Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and south-eastern Europe. It has a coastline on the Black Sea and borders Bulgaria, Hungary, Moldova, Serbia, and Ukraine. Romania has mountain ranges running from the north and west in the interior, which are collectively known as the Carpathians. The government system is a republic; the chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Romania has a mixed economy which includes a variety of private freedom, combined with centralized economic planning and government regulation. Romania is a member of the European Union (EU).

WORK PERMIT

The professional activity of foreign citizens on national territory can only be carried out with a Work Notice or a Work Permit. According to the European Union regulations, every EU/EEA citizen enjoys the same labour rights as the ones applied to Romanian citizens, and thus, they do not need a work permit. Foreign citizens who are third country nationals, can work in Romania only after obtaining a work permit, and subsequently a long stay visa for work and a residence permit.

Types of work permits

There are several types of work permits that can be granted to foreign citizens: for permanent workers, seasonal workers, for trainees, for athletes, for cross-border workers, nominal work permit. Depending on the category of your activity, the right to extend your temporary stay for employment purposes can be extended up to 1 year, as a general rule. As far as highly skilled workers are concerned, their stay can be extended up to 2 years.

Requirements to Obtain Romania Work Visas

In Romania, foreign citizens cannot apply for a work permit on their own behalf. The employer must apply for them. A permit will be issued only if there are no Romanian citizens or citizens in other EU or EEA member states who are eligible to fill the position. This is one condition of eligibility for a permit. Other conditions include that the prospective employee must:

• Meet all of the employer’s requirements for the position under legal provisions
• Have no criminal record that would prevent them from working in Romania
• Provide a medical certificate that states their capability to carry out the tasks required for the job
• Fall within the yearly quota for foreign citizens who may be granted a work permit

The employee will also need to apply for a long-term visa. Along with the application, the employee should be prepared to provide several documents, including:

• The work permit obtained by the employer
• Proof of accommodation in Romania
• A valid passport
• Two recent identifying photos
• Proof of medical insurance for the duration of the visit
• Police clearance or a background check from the employee’s country of residence
• Evidence of sufficient financial means to support the visit
• A flight ticket or proof of other accommodations for travel

Application Process

Foreign citizens will need a work permit as well as a long-term visa to live and work in Romania legally. Here are the necessary steps to obtain these documents:

• The employer must apply for the work permit on behalf of the prospective employee, submitting all relevant documents to the Inspectorate General for Immigration (IGI) and paying the applicable fees.
• The IGI will answer the request within 30 days, either providing a decision or requesting more information for verification. If additional verification is needed, the process may be extended for up to 15 days.
• Once the application is approved by the IGI, a work permit will be issued to the prospective employee.
• The employee must then obtain a long-term visa by applying through the diplomatic missions and consular offices of Romania. The employee has a window of 60 days to apply after obtaining their work permit.

STUDENT VISA

Once you get your letter of acceptance from the Ministry of education, youth and sport, you have to apply for Romanian student visa to your closest ROMANIAN DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS ABROAD (embassy or consulate). Students arriving from the EU countries, the European Economic Area, as well as from Canada, Croatia, Japan, Moldova, South Korea, Switzerland, USA and Serbia do not need visa to under in Romania. All other international students are required to apply for a Romanian student visa prior to arrival.

Student visas may take from two days to 2 months to process and one can only apply for a student visa once the Ministry of Education in Romania has issued the letter of acceptance to study. It's best to apply early for the letter of acceptance. Students having entered the territory of Romania with a long-stay visa may apply for the extension of the right of temporary residence and obtain a residence permit. The request filed in this respect must be addressed to the Romanian Office for Immigration within the Romanian Ministry of Administration and Interior.

Requirements for Romanian Student long stay visa

1. Letter of acceptance from Romanian Ministry of education;
2. Proof of tuition fees payment for one year (payment must be done after getting the acceptance letter, transferring the fee to the bank account of university);
3. Proof of sufficient means of support for entire period specified in the visa (approximately 2500 Euros);
4. Criminal record certificate or another document of the same legal value;
5. Medical insurance for the entire period of the visa validity;
6. Approval of the parents or the foster parents in connection with the stay on the Romanian territory for study purposes, if the foreign citizen is a minor.

Visa applications can only be submitted to the diplomatic missions and consular posts of Romania abroad (Romanian DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS ABROAD).

The requirements to get through the passport control at the arrival in Romania

1. The passport with a valid visa
2. The copy of the official admission letter
3. At list 2500 USA dollars (approximately 1800 Euro) with you hand or other way of showing that you have sufficient fund for subsistence.

Requirements for Romanian students’ temporary residence permits

Once you arrive in Romania, and you have made the final inscription at university, you have to apply for the residence permits. It is valid for 1 year and must be renewed every year. However, for students on scholarship from their respective countries or from the Romanian Government, the residence permit is usually issued for the total duration of their studies.

To apply for resident permits, the following documents are required:

1. Standard application (from the immigration office)
2. Proof of tuition fee payment issued by your University in Romania (so called ‘adeverinta’)
3. Copy of letter of acceptance for studies issued by the Ministry of Education
4. Medical certificate issued by a public or private medical institution in Romania, proofing that the foreign student does not suffer from diseases that endanger the public health
5. The proof of Medical Insurance for those who are above 26 years old
6. House Contract (house contract is made between you and your landlord at a public notary)
7. Passport bio data page and the page showing the date of entry at the Romanian border.
8. Bank statement that prove your means of living for at list 1year (minimum of 2500 USD or its equivalent)
9. 2 recent passport photographs
10. A file with rail
11. Receipt (attached to your file) of taxes paid at Romanian CEC Bank:
    • Tax for residence permit = 240 LEI (RON)
    • Registration of the application = 3 LEI (RON)
    • Tax to extend the right to stay = 120 EURO (equivalent in RON)

Visa applications can only be submitted to the diplomatic missions and consular posts of Romania abroad.

RESIDENCY BY INVESTMENT

Romania offers citizenship and residency to foreign investors who commit to invest in Romanian businesses and job creation. The naturalization time is reduced by half for citizenship, if the foreigners invest at least EUR 1 million or more under the currently citizenship legislation. Romania is a EU member state, but currently in the process of joining Schengen area. Romania has committed the euro once it fulfils the necessary conditions.

Temporary Residence

To receive temporary residency in Romania, foreigners must invest

• EUR 100,000 and creation of at least 10 new jobs in the case of a limited liability company;
• EUR 150,000 and at least 15 new jobs in the case of a joint-stock company

Permanent Residency

Foreign nationals who invested an investment of EUR 1,000,000 EUR or 100 new jobs, the conditions of continuous residence of five years and personal financial means equal to the minimum wage are waived. In addition, they must meet the following

• The applicant has public health insurance;
• The applicant has his/her place of residence in Romania;
• Satisfactory knowledge of the Romanian language
• Not a threat to national security or public order

Proof of investment can be made with certificates issued by the Trade Registry, certificates from the tax authorities and financial evaluation reports prepared by certified accountants. Once granted permanent residence, the foreigner must maintain a continuous physical residence, otherwise the right to permanent residence will cease; the foreigner must not be granted permanent residence in another country, must not be absent from the Romanian territory for more than 12 consecutive months.