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As Hungary ends 'guest worker' scheme, affected OFWs weigh staying in Europe
BUDAPEST — Jim Muico took to social media to express his sadness after learning he would have to return to the Philippines from Hungary
The 24-year-old factory worker was laid off by his employer, nearly a month after Hungary’s new government announced it would officially halt the “guest worker” permit pathway for nationals from the Philippines, Armenia, and Georgia.
“I still believe that everything happens for a reason,” Muico’s post read. “This is not the end of my story. It’s just a new beginning, babalikan kita Europe (I'll be back, Europe).”
The “guest worker” system, which was in place from November 2023 until June 5 this year, streamlined the recruitment of Filipinos by Hungarian manpower agencies to fill critical labor gaps in construction, manufacturing, agriculture, and other industries.
A senior high school graduate, Muico was hired by a Hungarian construction firm through a Filipino agency.
His guest worker contract, which was due to end in September 2027, was cut short after the company announced its supposed near-bankruptcy. Muico said his employer told him the situation was also linked to a new Hungarian government decree on the guest worker system.
Now, Muico and his seven other Filipino colleagues have no choice but to sign paperwork to receive their final two months’ worth of salaries and a return flight ticket to Manila.
“Hindi ko pa alam ang gagawin. Basta kapag nakauwi ako, magpapahinga na lang muna ako (I don’t know what to do yet. I will take a rest once I get home),” Muico said.
Hungary’s 'guest worker' rules
The new decree, put into effect on June 6, fulfilled an election promise by new Prime Minister Peter Magyar and his Tisza Party to address the influx of foreign labor and prioritize Hungarian workers.
Under the revised rules, submitting new applications for the specific “Residence Permit for Guest Workers” is no longer possible for Filipinos. Instead, prospective workers must now navigate the more rigorous and less streamlined “Residence Permit for the Purpose of Employment”, which requires a direct contract with a Hungarian employer rather than an intermediary agency.
The Philippine Embassy in Budapest has clarified that Filipinos currently holding valid guest worker permits are not affected by the new decree and can continue their employment until their permits expire.
“They may also apply for the extension or re-issuance of their residence permit in accordance with Hungarian legislation. Also not affected are those whose applications have been received by the Hungarian immigration authorities before 5 June 2026,” the Embassy wrote in response to GMA News’ query.
Asked whether Hungarian authorities had informed the Embassy of the decision, it said, "The Philippines understands and respects the Hungarian government's rationale," emphasizing that both countries are sovereign states with the right to enforce their own visa policies.
The Philippine Embassy maintains that other legal pathways remain available, including the recruitment of Filipino workers through agencies accredited by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
The cost of being temporary
The policy shift has sparked a deeper conversation about the sustainability of labor export and the human cost of being “temporary” in the heart of Europe.
According to Hungarian journalist Eszter Kando, the removal of the streamlined pathway comes amid what she described as a "cognitive dissonance" in Hungarian society.
While political rhetoric has become increasingly protectionist, Eszter Kando said the economic reality is that Hungarian employers often rely on foreign workers to fill jobs that local workers are unwilling or unable to take.
"Hungarian employers have very positive experiences with Filipinos," Kando said, noting that employers often view them as more hardworking and more serious than their local counterparts.
For her, the new regulation raises the risk of production bottlenecks. “Unemployed Hungarians cannot go to these sectors because they couldn’t go previously either.”
Kando observed that guest workers were often “hidden” by design: living in factory towns or in accommodations far from city centers, out of the public eye.
“Somehow we save the economy with their help, but still say that we don’t like their integration,” she said, describing the situation as “dehumanizing”.
In Muico's case, he arrived in Budapest in September 2025 before moving to a company-sponsored dormitory in Biharkeresztes, a town near Hungary's border with Romania—about a 3.5-hour train ride from the capital.
Despite that, he said their quarters looked “like a hotel room”, and that many local residents were welcoming.
His colleague, Ilesalde Sopero Jr., will also leave Hungary soon. On July 3, they met with the company’s lawyer, who asked them to sign documents to receive their remaining salaries.
Sopero told GMA News that they negotiated with the lawyer for an additional two months' salary to help pay off the bank loans they had taken out to cover placement fees that their recruitment agency–later found illegal–asked them to pay.
“Nanghingi pa kami ng 260,000 forint kasi hindi namin makukumpleto yung isang taon (We asked for 260,000 forints because we won’t be able to complete a full year of work),” Sopero said.
This amount is approximately P42,000. Sopero estimates he will receive around P190,000 in total compensation, but more than half of it will go toward repaying the loan.
Some people reached out to Muico, Sopero, and their colleagues with job offers from another company.
“Kaso, walang kasiguraduhan. Kung ganoon din ang magiging sitwasyon namin doon—mas minabuti ko nang umuwi na lang kaysa magkaroon ng bad record dito,” Sopero said.
(But there’s no guarantee—if our situation will be the same, it’s better to go home than to have a bad record here.)
The 'Pagtalon' Phenomenon
The guest worker scheme, introduced in November 2023, was initially valid for two years, with the option of a one-year extension. However, because it offered no pathway to permanent residency or family reunification, some workers began weighing their next steps soon after arriving in Hungary.
The Philippine Embassy in Budapest, through former Ambassador Frank Cimafranca, had already reminded Filipinos under this program to “honor job contracts” to avoid labor issues.
“Sometimes, it is [tempting for] many Filipino workers to go elsewhere, break their contracts, and move to other countries [because Hungary is part of the Schengen area]. I would advise them not to do that because the political climate in Europe has changed,” Amb. Cimafranca told GMA News in January 2024.
Migration scholar Rizza Cases points out that this uncertainty often leads to “pagtalon” (jumping)—the practice of leaving a contract prematurely to seek unauthorized work in “desirable” Western European countries such as Germany or Austria, or in nearby European Union neighbors like Poland and the Czech Republic.
“While you can travel to another EU country, you cannot work there with the residence permit from your host country. And if an employer cancels your residence permit, technically—you are undocumented,” Cases explained.
She also warned that workers who "jump" to another employer often have their permits canceled by their original employer, leaving them undocumented and vulnerable to exploitation by unregulated recruiters.
“This isn’t exceptional for Hungary, but because of the temporariness and uncertainty, there is heightened desire to look around and find out where to move next," she said.
Cases also said many Filipinos arrive with what she described as an "imaginary" view of the West, believing that once they set foot in Europe, they have already "made it."
This performance of success, as she described, often masks a grim reality in which workers endure inhumane conditions or undignified work just to avoid going back home “unprepared” or in a worse financial state than when they left.
“Some Filipinos cannot entertain the idea that working abroad is a gamble, and that they can actually be in a much worse situation. Of course, we want to go home with an image that we’ve created something, or we’ve become someone. But the reality is that you can possibly lose a lot.”
Concern for well-being
Beyond the policy shifts lies a growing concern for the well-being of the workers. Cases highlighted a silent mental health crisis, particularly among Filipino men who dominate the manufacturing and production sectors in Central and Eastern Europe.
“Filipino men are not socialized to basically open up and talk about their problems,” Cases said. Compounded by the high pressure of the labor market and the isolation of living far from their families, many suffer in silence.
The Embassy has attempted to counter this isolation through community engagements, such as basketball tournaments and “Meet and Greet” sessions in cities like Gyöngyös, Debrecen, and Tatabánya.
They have also established the Labor Office of the Philippine Embassy in Budapest (LOPEB) to monitor working conditions and verify employment documents for the remaining legal tracks.
As the "guest worker" scheme winds down, Cases recommended that Migrant Workers Offices (MWOs) across Europe no longer operate as "islands."
“There needs to be closer coordination because of the fluid movement of Filipino workers,” she said, suggesting that MWOs must share information more frequently to respond to rapid policy changes in neighboring jurisdictions.
Her advice to kababayans currently in Hungary is pragmatic: seek reliable information. She urges workers to consult international organizations like the International Organization for Migration (IOM) or legal aid NGOs rather than relying solely on unregulated social media groups.
“Whether it is policy, practice, or the way we view ourselves, dignity should be the core,” Cases said.
Sopero sees his return to the Philippines as an opportunity for a fresh start. Muico, meanwhile, will return home with lessons learned and no regrets.
“Grateful pa rin ako na nakarating at nakapagtrabaho ako sa Europe. Susubok pa rin ako. Hindi dito nagtatapos, at mag-aapply pa rin ako. Bata pa naman ako eh,” Muico said.
(I’m still grateful for the chance to visit and work in Europe. I’ll try again—this is not the end, and I’ll apply once more. I’m still young, anyway.) —VBL, GMA News
