More overseas employment opportunities await Filipinos as Hungary expands its Guest Worker Program to include the Philippines in its limited list of partner countries starting January next year.

Citing Hungarian Interior Minister Sándor Pintér, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said only three countries will be authorized to send workers under the program: the Philippines, Armenia, and Georgia.

Pintér said the Philippines was retained because of Filipino workers’ “high quality of service” and reputation as “law-abiding people.”

Hungary’s Guest Worker Program is a regulated system allowing approved non-EU nationals, including Filipinos, to work in Hungary temporarily under strict conditions. The permit is employer-specific, time-limited, and does not lead to permanent residence.

There are around 14,000 Filipino workers in Hungary, most of whom are employed in the manufacturing, hospitality, and service sectors. This number is expected to increase once the program opens new job quotas next year.

In other developments, Filipino workers in Hungary may now access assistance and other employment-related services from the new Philippine Labor Office inaugurated on 18 October near the Hungarian Parliament building.