Dear Students,
Welcome to Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences - MATE. Hereunder, the necessary information is shared about your stay and living as well as your studies in Hungary.
2025 information is coming soon! Welcome information will be sent via Dream Apply to Stipendium Hungaricum, SCYP students, in an email to DFP, MISP, FAO, DAFM, Erasmus emPLANT+ students and self-financed students soon.
VISA
Students outside EU countries should visit the relevant authorities (and their websites) at least 2 months before the beginning of their studies.
Visa-free countries are exceptions. However, visa-free applicants who start their procedures for a residence permit in Hungary, should register here: https://forms.gle/mFfa1VRNeoStZ4Jw7 so that international coordinators can arrange a group appointment for you at the Immigration Office.
Students with visa obligations should hand in their application for a D-type student visa at the Hungarian Embassy or Consulate in their home country. The visa application means a parallel application for a residence permit also from the embassy. Residence permits are automatically sent to the campus coordinator in the International Relations Centre of your given campus. The student visa may take up to 60 days to obtain. It is valid for 3 months - counted from the time of the decision-making and NOT from the receipt of the visa! It entitles you to a one-time entrance into Hungary.
The regulations for the registration of the place of residence and the residence permit can also be found on the website of Hungarian National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (Immigration Office) and/or of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (http://konzuliszolgalat.kormany.hu/en).
To provide some guidance, MATE International Relations Centre organises online consultations on 17th June, on 20th June, on 26th June. Upcoming sessions are organised on 1 July at 11:30 CET (link to join: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NzMxODU1ZGEtYTk2My00NTg4LTg4ODAtNWViN2I2OTc2ZGYz%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22b6ad7b0a-cc14-418c-8492-54b2753f96a4%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2246fa5558-82b0-4e39-99c5-9b8f71f25d4a%22%7d ) and on 9 July at 11:30 CET. More occassions will be announced later. The updated slides that were presented and supplemented with FAQs are available as you click on the given date.
You will need the following items for your visa application if you need visa.
- Visa application form provided by the consulate/embassy
- Application form for a residence permit + Appendix 9.13 – Pursuing studies or student mobility
- Passport
- Your lease contract (if you rent a flat or room)
- Reservation confirmation from your dormitory
- a passport-size photo
- Letter of Award from TPF or the Ministry of Agriculture, OR Certificate of Scholarship (Erasmus)
- Letter of Acceptance from MATE (MISP & Self-financed students – only this doc)
- Verification of transfer of tuition fee for 1 academic year – for self-financing applicants
- Proof of insurance coverage (not equal to travel insurance) - for Ministry scholarship holders, the Letter of Award replaces this document
- Immigration Office requires a proof of regular income OR saved money enough for the full time of staying in Hungary. max. 3 years at a time. How much? > Difficult to specify.
- Documentation about your sponsors (birth certificates / marriage certificate)
- Fees: 160 EUR – issuance of 1st residence permit, applied for at an embassy (For ministry scholarship holders: free of charge!)
- 23.000 HUF (60 EUR) – residence permit extension, submitted in Hungary (For ministry scholarship holders: free of charge!)
- Flight ticket – NOT PART OF THE COMPULSORY DOCS!
ARRIVAL IN HUNGARY
Please, note that the academic year starts on 8th September 2025 with our Orientation Week. Classes for 1st-year students only start on 15th September. Please, inform your coordinators about the details of your arrival - regardless of your scholarship status - by filling in the Arrival Form. It is obligatory for everyone.
Updated ACADEMIC CALENDAR
ERASMUS and any EXCHANGE STUDENTS info: here
USEFUL CONTACTS at MATE
Stipendium Hungaricum, Diaspora, SCYP and FAO scholars, please note that your travel insurance is expected to be valid one month after your arrival, so please take care of the coverage of your first month’s insurance. Similarly, your scholarship for September is expected to be paid at the beginning of October, so please make sure to have enough money for the living costs of the first month.
TRANSPORT FROM AIRPORT
Transport to Budapest
There is a good public transport between Liszt Ferenc Airport and Budapest:
https://www.bud.hu/en/passengers/transport/public_transportation/budapest_public_transportation
We advise - when it is your first time in Budapest- to use the 100E bus for travelling from the airport to the city centre. To use this bus, you need to buy a specific ticket (Airport shuttle bus single ticket) which costs 2200 Ft (around 6 EUR). It is the fastest way to get to the city using public transportation and cheaper than a taxi. You need to purchase a ticket before you get on the bus! Tickets can be bought at the BKK information point at the exit of the airport or on the BKK vending machine (or via the BKK mobile phone application). You can buy it with cash (HUF) or your bank card. For further details, visit: https://bkk.hu/en/travel-information/public-transport/airport-shuttle/
If you choose public transport, plan your trip here: Trip Planner or via Google Maps.
You can also search the schedules of the transportation vehicles here: https://bkk.hu/en/timetables/.
BKK also has an application (Budapest GO) which is easy to use on mobile phones, and you can buy your tickets via the app as well.
There are also ticket vending machines all over the city: https://bkk.hu/en/tickets-and-passes/ticket-vending-machines-tvm/
In any case, please fill in this ARRIVAL FORM and note if you need help to find your way to your accommodation in Budapest and we'll try to arrange buddies or mentors to help you. If you're having technical problems upon submitting the Arrival Form, let us know through international@uni-mate.hu .
Transport to Gödöllő Dormitory
Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences - MATE International Center provides free transport between Budapest and Gödöllő upon arrival to students with the taxi driver contracted by MATE. For exchange students, all Stipendium Hungaricum, Diaspora, SCYP and FAO students it is free. Individual travellers who are ready to pay the transfer fee can also contact the taxi driver and agree on the details of their ride.
If you know the date and time of your arrival, please, fill in the Arrival Form with the required data regardless of the fact whether you need a taxi or not. Your data are shared with the dorm coordinators and both international and educational coordinators.
Transport to Kaposvár
At the airport, find bus E100 or E200, then change to the underground M3 until Népliget.
For the bus E200 and for the underground you have to buy a ticket from a machine. (English language service is available.)
Please, check timetables for the regular bus service.
Select Budapest – Kaposvár to see the exact time of your departure and arrival.
As you get to the bus station in Kaposvár, you can take bus 8E, 8 or 18.
Please inform the campus coordinator about the exact time of your arrival in Kaposvár so that someone can be arranged to help you get to the University / to the dormitory!
Transport to Keszthely
At the airport, find bus E100 or E200, then change to metro line M3 until Népliget or Deák Ferenc tér and Déli Pályaudvar.
For taking bus E200 and the metro, buy a ticket from a BKK ticket vending machine. (English language service is available.)
From Budapest you can choose to travel to Keszthely by bus or train.
For further information regarding the bus or train timetable, please, check the following link: https://menetrendek.hu/mobile/?lng=en#
By bus: Get to Népliget autóbusz állomás by getting off metro line M3 at Népliget station and choose a direct bus to Keszthely. Most buses stop in front of the Student Hostel (the name of this stop is Keszthely, Egyetem, kollégium).
By train: Get to Déli Pályaudvar by changing from metro line M3 to metro line M2 at Deák Ferenc tér. Metro line M2 terminates at Déli Pályaudvar. Choose a direct train to Keszthely. Train stops at Keszthely railway station from where it takes 20 minutes to walk to the Student Hostel (use Google Maps to find the route).
Please, always inform your coordinator about the day of your arrival using the Arrival form.
Transport to Gyöngyös
Follow the steps as described in "Transport to Budapest" section and get to the city centre. Take metro line M2 to Keleti Pályaudvar and take a train to Gyöngyös/Eger.
STAYING IN HUNGARY
RESIDENCE PERMIT
You will need a residence permit to stay in Hungary during your studies (visa-free students also!). For detailed information, please read the webpage of the Hungarian National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (Immigration Office) carefully and the page focusing on Residence Permit for the Purpose of Studies as well as our relevant webpage.
During the first weeks after your arrival, some administration days will be organised so that you can arrange your residence permit collection as smoothly as possible.
PRACTICAL MATTERS (insurance, tax ID application, opening a bank account, etc.)
For more information, please visit and bookmark Practical Matters.
ACCOMMODATION / DORMITORY
Szent István Campus - Gödöllő
Gödöllő Dorm (address: H-2100 Gödöllő, Páter Károly u. 1.)
Coordinator: Ms. Bea Kárpáti (karpati.beata@uni-mate.hu)
If you are a Stipendium Hungaricum (SH), Scholarship for Christian Young People (SCYP) or FAO scholar, you can be accommodated in the dormitory of Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The dorm offers double, triple and quadruple rooms for newcomers.
Please send the Dormitory application form directly to the dormitory international coordinators, Ms. Bea Karpati in Gödöllő. DEADLINE: 15th July 2025!
In case you are a Stipendium Hungaricum / SCYP / FAO / Diaspora scholarship holder, your accommodation fee will be covered by the scholarship programme. Please note that FAO scholarship covers accommodation only in the dormitory.
If you have accommodation outside our dormitory, please let us know.
Please, also note that due to the huge overdemand, the dorm maintains its rooms only for students, so if you arrive with your family, you have to find accommodation other than the dormitory. We kindly ask for your understanding.
Please note that since the dormitory has limited places, newcoming scholarship holders have priority. Senior students’ accommodation in dormitory is subject to good behaviour and their academic performance.
Buda Campus - Budapest
Somogyi Imre Dormitory, Budapest
Address: 1118 Budapest, Szüret utca 2–18.,
Phone: +36 1 305 7581
Coordinator: Mr. Miklós Csányi at buda.kollegium@uni-mate.hu
The dorm offers only double rooms for students.
https://kollegium.uni-mate.hu/english-bc
For the first year, rooms are automatically booked for Stipendium Hungaricum, Scholarship for Christian Young People (SCYP) scholars and for two years for FAO scholars in Somogyi Imre Dormitory.
Please send the Dormitory application form directly to the coordinator, Mr. Miklós Csányi in Budapest. Please note that since the dormitory has limited places, newcoming scholarship holders have priority. Due to renovation works, dormitory rooms in Buda Campus cannot be checked-in until 8th September!
For accommodation in Budapest, please, check the website at https://en.uni-mate.hu/accommodation.
Kaposvár Campus
New Dormitory and Csukás Zoltán Dormitory
Address: 7400 Kaposvár, Guba Sándor u. 40.
Phone: +36 82 505 832
Kaffka Margit Dormitory
Address: 7400 Kaposvár, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky u. 6.
Phone: +36 82 502 517
http://english.ke.hu/services/student-hostels
Kaposvár Dorm coordinators:
Ms. Kitti Kolber: kolber.kitti@uni-mate.hu
Mr. Péter Csősz: csosz.peter@uni-mate.hu
Please send the Dormitory application form directly to the coordinators in Kaposvár.
Georgikon Campus - Keszthely
Please, note that all incoming first year scholarship holders are accommodated in one of the dormitories automatically. Still, it is necessary to send the Dormitory application form directly to the dorm coordinator in Keszthely.
Pethe Ferenc Dormitory
Address: 8360 Keszthely, Festetics út 5.
https://felveteli.georgikon.szie.hu/kollegiumok
Keszthely Dorm coordinator:
Mr. György Pásztor: pasztor.gyorgy@uni-mate.hu
Gyöngyös Campus
Student hostel
Address: 3200 Gyöngyös, Mátrai út 36.
Gyöngyös Dorm coordinators:
Mr. Márk Lakatos: lakatos.mark@uni-mate.hu
Students participating in international incoming mobilities should inform the Campus Coordinator about their request for dormitory accommodation via email by sending the Dormitory application form. All students participating in international incoming mobilities are most probably provided dormitory accommodation.
LIVING IN HUNGARY
SURVIVAL GUIDE compiled by ESN MATE
General Information: Student life
If you are not familiar with our country, please read the Wikipedia page on Hungary
There are a lot of sights to see and things to do in Hungary. Have a look at these pages:
Gödöllő, Budapest, Hungary
FACILITIES
In the dormitory rooms (and most houses in Hungary) you will have clean running water (drinkable without boiling), electricity, central heating, and internet.
You can have a variety of foods and drinks, in grocery stores, market places as well as in restaurants. Vegetarian food is available also in the two restaurants/canteens of the Gödöllő Campus.
Halal food is available in Budapest. Some well-known restaurants that serve Halal food in Budapest include Szeraj, Al-Amir, Cairo Café, and Antalya Kebab. There are a few Halal meat shops in Budapest. More information regarding the best Halal restaurants in Budapest can be found at one of the mosques or Islamic Centers in the city, such as the Budapest Mosque which is located at H-1119 Budapest, Fehérvári út 41.
CLOTHING
Those who come from tropical countries should note that there are colder seasons in Hungary including a winter, so be prepared to bring or buy warmer clothes.
STUDIES
Having a laptop for researching and writing is strongly recommended, although the university campus has computer facilities.
For details of your programme and faculty, visit the various homepages of the institutes.
FACEBOOK
You can follow us on Facebook and there are two main Facebook groups for MATE international students to share quick info about academic and social events. Please join both of them:
MENTOR SYSTEMS
We provide mentoring to Stipendium Hungaricum and Young Christian sholarship holders in the SH mentor group with registration HERE.
Exchange students are mentored by Erasmus Student Network - ESN MATE.
You should also feel free to seek contact with senior students already here, they can help you a lot. In addition, our Hungarian students will be also eager to help you.
How to become an SH mentee? Register here and use the guide.
We hope you will have a pleasant time at MATE, and we are looking forward to meeting you soon in Hungary!