Info Letter For New SH and SCY Scholarship Students

Dear Student,

Greetings from Budapest, Hungary! We are pleased to welcome you to the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) for the fall term of the 2021/2022 academic year.

The following letter contains important information related to your stay in Hungary:

1. Arrival to Hungary,
2. Accommodation options in Budapest,
3. Your scholarship and its worth,
4. All necessary official steps as a Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship holder,
5. The International Mentor Team (IMT) and other useful contacts.

Arrival to Hungary

Since 1^st September 2020, all countries of the world have been classified unsafe to travel to/from by the Hungarian authorities. As such, foreign citizens are banned from Hungary. However, students studying at Hungarian Higher Education can still enter the country under special conditions. The general procedure is as follows, but you can find more information on this webpage:

• Apply for a D-type visa if you need it.
• Buy a traveller’s health insurance to cover any medical costs (very important)
• Submit the E200 request in Neptun and once it is approved, download and print your student status certificate from its attachments.
• Download, print, and fill out the Neptun certificate, according to this
• Submit a leniency form on the website of the Hungarian Police. You should upload your student status certificate there to support your request. We have prepared a guide to help you with this process.
• Fill out the “Arrival to Hungary” questionnaire.

A few days before your arrival, a member of the IMT will get in touch with you via e-mail to check if everything is going fine with your arrival.

As the semester begins, because of the registration period.

More information about registration, requests and education: https://kth.bme.hu/en/

Please note: your Acceptance Letter says that Martos Dormitory is your temporary accommodation. However, this is written only to help you with your visa application, not because you can stay there. Consequently, please do not even attempt to check in there after your arrival, because they cannot host anybody.

Accommodation

The university can provide dormitory placement for only a limited number of students. For everyone else, Tempus Foundation grants you an extra 40.000 HUF (appx. 115 EUR) as a monthly accommodation allowance on the top of your regular scholarship. If you wish to live in a university dorm, please submit the E005NEW request in Neptun until the 11^th  of August.

Dorm places are awarded based on your admission points to the university (and not a first come, first served basis). Hence, it does not matter when you submit your application as long as you do so before the deadline.

Even if you receive a place, you cannot move into your room before the 28^th  of August. Please note: As there is no university sponsored quarantine accommodation, please make your own arrangements for the mandatory 10-day-quarantine.

Once you have applied for a dormitory placement, you can cancel your application until the 5^th of September. After you decide to move into the dormitory, you will not receive the accommodation allowance during the semester.

Furthermore, we would like to inform you that by requesting a dormitory place, you agree to the following terms:

• You receive your place for a fixed period: from moving in – until 2022.01.28. During the semester, you are not eligible to swap your dormitory place for the accommodation allowance.
• By filling out and submitting the Neptun request, you are signing a contract which obliges you to live in the dormitory until the specified move-out-date, if your request is accepted. 
• When moving in, you must sign a tenancy agreement with the dormitory, which also counts as a contract. A System Policy and the House Rules are included in the tenancy agreement, and you are obliged to follow them.
• You are allowed to stay in the dormitory ONLY if you have an active status at BME. You must move out within 10 days once you are no longer an active student (i.e. you graduate, complete all the necessary criteria to have your state exam, decide to interrupt your studies, or go on a passive semester).

Please note that PhD students are not eligible for dormitory places.

If you wish to rent an apartment, Tempus Foundation grants you an extra 40.000 HUF/month (approx. 115 EUR) as an additional contribution to your accommodation expenses on the top of your scholarship. During your flat search, you may experience a language barrier with some apartment owners. IMT is ready to help you get through this issue.

For further information, please visit our website.

Scholarship payment, cost of living in Budapest

As a Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship holder, you will be receiving 43 700 HUF (~ 115 EUR) every month. The planned pay-out days are available on this page. However, you should keep in mind that the university cannot transfer any money to you until you have the following data uploaded and approved on the Neptun system:

1. Hungarian address
2. Hungarian bank account number
3. Hungarian tax ID
4. Fill out request 913COVID on the Neptun system

Due to the current pandemic situation, it might take up to 2 months to arrange the above 3 points. Consequently, we strongly suggest that you come prepared with funds enough to sustain you for the first couple of months of your stay. Also, the university cannot make payments outside the planned dates.

To make your planning easier, we have collected standard costs of living, which may vary depending on your lifestyle:

• Accommodation: from 150 EUR/month for a bed in a shared room, or from 300 EUR/month for a 1-bedroom flat,
• Utilities (water, gas, electricity, common costs): 80 – 120 EUR/person/month,
• Public transportation: 10 EUR/month for students (only with a student ID!),
• Food: 150 EUR/month if you cook for yourself, 500 EUR/month if you live on takeaways and eat out most of the time.

Official currency exchange locations can be found near the university campus and all around the city. Please use only official vendors!

Compulsory official steps

• Residence permit : (please open this link)
  • If you are travelling with a D-type visa, you are obliged to have your residence permit within 30 days of crossing the borders of the Schengen Area. The International Mentor Team will organise appointments at the beginning of the semester. You will receive more information about this later via e-mail. In the meantime, please make sure you have the necessary documents
  • If you are travelling without a D-type visa, you are obliged to have your residence permit within 90 days of crossing the borders of the Schengen Area. In this case, please register on the website of the Immigration Office and upload all the required documents there. There is a detailed guide about the process on these pages [link1, link2].
  • Please be aware that you can only stay in Hungary on legal terms if you have your residence permit, so it is an inevitable bureaucratic step! The residence permit is also necessary for many other official steps, such as applying for a TAJ card (Hungarian health insurance card). Hence it is crucial to start the application process as soon as you have your accommodation.
• TAJ card (Hungarian national health insurance): (please open this link)
  • Once you have received your residence permit, it is crucial that you apply for a TAJ card. Especially during this pandemic, having a TAJ card, and thus access to public healthcare in Hungary, can truly save lives! The application procedure is available here.
• Generali insurance (private health insurance until your TAJ is ready):
  • This option serves you as a safety net in case you have any medical issues while you are waiting for your TAJ card. The application procedure is available here.

International Mentor Team

The International Mentor Team (IMT) is a student organisation at BME. We offer you a helping hand with your official duties at the beginning of your stay.  Furthermore, IMT organises community activities such as game nights, movie nights, hiking trips and so on, to make the best of your stay. If you have any questions or problems, do not hesitate to contact us!

You probably noticed that the links above mostly lead to the same website, which is our official website. It covers practically all aspects of your official duties and many more! We strongly recommend reading through its pages before your arrival and also before contacting us. You will probably find suitable answers to your questions, sometimes hidden in the FAQ. You can find useful contact details both for us and for other university officials on this page.

You can also follow us on social media. We have a YouTube channel, an Instagram page and a Facebook group to connect with your peers and find relevant up-to-date information.

Best regards,

HSZI & IMT