023. Overall, the data indicate a general increase in the number of immigrants in Hungary over the past 5 years, with a notable surge in 2022 attributed to the war in Ukraine. 

In 2018 Hungary hosted a total of 263 445 immigrants, and by the end of 2023 this number had increased to 403 112. The primary reasons for requesting residence permits in 2023 remained employment, education, and family reunification: the figures reveal a consistent rise in applications for all 3 types of permit.

The impact of the war in Ukraine is evident in the statistics. In 2022, 33 273 requests were submitted for temporary protection, of which 29 847 were approved. From 24 February 2022 - December 2023 there was a total of 41 049 such requests, with 36 717 approved. The number of individuals with 'tolerated' status surged in 2022, increasing from 50 in 2020 to 1 728 by 2023. This increase is largely due to the fact that many people fleeing Ukraine, who registered for temporary protection but left Ukraine before 24 February 2022, were granted tolerated status instead of temporary protection status.

The most significant decrease is observed in the number of asylum applications, which has dropped by 94% since 2019 (following the introduction of the new asylum system, the so-called “embassy procedure,” in 2020). This procedure severely limited access to asylum, and has remained in place despite an ECJ ruling in June 2023 stating that the system infringed upon mingrants' rights. While 500 asylum applications were submitted in 2019, only 31 were submitted in 2023. Correspondingly, the number of recognitions also decreased dramatically.

Find more statistics on immigration in Hungary here.