Temporary protection in Hungary in 2026: status extended to March 2027, but housing — only for 'war' oblasts

For Ukrainians who have or plan temporary protection in Hungary, it is important to distinguish two different things: the temporary protection status itself and the right to state-provided free housing. The first has been extended for everyone; the second, since 2024, depends on the oblast you left.

Status extended to 4 March 2027 — for everyone

Temporary protection for Ukrainians across the entire European Union, including Hungary, has been extended until 4 March 2027. The European Commission proposed the extension on 4 June 2025; EU member states unanimously endorsed it on 13 June 2025, and the EU Council formally adopted the decision on 15 July 2025.

The extension does not change either the categories of persons covered by the protection or the scope of their rights compared with the original decision of 4 March 2022. The oblast of origin in Ukraine does not affect the status itself.

According to UNHCR in Hungary, the extension applies automatically: even if your card states an end date of 4 March 2023, 2024, 2025 or 2026, the protection remains valid until 4 March 2027 — no additional action is required from you. With temporary protection status you can continue to reside legally in Hungary, work without a separate permit, rent housing, study and use medical services.

Who is eligible for the status

According to the official Hungarian list of conditions, temporary protection in Hungary can be obtained by:

• Ukrainian citizens who resided in Ukraine before 24 February 2022;
• stateless persons and third-country nationals who, before 24 February 2022, enjoyed international or equivalent national protection in Ukraine;
• family members of the persons indicated.

What actually changed in 2024: housing, not status

Separately from the status extension, in 2024 Hungary narrowed access to state-provided free housing. Government decree 134/2024 (published in June 2024) came into force on 21 August 2024. It concerns not the right to protection, but only state-funded accommodation.

Under the new rules, state-provided free housing is retained only for vulnerable persons under protection whose last official address in Ukraine was in an oblast that the Hungarian government officially classes as directly affected by the war. The government is to review and update the list of such oblasts monthly — the new version is published by the 10th of each month.

According to Ukrainian sources, as of July 2024 the list comprised 13 regions (where 'Kyiv oblast and the city of Kyiv' count as one entry, and 'the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol' as one): Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv oblast and the city of Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Chernihiv, Luhansk, Zhytomyr oblasts, as well as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol. Since the list is updated monthly, its current composition should be checked before applying for housing.

Why this is a painful issue for Zakarpattia and western Ukraine

The western oblasts of Ukraine — in particular Zakarpattia (Zakarpattia) — are not included in the list of 'war' oblasts. This means that people who left precisely from there have, since 21 August 2024, lost the right to state-provided free accommodation, although the temporary protection status itself has been retained for them.

According to estimates by Human Rights Watch (citing the Hungarian Helsinki Committee) and UNHCR, the change in housing rules affected around 2,000–3,000 people — mostly women and children, among them many Hungarian-speaking families from Zakarpattia. The question of whether such a distinction complies with EU law has been raised in the European Parliament and is being challenged in Hungarian courts.

What this means for you in practice

• If you already have temporary protection in Hungary — it is valid until 4 March 2027 regardless of the oblast you left; you do not need to separately extend the status on account of the oblast.
• If you depend on state-provided free housing, check whether your oblast of registration is on the current list of 'war' oblasts — it is updated monthly (the new version by the 10th).
• People from Zakarpattia and other western oblasts who need housing should seek advice in good time (for example, from the Hungarian Helsinki Committee) on alternative options and possible exceptions.
• The documents for the status itself (the temporary protection card) and housing matters are processed and appealed separately — do not confuse these procedures.

For document photos for Hungarian and European procedures (temporary protection card, residence permits, travel documents) it is important to comply with the current photo requirements — this is a separate technical step that does not depend on your oblast of origin.