The residence permit application can often take considerable time and IBS would like to provide its students with as much flexibility as possible when it comes to the start of the academic year.

Those IBS applicants who do not receive their visas in time are allowed to start their studies online and can submit their visa application whenever they receive an appointment from the Consulate of Hungary. They will be able to travel to Hungary any time after receiving their visa.

You can consult with us regarding the permit application at info@ibsbudapest.com .

The following special rules have been decided by IBS and apply for refunding of tuition fees.

Refund Policy - Spring 2025 intake:

• Once you have received the admission certificates of IBS for the visa application, you are entitled for a refund only if your visa is refused and you email the refusal document to IBS (see further conditions below). No other excuse for the refund is accepted.
• Once you have enrolled, participation in classes, activities and assessments as required to the best of your ability becomes a condition of getting a refund or a permission for deferral.
• In case your visa is granted we CANNOT refund you the tuition fee and the registration fee in any circumstances.
• Once you have received your visa, you are not allowed to change your intake.
• If your visa is rejected and you have not enrolled yet, the full amount of your paid fees is refundable with the exception of EUR 400 if you meet all conditions .
• If your visa is rejected and you have already enrolled, you may reclaim the full amount of your paid fees with the exception of EUR 400 up to 30 June 2025 on condition that you have attended classes and submitted all your assignments online as required by the programme regulations until the date of your visa refusal. Instead of a refund, you may request deferral to the next intake with the same conditions. EUR 400 will be charged for your first semester even if deferral is granted.
• If you have enrolled but do not receive the visa decision up to 30 June 2025, you can ask IBS to defer you to the next intake on condition that you have attended classes and submitted all your assignments online as required by the programme regulations, but EUR 400 will still be charged for your first semester
• We offer you this solution on the conditions in your acceptance letter:
  If you regularly fail to show up on your classes, your student status and your residence permit will be suspended. In this case you will be asked to leave the country within 8 days and your tuition fee and registration fee will NOT be refunded.
  If you decide to leave Hungary or to transfer to another institution, the tuition fee and the registration fee will NOT be refunded.
  Please note that no refunds are available after the last day of the semester’s teaching period (30 June 2025).
• Please note that we can refund the fee only to the same bank account that you transferred it from due to strict financial regulations! The only exception is when it came from an exchange company, because it is not permitted to send money to exchange companies. In this case the refund can only be processed to the private bank account of the original sender.

Refund Policy - September 2025 intake:

• Once you have received the admission certificates of IBS for the visa application, you are entitled for a refund only if your visa is refused and you email the refusal document to IBS (see further conditions below). No other excuse for the refund is accepted.
• Once you have enrolled, participation in classes, activities and assessments as required to the best of your ability becomes a condition of getting a refund or a permission for deferral.
• In case your visa is granted we CANNOT refund you the tuition fee and the registration fee in any circumstances.
• Once you have received your visa, you are not allowed to change your intake.
• If your visa is rejected and you have not enrolled yet, the full amount of your paid fees is refundable with the exception of EUR 400 if you meet all conditions .
• If your visa is rejected and you have already enrolled, you may reclaim the full amount of your paid fees with the exception of EUR 400 up to 31 January 2026 on condition that you have attended classes and submitted all your assignments online as required by the programme regulations until the date of your visa refusal. Instead of a refund, you may request deferral to the next intake with the same conditions. EUR 400 will be charged for your first semester even if deferral is granted.
• If you have enrolled but do not receive the visa decision up to 31 January 2026, you can ask IBS to defer you to the next intake on condition that you have attended classes and submitted all your assignments online as required by the programme regulations, but EUR 400 will still be charged for your first semester
• We offer you this solution on the conditions in your acceptance letter:
  If you regularly fail to show up on your classes, your student status and your residence permit will be suspended. In this case you will be asked to leave the country within 8 days and your tuition fee and registration fee will NOT be refunded.
  If you decide to leave Hungary or to transfer to another institution, the tuition fee and the registration fee will NOT be refunded.
  Please note that no refunds are available after the last day of the semester. (31 January 2026).
• Please note that we can refund the fee only to the same bank account that you transferred it from due to strict financial regulations! The only exception is when it came from an exchange company, because it is not permitted to send money to exchange companies. In this case the refund can only be processed to the private bank account of the original sender.

How to apply for a Refund:

1. Please log in to your original application with your applicant code. This gives you access to your IBS account. If you forgot your applicant code, please send us an email to info@ibsbudapest.com.
2. Please go to the FIND PROGRAMMES section on the left side and click on OTHER, then under STUDY LANGUAGES on the right side please choose UNSPECIFIED
3. Choose REFUND and click on Apply now on the right side.
4. Then clone your personal data by clicking the Yes, clone my previous application button.
5. Please attach your visa refusal document to your refund application, as we cannot process your request without that!
6. Please attach your full Hungarian visa refusal document.
7. Fill in all the required bank data (the bank data must match the bank data of your original payment).
8. The next step is to submit your application.
9. We will start working with the application and inform you about the next steps as soon as possible.

Additional regulations of the Refund Policy  https://www.ibs-b.hu/how-to-apply/fees

The tuition fees shall not be claimed back in whole or in part, by taking the following cases into consideration:

1. if a student from the European Union member states prior to the first day of the term time requests the termination of its student legal relationship or the declaration of the term as a passive term, it shall be entitled to reclaim the full amount of tuition fee.

2. if a student requests a passive semester or the termination of its student contract after the beginning of the semester’s term time, but within one calendar month of the first day of the semester time, the student shall be provided with an opportunity to use 80% of tuition fee paid for the given semester to cover part of the tuition fee in a later semester, within 1 calendar year. Only students from the European Union may reclaim tuition fees that have been paid but not used.

3. if a student, after the beginning of the semester’s term time, but within one calendar month of the first day of the term time, requests and receives permission for transfer to another academic programme within the College (with or without claiming passive status on the original academic programme), the tuition fees already paid must be counted against the required fees of the new programme; any difference (if the new programme has a higher fee) must be paid by the student, or (if the new programme has a lower fee) be refunded to the student.

4. if the student from outside the European Union failing to start or continue his/her studies possesses a residence permit in Hungary unrelated to his/her studies at IBS, he/she shall be entitled to refunds according to 1)-2) above. The registration fee is non-refundable in this case either.