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In preparation for EU-accession, the Parliament of Hungary adopted Act number XXIX of 2004 “On the amendment, repeal of certain laws and determination of certain provisions relating to Hungary’s accession to the European Union” which entered into force on 1 May 2004. The Act contains significant amendments to the Asylum Act and to the Aliens Act.
Pertinent to the Asylum Act, major changes concerned the asylum procedure. A cumbersome ‘four stage’ procedure has been reduced to two instances – the Office for Immigration and Nationality (OIN) refugee authority as the first instance to adjudicate asylum application, and the Metropolitan Court in Budapest as the judicial instance, now obliged to hear each asylum applicant in person. The competence of the refugee authority over expulsion of illegal aliens is now restricted, whereby it is only entitled to initiate such expulsion upon the ‘negative decision’ on the asylum application becomes binding i.e. if judicial review fails or is not requested by the applicant. The OIN is now obliged to adopt decisions on the applicability of the non-refoulement provision in the in-merit part of its decision on rejecting or revoking refugee status or temporary protection. The provisions of Council Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 2001 on the minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons were ‘transposed’ in the amended Asylum Act. Of other amendments – asylum seekers now have access to the labour market according to the general rules applicable to foreigners one year from the submission of an asylum application. During the first year of the asylum procedure, asylum seekers may only work in the reception centre. Also, the amendments provide for restricted right to refugees to vote in local elections and local referenda. The amended Aliens Act, contrary to the previous provisions, has excluded administrative remedies against the decision on ordering alien policing expulsion, however judicial review of the expulsion order may be requested by the district courts. The court is now obliged to consider the request for review in a litigious procedure and has to hold a hearing with the presence of the foreigner. A special procedure for judicial review of alien policing detention has been created, thus shifting the review of alien policing detention from the competence of criminal courts to other branches of the judiciary, of a civil or administrative nature. Detained foreigners who do not understand Hungarian and are not in a position to authorise a legal representative shall be entitled to have an ad hoc guardian (a form of ex officio appointed lawyer) appointed to their case by the court. Unaccompanied minors are entitled to a permit to stay for humanitarian reasons even when the legal conditions of stay are not met. In general, there is still no legal remedy against the rejection of a visa application neither through public administration nor through the judiciary. However the right to judicial remedies against the decision rejecting an application for a residence visa has been introduced. The amendments also provide for an opportunity for foreigners who had arrived in Hungary prior to 1 May 2003 and who do not meet the criteria for lawful stay to regularise their status in Hungary. The so-called amnesty provisions allow such individuals to apply for a residence permit if they are able to verify their personal data and contingent upon their meeting other requirements provided for in the Aliens Act. | 
