Limited Stay at Home Orders and Travel Restrictions: What Is Allowed to Do?

Limited Stay at Home Orders and Travel Restrictions: What Is Allowed to Do?

Hungary
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As of 1 September 2020, Hungary closed its borders to non-Hungarian citizens again. The rules abolished the tricolour system of green, yellow and red countries qualifying literally all countries as red. The rules introduced then – by a recent legislative amendment – remain in force until 1 December 2020.

Parallel to the above and following other European countries, as of 4 November 2020, the government introduced new restrictions, including the limited stay at home order between 00:00 and 05:00 and closed all music venues and nightclubs. Bars and restaurants may remain open until 23:00 but everyone should wear masks except for the period of eating and drinking.

In addition, other rules were introduced to make sure social distancing is kept, e.g. although theatres and cinemas may remain open, too but only every three seats could be occupied while seats behind each other may not be occupied either.

What do the restrictions mean? Do they mean that you are not allowed to travel abroad neither for pleasure, nor for business purposes, let alone to the countryside early in the day? The law recognizes a number of exceptions, i.e. the short answer is yes, you are allowed to do these things taking into account the conditions pertaining thereto.

Travel rules in a nutshell

Hungarian citizens may return to Hungary from whichever country but will face 10-day quarantine unless tested negative for Covid-19 twice (PCR test). Non-Hungarian citizens having permanent residence in Hungary and those who are entitled to stay in Hungary for more than 90 days are to be treated the same way as Hungarian citizens.

The same rules apply to professional athletes who are members of Hungarian sports organisations, employees of Hungarian cultural organisations and persons participating in an international sports event held abroad by an invitation or delegation issued by a Hungarian sports organisation, if they enter Hungary after participating in an international sports or cultural event held abroad.

Foreign citizens (not listed above) may generally not enter Hungary. By contrast, the government decree recognises exceptions, for example in the case of commuters from a neighbouring country or in the case of a verifiable reasonable cause (e.g. compulsory court procedures, funerals, weddings or studies, and additional exceptions for those participating in sports or cultural events). In other words: the desire of going on holiday may not be a basis for travel but an important family occasion, official tasks or sports/cultural events may be a valid reason for that. Persons participating at such events must wear face masks, failure to do so may result in severe sanctions and fines.

Business travel

Similar to the restrictions introduced during the first wave of infections, business travels still enjoy a beneficial exception. Who is allowed to enter Hungary in connection with the activities of a company? Only the foreign managing director, other directors or even blue-collar employees?

Employees and representatives of entities having an affiliated company in Hungary may enter Hungary without any further restriction. Upon crossing the borders, the business purpose of the travel (e.g. by presenting an employment contract or invitation letter) must be substantiated. On the other hand, travellers are not expected to present proof of the legal relationship between the respective companies, but ideally such a relationship should be apparent from the documents they are carrying. Consequently, both the directors (managers) and blue-collar workers may enter Hungary upon due verification of the business cause.

The same applies to Hungarian citizens leaving Hungary for business, i.e. they may return to Hungary without any restriction if they prove upon returning that the trip was for business purposes.

Travelling during the night: is it allowed?

Reading the new rules, a further question arises: what should travellers do if they arrive at night or early morning?

The law treats employment and business related travel as a key exception from the rules: for the purpose of work, going to work from home (or a hotel) and vice versa does not infringe the limited stay at home order. It follows that for business purposes not only cross boarder travelling is allowed but is also possible to travel during the permitted hours. This also covers the case where the non-Hungarian manager's flight arrives late at night, i.e. no restriction and the manager is free to attend to the hotel reserved.

By Daniel Gera, Counsel, and Alexandra Bognar, Attorney at Law, Schoenherr