Living in Hungary as a Pakistani student: money, housing, work and daily life
Hungary has 200 English-taught programmes in our catalogue, many of them the medicine, dentistry and engineering degrees that Pakistani students have travelled to Debrecen, Szeged and Pécs for since the 1990s. The living costs are among the lowest in the EU, and Stipendium Hungaricum — the government scholarship — accepts applications from Pakistan.
Figures come from the Hungarian government portal Study in Hungary and the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (OIF), checked in September 2026.
What a month costs — it depends on the city
Hungary uses the forint (HUF) — roughly 400 forints to the euro; check before you transfer. The official portal publishes dormitory prices city by city, and the spread is enormous:
| City | Dormitory per month | About (EUR) |
|---|---|---|
| Szeged | HUF 13,000 | ≈ €33 |
| Debrecen | HUF 18,000 | ≈ €45 |
| Miskolc | HUF 22,000 | ≈ €55 |
| Pécs | HUF 32,000 | ≈ €80 |
| Budapest | HUF 36,000 | ≈ €90 |
| Győr | HUF 40,000 | ≈ €100 |
| Item | Budapest (HUF) | Other cities (HUF) |
|---|---|---|
| Room in a shared flat, bills included | ≈ 140,000 | 80,000–95,000 |
| Whole flat, bills included | ≈ 225,000 | 80,000–165,000 |
| Food (cooking yourself) | 60,000–80,000 | 55,000–70,000 |
| Public transport (student pass) | ≈ 3,500–4,000 | ≈ 2,500–4,000 |
| Health insurance | ≈ 12,000 (≈ €30) | ≈ 12,000 |
| Total, dormitory | ≈ 120,000 (≈ €300) | ≈ 90,000–110,000 (≈ €225–275) |
| Total, shared flat | ≈ 220,000 (≈ €550) | ≈ 160,000–180,000 (≈ €400–450) |
A dormitory in Szeged or Debrecen is the cheapest student housing in this entire series. Tuition is the larger cost: our catalogue median is about €3,000 a semester, with medicine well above that — which is exactly what the scholarship exists for.
What you must show for the visa — and the scholarship
| Requirement | Amount |
|---|---|
| Living costs to show | about €400 / month — the OIF asks for "sufficient resources", consulates apply roughly this |
| Typical total for one year | ≈ €4,800 |
| Residence permit fee | ≈ €110 |
| Also required | Comprehensive health insurance for the whole stay, proof of accommodation, admission letter, tuition paid or deferred |
| Accepted proof | Your own bank statement or a sponsor's statement with a sponsor letter |
Stipendium Hungaricum covers tuition, a dormitory place or housing contribution, a monthly stipend and health insurance, and Pakistan is a partner country — applications go through the HEC in Pakistan each winter for the following autumn. If you are eligible for a programme in our catalogue at a Hungarian public university, check the scholarship call before you pay anything.
Finding a room
- University dormitory (kollégium): apply through the university's international office as soon as you are admitted — Debrecen, Szeged and Pécs have large dormitory capacity for international students; Budapest fills faster. Shared rooms, bills included.
- Shared flat: ingatlan.com, alberlet.hu and the Facebook groups for your city. Deposit of one to two months; a written contract, which you also need for the residence permit.
- Budapest districts: the outer districts on the metro are far cheaper than the centre for a twenty-minute commute.
How to not get scammed
- No deposit before a viewing — video at minimum.
- Bank transfer after a signed contract. Never Western Union or gift cards.
- You need the landlord's signed accommodation report (lakcímbejelentő) for the residence permit. No form, no flat.
Working while you study — 30 hours a week
A residence permit for studies lets you work up to 30 hours a week during term and full-time for up to 90 days a year outside term, with no separate permit. That is one of the better rules in Europe — and the jobs are the limiting factor, not the law.
| Situation | Allowed? |
|---|---|
| Up to 30 h/week during the study period | Yes — no extra permit |
| Full-time up to 90 days a year outside the study period | Yes |
| On a tourist or Schengen C visa | No |
English-speaking work exists mainly in Budapest — multinational shared-service centres, hospitality, delivery — and in the university cities around the international student communities. Hungarian is hard; a little goes a long way, but do not plan to fund tuition by working.
Your first two weeks: the checklist
The residence permit is issued before you travel, at the Hungarian embassy in Islamabad, and you must enter Hungary within 3 months of approval or it lapses. It runs one to three years and is extended from inside Hungary through the Enter Hungary platform, 30 to 90 days before expiry.
| When | Do this | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Before you fly | Residence permit at the embassy; enter within 3 months of approval | Your legal stay |
| Week 1 | Enrol at the university, collect the student ID | Student transport pass and discounts |
| Week 1 | Report your address (the landlord or dormitory signs the form) | Required; needed for everything below |
| Week 1 | Buy a Hungarian SIM (Yettel, Magyar Telekom, One) | Everything runs on SMS |
| Week 2 | Open a bank account (OTP, K&H, Erste, Raiffeisen) with passport + permit + address | Rent, wages, stipend |
| Week 2 | Sort health cover: the university arranges a TAJ card for many state-university students; otherwise keep comprehensive private insurance (≈ €30/month) | A doctor and hospital cover |
| 30–90 days before expiry | Extend the permit via Enter Hungary | Cannot be done after it lapses |
Weather and what to bring
Budapest in January averages −2°C, with snow on about eight days; July averages 22°C and feels hotter beside the Danube. A proper continental winter — plan like Poland.
| Month (Budapest) | Typical daytime | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Sep–Oct | 12–22°C | Jacket, closed shoes |
| Nov–Feb | −3 to 5°C | Insulated coat, thermal layer, waterproof boots, gloves, hat |
| Mar–Apr | 8–16°C | Jacket, layers |
| May–Aug | 20–30°C | Summer clothes from home are fine |
Buy the winter coat and boots in Hungary in early November. See our packing guide for the rest.
Halal food, prayer, and being Muslim in Hungary
Hungary's Muslim community is small, but the university cities have hosted thousands of Muslim medical and engineering students for thirty years, and the infrastructure followed them.
- Budapest has several mosques and prayer rooms (Turkish, Arab and Bosnian communities); Debrecen, Szeged and Pécs have prayer rooms run by the international student associations — ask the Pakistani student society on arrival.
- Halal meat from Turkish and Arab shops in Budapest and the university cities; kebab shops everywhere. In supermarkets read labels — pork (sertés) is in most sausages and many ready meals.
- Ramadan: no timetable changes; lecturers in the international programmes are used to it. Iftars are organised by the student societies in Debrecen, Szeged, Pécs and Budapest.
- Alcohol: part of student life; declining is not remarked upon.
Where the Pakistani students are
Debrecen, Szeged and Pécs (medicine, dentistry, pharmacy) have the largest and oldest Pakistani student communities in Hungary; Budapest (BME, ELTE, Corvinus) the largest in engineering and business. For the same degree, Szeged or Debrecen costs a third of Budapest and the dormitory is rarely full.
Hungary is the cheapest place to live in this series and one of the friendliest to working students; the scholarship can remove the tuition too. Get the permit before you fly, report your address in week one, and extend on time. Use the Programmes page to filter Hungary, and register free to see which of the 200 you qualify for.