As a foreigner dealing with paperwork in Hungary, you might be required to submit a certificate of good conduct by an institution such as your employer or a bank. This is surprisingly easy to deal with, using the ügyfélkapu or client gate.
First, the basics.
What is it?
The Certificate of Good Conduct or hatósági erkölcsi biyonzítvány is a public document issued in Hungarian by the Ministry of Interior. Also commonly called a police clearance, criminal background check or clean criminal record (among other things), this document certifies that you have a clean criminal record and is not prohibited from specific activities like employment.
Who needs a Police Clearance?
Basically anyone who needs proof of a clean record needs a police clearance. The most common reason a foreigner needs it is when applying for Hungarian permanent residency.
I have been living in Hungary for seven years before I needed this document. Last year, I changed roles within my company and I was told by Human Resources that I needed to submit this.
Why do you need it?
Certain institutions will ask you to provide a certificate of good conduct. Among the most common are immigration authorities, employers and banks. As long as you are a law-abiding person, your record should be spotless. The criminal record only deals with serious crime. So if you got fined by the metro controller because you did not have your original ID with you (ahem, ask me how I know), it will not appear in your certificate of good conduct.
How much is it?
The certificate is issued for free.
How long is it valid for?
The certificate is valid for 90 days from the date of delivery to you.
How to apply for Certificate of Good Conduct through the Client Gate – Ügyfélkapu
Requesting for your certificate is very easy through the ügyfélkapu. The online form is also available in English so it is a very straightforward process.
- Log in to your account via magyarorszag.hu. Toggle the site to English.
- On the left-hand side, find Documents and from the dropdown, select Certificate of Good Standing then Applying for a Certificate of Good Conduct
- Click Electronically.
- Select General Certificate and tick the boxes as applicable to you. The Nationality field will be automatically populated based on your profile and cannot be changed.
- Under Legal category of the addressee, select “natural person”
- Under Delivery details, select the one most appropriate to you. I chose “registered permanent address”. This one reflects your current address on file, and cannot be changed.
- Select the most appropriate option under Contact information and notification and Postal contact details.
- Double-check the information and finalise to submit your request. And you’re done!
You will get a confirmation that the request was successfully sent and your request ID will be shown on the screen. Your certificate will be delivered within 10 days. In my case, it took 5 working days only.
I hope this helped you today. Please leave a comment or question, I am curious about your experience applying for your own certificate!
