Ministry of Interior of Hungary

Head of Border Management and International Agreements Unit

H-1051 Budapest, József Attila utca 2-4.

1. Introduction

This metadata information is provided by Hungary's authorities to ensure compliance with the requirements of Articles 5 and 7 of Regulation 862/2007 on Community Statistics on Migration and International Protection.

As required by Article 9 of the Regulation 862/2007, Member States must report to Eurostat on the data sources used, the reasons for the selection of these sources and the effects of the selected data on the quality of the statistics. Member States shall provide it with all the information necessary to evaluate the quality, comparability and completeness of the statistical information.

The reference terms for the assessment of quality compliance are provided by Eurostat in the EIL technical guidelines applied for 2014 reference period (See section 3.4 Statistical concepts and definitions from the EIL ESMS file).

In 2016, the Hungarian authorities adopted the scope of definition of third country nationals 'found to be illegally present' in the Member State territory and have included the persons illegally crossing the border in the statistics reported to Eurostat. All data on 'found to be illegally present' since 2008 reference year were revised in May 2016, following this change. The statistics on third country nationals 'found to be illegally present' include also those irregular migrants who arrived illegally to Hungary and subsequently applied for asylum during the law enforcement/return procedure.

According to Hungarian authorities, the significant increase in the number of third country nationals 'found to be illegally present' between 2014 and 2015 is explained by unprecedented increase of irregular migration in Hungary during this period.

2. General description of the statistical domain at national level

EIL National System (level of development, main changes that affected the system in the last years and further development)

The Ministry of Interior is responsible for the management of the EIL System. Since 2013, in the Police Headquarter there is a Statistics Department.

Legal national framework relevant for EIL statistics

288/2009. (XII.5.) goverment regulation

Institutional infrastructure (list of the institutions involved in managing the EIL registers and the institutions involved in the production of the EIL statistics)

Ministry of Interior, Police Headquarter, Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Ministry of Foreign Affaire and Trade, Prime Minister's Office, The Office of Immigration and Nationality.

General procedure for recording Non-EU citizens refused entry at the external borders

(1) The authority carrying out border checks shall refuse the entry of third-country nationals seeking admission for stays for an intended duration of no more than ninety days according to the provisions of the Schengen Borders Code, and shall return such persons - in due observation of its interests:

a) to the country of origin of the third-country national in question;

b) to the country that is liable to accept the third-country national in question;

c) to the country where the customary residence of the third-country national in question is located;

d) to any third country prepared to accept the third-country national in question.

(2) If entry is refused because the third-country national is under exclusion, the visa issued in accordance with this Act shall be void.

(3) The decision for the refusal of entry may not be appealed.

General procedure for recording Non-EU citizens ordered to leave

(1) The immigration authority, if it finds that a third-country national who has lawfully resided in the territory of Hungary no longer has the right of residence, shall adopt a resolution to refuse his/her application for a residence permit or to withdraw the document evidencing right of residence of the third-country national in question, and - with the exceptions set out in this Act - shall order him/her to leave the territory of the Members States of the European Union. The third-country nationals may seek remedy against the expulsion order in the appeal submitted to challenge the resolution adopted to refuse the application for residence permit or to withdraw the document evidencing right of residence.

(2) If the court’s decision is for expulsion or the immigration authority considers that the conditions for the third-country national’s expulsion under this Act do exist, the immigration authority shall - with the exceptions set out in this Act - adopt a decision ordering the third-country national in question to leave the territory of the Member States of the European Union.

(3) The immigration authority shall prescribe the time limit for voluntary departure in its resolution ordering expulsion, or in its ruling adopted for carrying out the expulsion ordered by the court so that it falls between the seventh and the thirtieth day following the time of delivery of the resolution for expulsion to the third-country national, if the third-country national affected agrees to leave the territory of the Member States of the European Union on his/her own accord, except where the cases defined by this Act apply. The time period provided for above shall not exclude the possibility for the third-country national concerned to leave earlier.

(4)there justified by the personal circumstances of the person expelled - such as the length of stay in the territory of Hungary, on account of which more time is required for making preparations for departure, or the existence of other family and social links -, the immigration authority may - upon request or on its motion - extend the period for voluntary departure by a period of up to thirty days. If the child who is in the parental custody of an expelled third-country national pursues studies in an public education institution, the immigration authority may - upon request or on its motion - extend the period for voluntary departure by a period up to the end of the running semester. Extension of the time limit for voluntary departure shall be ordered by way of a ruling.

(5) Enforcement of ruling on the extension of the time limit for voluntary departure may be contested.

(6) No time limit for voluntary departure shall be specified, or the immigration authority may set the deadline for leaving the territory of the Member States of the European Union before the seventh day following the time of delivery of the resolution for expulsion in the following cases:

a) the third-country national’s right of residence was terminated due to his/her expulsion or exclusion, or for whom an alert has been issued in the SIS for the purpose of refusing entry and the right of residence;

b) the third-country national’s application for residence permit was refused by the authority on the grounds referred to in Paragraphs b) and d) of Subsection (1) of Section 18;

c) the third-country national has expressly refused to leave the territory of the Member States of the European Union voluntarily, or, based on other substantiated reasons, is not expected to abide by the decision for his/her expulsion;

d) the third-country national’s residence in Hungary represents a serious threat to public security, public policy or national security.

(7) If according to the immigration authority’s resolution, expulsion is to be carried out by way of deportation, a time limit shall not be specified for voluntary departure.

(8) The provisions of Subsections (3)-(4) shall apply with respect to persons eligible for preferential treatment, taking due account of their special needs stemming from their specific situation.

General procedure for recording Non-EU citizens returned following an order to leave

(1) The immigration authority shall independently order the exclusion of a third-country national whose whereabouts are unknown or who resides outside the territory of the Republic of Hungary, and:

a) who must not be allowed to enter the territory of Hungary under international commitment; or

b) who is to be excluded by decision of the Council of the European Union;

c) whose entry and residence represents a threat to national security, public security or public policy;

d) who has failed to repay any refundable financial aid received from the State of Hungary;

e) who has failed to pay any instant fine or a fine imposed in conclusion of a misdemeanor proceeding within the prescribed deadline, and there is no possibility to enforce it.

(2) Subject to the exception set out in this Act, the immigration authority shall order the expulsion of a third-country national under immigration laws who:

a) has crossed the frontier of Hungary illegally, or has attempted to do so;

b) fails to comply with the requirements set out in this Act for the right of residence;

c) was engaged in any gainful employment in the absence of the prescribed work permit or any permit prescribed under statutory provision;

d) whose entry and residence represents a threat to national security, public security or public policy; or

e) whose entry and residence represents a threat and is potentially dangerous to public health.

(3) An independent exclusion order, and an expulsion order under immigration laws may be issued upon the initiative of law enforcement agencies delegated under the relevant government decree on the grounds referred to, respectively, in Paragraph c) of Subsection (1) and Paragraph d) of Subsection (2) within the framework of discharging their duties relating to the protection public policies defined by law. Where exclusion is ordered independently on the grounds referred to in Paragraph c) of Subsection (1), the law enforcement agencies delegated under the relevant government decree shall make a recommendation as to the duration of such exclusion in cases falling within their jurisdiction.

3. Main problems that affect the quality of the data and what tables are concerned including the compliance status with the definitions from EIL Technical Guideline

(See metadata information including concepts and definitions from the EIL ESMS file)

 Not available.

Not available.
New concept added with the migration to SIMS 2.0.
Information (content) will be available after the next collection.

Not available.
New concept added with the migration to SIMS 2.0.
Information (content) will be available after the next collection.

Not available.
New concept added with the migration to SIMS 2.0.
Information (content) will be available after the next collection.

Not available.
New concept added with the migration to SIMS 2.0.
Information (content) will be available after the next collection.

Not available.
New concept added with the migration to SIMS 2.0.
Information (content) will be available after the next collection.

Not available.
New concept added with the migration to SIMS 2.0.
Information (content) will be available after the next collection.

Not available.
New concept added with the migration to SIMS 2.0.
Information (content) will be available after the next collection.

Not available.
New concept added with the migration to SIMS 2.0.
Information (content) will be available after the next collection.

National systematic process of gathering data for official statistics.

Not available.

Description of the data validation system at national level

Estimations used: Details on the estimations done for EIL statistics (methodology applied and the concerned categories and tables)

Not available.

Not applicable.

Not available.
New concept added with the migration to SIMS 2.0.
Information (content) will be available after the next collection.

1. Description of the Quality management system at national level

The Police Headquarter and the Office of Immigration and Nationality are responsile for the management system at national level.

• Good quality (extensive quality) - covers all quality requirements, substantial quality checks are performed and a very good cooperation exists between institutions.
• Sufficient quality (acceptable quality) - covers minimum requirements, but issues still exist and more information/validation is needed for a better quality assessment and acceptable cooperation issues exists.
• Poor quality (inadequate quality) - the data do not meet the minimum requirements or there is not enough information for quality assessment and important cooperation issues exists.

1. General aspects

The statistics collected under the Regulation 862/2007 are widely used in official publications and by a wide range of users at national, European and International level.

Main users of EIL statistics at national level
The EIL statistics produced are regularly used by national administrations:Ministry of Interior, Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Foreign Affaire and Trade, the Office of Immigration and Nationality, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, the Police Headquarter. The academic researchers and civil society groups working on a wide range of topics including the integration of immigrants, the development and monitoring of national asylum and immigration procedures, and the projection of the future population and labour force.

Main users of EIL statistics at European and International level
The main users of EIL statistics are Eurostat, DG Home Affairs and EASO, EURLEX, OECD. The statistics are used in several publications of the Commission, as well as in the preparation of regular reports, policy proposals and analysis. The statistics also provide an input to the EMN studies and reports that address specific issues of current policy importance.

2. EIL data publication at national level

Presentation of the EIL statistics published at national level

Yes. Both authorities are publishing the data at national level, but in the other system than the EIL statics.

Differences between the data provided to Eurostat and the data published at national level 

There is the difference between the categories.

Not available.

Completeness of the data provided based on Articles 5 and 7 Regulation 862/2007 (mandatory data provision) and justification of the missing mandatory breakdowns and completeness of the data provided on voluntary basis.

Not applicable.

Procedures and classifications used in case of missing information (e.g. unknown citizenship, age, etc)

Not available.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Details related to the data revision policy and expected revisions of the data sent to Eurostat

Not available.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Problems with data provision to Eurostat in due time and the impact of these problems on the data quality provided to Eurostat

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

1. Provision of data using the Eurostat EIL Technical Guidelines and exceptions applied

The requested data can be provided by using  the Eurostat EIL Technical Guidelines and exceptions applied.

2. Details on categories of Non-EU citizens difficult to be classified using the reference definitions from EIL technical guidelines and the categories excluded from these reasons (excluded from the statistics reported)

Not difficult, in our national database  searches can be done by citizenships.   

3. Description of records related to "Unknown" country of citizenship category

In some cases the citizenships are undefineable. E.g. : Missing travel documents or official documents.

4. Description of records related to "Unknown" age category

The „unknown” age category is not use in the national database.

5. Description of records related to "Unknown" sex category

The „unknown” sex category is not use in the national database.

6. Establishing the reported ground in case of “multiple grounds” for the same refusal and the impact on double counting of the person in the same dataset

Not applicable multiple grounds.

There is no impact on double counting. 

7. Type of "external border" applicable

Land boarder, Sea border and Air border

 8. The definition of “refused Non-EU citizens” applied

The Schengen Borders Code's refusal definition is applies for the Statistics reported to Eurostat

 9. The correspondence between the national system of “grounds for refusal" classification and Schengen Borders Code classification.

The national system use the same definitions related to  the „grounds for refusal”. 

10. The definition of “Non-EU citizens found to be illegally present” applied

The number of third-country nationals who have been detected by authorities while not fulfilling, or no longer fulfilling, the conditions for stay or residence, whether they were detected inland or while trying to exit the territory.

11. The definition of “Non-EU citizens ordered to leave” applied

The number of third-country nationals subject to an obligation to leave the territory of the Member State as a result of an administrative or judicial decision or act stating or declaring that the stay of the third-country national was illegal according to the provisions of the EC Return Directive* or – if applicable – a return decision/order issued in accordance with national law. 

12. The definition of “Non-EU citizens returned following an order to leave” applied

The number of third-country nationals returned from the territory of a Member State to a third country, either through voluntary departure or by forced return (removal).

Not applicable.

Methodological changes between the present reference year and previous year(s)

In 2016, the Hungarian authorities adopted the scope of definition of third country nationals 'found to be illegally present' in the Member State territory and have included the persons illegally crossing the border in the statistics reported to Eurostat. All data on 'found to be illegally present' since 2008 reference year were revised in May 2016, following this change. The statistics on third country nationals 'found to be illegally present' include also those irregular migrants who arrived illegally to Hungary and subsequently applied for asylum during the law enforcement/return procedure.

Justification of the important changes in figures reported for the present reference year and previous year(s)

According to Hungarian authorities, the significant increase in the number of third country nationals 'found to be illegally present' between 2014 and 2015 is explained by unprecedented increase of irregular migration in Hungary during this period.

Not applicable.

1. Links between the statistics on refused Non-EU citizens and the statistics on Non-EU citizens found to be illegally present.

The statistics on refused Non-EU citizens:  the number of third-country nationals refused entry at the external borders.

The statistics on Non-EU citizens found to be illegally present: the number of third-country nationals who have been detected by Member State authorities while not fulfilling, or no longer fulfilling, the conditions for stay or residence in the Member State during the reference month, whether they were detected inland or while trying to exit the territory.

2. Links between the statistics on Non-EU citizens found to be illegally present and the statistics on Non-EU citizens with obligation to leave.

The statistics on Non-EU citizens found to be illegally present: the number of third-country nationals who have been detected by Member State authorities while not fulfilling, or no longer fulfilling, the conditions for stay or residence in the Member State during the reference month, whether they were detected inland or while trying to exit the territory.

The number of third-country nationals subject to an obligation to leave the territory of the Member State as a result of an administrative or judicial decision or act stating or declaring that the stay of the third-country national was illegal according to the provisions of the EC Return Directive* or – if applicable – a return decision/order issued in accordance with national law.

3. Links between the statistics on Non-EU citizens found to be illegally present and the statistics on Non-EU citizens with obligation to leave.

The statistics on Non-EU citizens found to be illegally present: the number of third-country nationals who have been detected by Member State authorities while not fulfilling, or no longer fulfilling, the conditions for stay or residence in the Member State during the reference month, whether they were detected inland or while trying to exit the territory.

The statistics on Non-EU citizens with obligation to leave: the number of third-country nationals subject to an obligation to leave the territory of the Member State as a result of an administrative or judicial decision or act stating or declaring that the stay of the third-country national was illegal according to the provisions of the EC Return Directive* or – if applicable – a return decision/order issued in accordance with national law.

4. Coherence between the EIL statistics and Asylum statistics

We collect date from several registers.

5. Dublin cases included in EIL statistics and the impact on the totals provided 

No Dublin cases included in EIL Y.3 and Y.4. 

6. Inclusion of voluntary returned Non-EU citizens in the statistics on Non-EU citizens who actually left the territory 

We can check people only  who returned voluntary across a non-schengen border, because we can not check schengen borders in our registers.

Returned cases of the Hungarian Police does not include voluntary returns of Non-EU citizens.

Links between the EIL statistics and Asylum statistics and details related to the asylum applicant(s) case(s) included in EIL statistics. 

Yes. The EIL statistics (table Y3) contains the rejected asylum applications which are  also the return decisions.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

1. Links and differences between the Non-EU citizens with obligation to leave and Non-EU citizens who actually left the territory

The Non-EU citizens with obligation to leave: the number of third-country nationals subject to an obligation to leave the territory of the Member State as a result of an administrative or judicial decision or act stating or declaring that the stay of the third-country national was illegal according to the provisions of the EC Return Directive* or – if applicable – a return decision/order issued in accordance with national law.

Difference: We can not check people in our registers who returned voluntary across a schengen border.

 2. Links and differences between the Non-EU citizens who actually left the territory and Non-EU citizens who left the territory to a third country

Difference: We can not check people in our registers  who returned voluntary across a schengen border.

Our national databases are not accessible online and it is not public.

The EIL data related to Eurostat is partially published in the National Situational Picture.

Presentation of the National online national database for EIL data accessible to the public and the accessibility procedure

Our national databases are not accessible online and it is not public.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not available.

Not available.

Presentation of the available quality management - documentation

Not available.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

-

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

The following classification is used for data availability at Eurostat level:

The term "not applicable" relates to the categories of data which do not exist in national legislation/administrative procedures and therefore such statistics cannot be issued.

The term "not available" relates to categories of data that exist in the national legal/administrative system but cannot be delivered under EIL data collection for various reasons (e.g. data cannot exist, data exist but are not collected, data are unreliable, etc.).