EU/EEA/Swiss Confederation citizens, as well as foreign citizens domiciled in Romania, can obtain temporary residence documents, such as: residence permits/residence cards/registration certificates/single permits/EU blue cards, as applicable.
Temporary residence documents are residence documents that contain a personal numerical code (CNP) that can be used later for fiscal and social security purposes. These are granted by the Romanian immigration authorities:
- Depending on the purpose of the stay in Romania (for employment, secondment, family reunification, studies, etc.).
- On the basis of a D-type long-stay visa, obtained in advance, according to the law.
TYPES OF VISA
The type of visa depends on your travel purpose in Romania:
- Tourism
- Visit
- Business
- Transport
- Sport Activities
- Cultural, scientific, humanitarian, medical treatment of short duration or other activities that do not breach Romanian laws
Short-stay visa
If you wish to travel to Romania for a short period of time and are a national of a State which requires a visa, you must obtain a short-stay visa (symbol C)
Short-stay visa allows you to request entry on the Romanian territory for reasons other than immigration, for an uninterrupted stay or for several stays whose duration should not exceed 90 days within any period of 180 days preceding each day of stay in Romania. This type of visa
Long –Stay visa
Entry on the Romanian territory may be permitted to foreigners who fulfill some conditions, which can be find here: IGI | Migration (gov.ro)
Entry in Romania of EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation citizens and members of their families
If you are a citizen of a State of the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) or of Switzerland and you want to come to Romania, you can enter through any border crossing point if you present a valid national identity document, passport or other document certifying the identity and recognized by the Romanian state.
Citizens of EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation may enter and stay in Romania according to the right to free movement and residence guaranteed by the Romanian state legislation in line with European provisions. If you stay in Romania longer than 3 months you must register your residency (by obtaining a registration certificate) to the territorial units of the General Inspectorate for Immigration.
Entry in Romania of family members who are not EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation
If you are a family member with a nonUE / EEA / Swiss Confederation state citizenship you can enter in Romania through all border crossing points if you present a passport and a valid visa. A visa is required if you come from a state where the visa is mandatory for entry into Romania.
The entry visa is granted on request by diplomatic missions and consular offices, with prior approval of the National Visa Centre of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within 48 hours without payment of consular fees.
To obtain a visa you must submit the following documents:
- application form;
- valid passport;
- passport or identity card of a EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation citizen (original and copy); in case the EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation citizen was already on Romanian territory;
- documents showing that the applicant for a visa is going to accompany the EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation citizen whose family member he is or to join him / her in Romania. If the EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation citizen is registered with residence in Romania, it is sufficient to submit the copy of the document certifying this.
- if applicable, the following documents:
- documentation of marriage or of kinship with the EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation citizen for family members (marriage certificate, birth certificate, etc.);
- documents issued by authorities of the EU / EEA country that can prove that the visa applicant is a family member of the EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation citizen, is dependent upon him / her or cohabitates with the EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation citizen, or he is dependent upon him / her and for serious medical reasons he needs the EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation citizen’s care;
- document attesting that the individual’s partnership with the EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation citizen was registered in the EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation state (if registered partnership) or documents certifying that the visa applicant has a long-standing relationship of cohabitation with the EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation citizen (if not registered partnership);
The refusal of visa issuance shall be notified in writing to the applicant, and the communication will contain the reasons that led to the refusal, information on where the decision can be challenged and the deadline for the appeal;
The family member who is not a citizen of the European Union is exempt from the requirement to obtain an entry visa if they cumulatively meet the following requirements:
- is accompanying a European Union citizen or joins an EU citizen exercising his right of residence in Romania;
- holds a valid document attesting residence in another Member State as a family member of an EU citizen whom he accompanies or whom he joins in Romania;
Residency in Romania of citizens from EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation states and for their family members
The documentats issued by the General Inspectorate for Immigration attesting residence in Romania are:
- registration certificate (for citizens of EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation),
- residence card (for family members of EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation citizens),
- permanent residence card (both for citizens of EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation and for their family members).
Citizens of EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation and their family members can work on the Romanian territory dependently / independently under the same conditions as Romanian citizens (based on a labor contract, assignment contract, notification etc.).
The registration certificate is issued on the same day and is valid for a period of up to five years but not shorter than one year. The residence card is issued within 90 days from the filing date. The residence card is valid up to 5 years from the date of issue, but not longer than the period of residency of EU / EEA / Swiss Confederation citizen whose family member the applicant is.
The validity of permanent residence card is 10 years from the date of issue, except those that are issued for people aged under 14 whose validity is 5 years from date of issue.To obtain the permanent residence card (the document that certifies permanent residence in Romania) you must submit to the local services of the General Inspectorate for Immigration in the county where you live, the following documents:
EU Blue Cards
• Granted to foreigners who are employed on the basis of a work permit for a highly qualified worker and who conclude local employment contracts for a period of at least 1 year.
• The monthly salary must be at the level of at least 2 average gross salaries for the economy.
• They are valid for up to 2 years, they can be extended, depending on the validity of the employment contract.
LONG-TERM RESIDENCE PERMITS/ RESIDENCE CARDS
• They can be granted to foreign citizens for a validity of up to 5 years, or up to 10 years in the case of EU/EEA/Swiss Confederation citizens.
• To be able to benefit from a long-term residence right in Romania, the foreign citizen or EU/EEA/Swiss Confederation citizen must have had a legal and continuous stay in Romania in the last 5 years, based on temporary residence documents in Romania.
• Foreign citizens must have knowledge of the Romanian language – conversational level.
The rights and advantages of holders of long-term residence permits in Romania.
• Free access to the labor market in Romania – no work permit is needed.
FAMILY REUNIFICATION
Family members, non-EU citizens. The partner and children must obtain specific documents for family reunification (for example special approvals from the General Inspectorate for Immigration, long-stay visas type D, residence permits), if they accompany the foreign citizen during his/her stay in Romania. Children will get a residence permit regardless of their age.
Family reunification procedures can be initiated once the foreign national (sponsor) obtains the EU residence permit/blue card (the residence permit must be valid for a period of at least one year).
EXTENSION OF THE STAY RIGHT
If you are a citizen of a country outside the European Union and the European Economic Area and you want to stay in Romania for a longer period of time, you can apply for a long-stay visa for the following purposes:
- Business activities
- Professional Activities
- Work
- Studies
- Family reunification
- Scientific Research
- Religious activities
- Other purposes
BUSINESS ACTIVITIES
If you want to stay in Romania for a period of time and have your business you need to be a shareholder or a member with management or administration bord of a company and obtain approval of the Ministry of Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises and Business Environment (MEIMMMA).
Once this notice is obtained you can get a long-term visa from the diplomatic missions and the consular offices.
LONG STAY VISA
In order to obtain long-stay visa for commercial activities, you must submit the following documents:
-the official point of view of the Ministry of Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises and Business Environment (MEIMMMA);
– criminal record certificate or other document with the same legal value
– medical insurance valid throughout the visa;
– proof for being able to ensure the conditions of accommodation.
Visa fee is 120 Euro and is paid in the State where you make the request.
All these documents are submitted to the diplomatic missions or consular offices of Romania.
As internal procedure, long stay visa receives approval from National Visa Center only after obtaining the General Inspectorate for Immigration’ s official point of view, wich is issued within 30 days from receipt of the request, with the possibility to extend the deadline by 15 days.
Long stay visa is granted for a period of 90 days, with one or more entries.
RESIDENCE PERMIT
After entering Romania, you must obtain a residence permit. It certifies your right to stay in Romania and you can get to the territorial units of the General Inspectorate for Immigration in the county where you live. To obtain a residence permit you will personally submit a number of documents at least 30 days before the expiration of the period of stay, granted by visa. You also have the possibility to submit documents and through the online application, available at https://portaligi.mai.gov.ro/portaligi/
For the first extension of the right of residence (obtaining the first residence permit) for commercial activitie, you must submit the following documents:
– application;
– border crossing document (passport, travel document, etc.) in original and copy;
– confirmation of company details;
– notice of the Romanian Centre for the Promotion of Foreign Investments;
– the Company’s registration certificate;
– articles of incorporation;
– registration court order;
– proof of financial means (Amounting to 500 euros a month for associates and 700 euros a month for shareholders during validity of the permit);
– proof of legal possession for the registered office (original and copy);
– proof of legal possession for the registered residence address (original and copy);
– declaration;
– fees
The residence permit is renewed at least 30 days before the expiration of the previous one. For further extend the right of residence (getting a new residence permit), you must submit the following documents:
– application;
– border crossing document (passport, travel document, etc.) in original and copy;
– confirmation of company details;
– the specialized technical approval issued by the Ministry of Business, Commerce and Entrepreneurship showing that the company’s activity was conducted in accordance with the business plan;
– certificate containing the main financial indicators;
– certificate issued by the competent Labor Territorial Inspectorate, proving the number of persons employed full-time, according to the law;
– proof of financial means (Amounting to 500 euros a month for associates and 700 euros a month for shareholders during validity of the permit);
– proof of legal possession for the registered office (original and copy);
– proof of legal ownership of living space (original and copy);
– proof of social insurance;
– fees
The application shall be dealt with within 30 days from the date of its submission. If further checks are required, the deadline for resolving the application may be extended by 15 days.
If the information or documents provided on which the application for the extension of the right of residence is based are inadequate or incomplete, the General Inspectorate for Immigration shall inform the applicant of the additional information requested and shall set a reasonable time limit for sending them, but not more than 30 of days. The term stipulated in paragraph (4) shall be suspended until the General Inspectorate for Immigration has received the necessary additional information or documents. If no additional information or documents have been provided by the deadline, the application may be rejected.
The right of temporary residence for commercial activities is extended for successive periods of one year. In case of foreigners who prove they have made a minimum investment of 500,000 euros or created more than 50 full-time jobs, the right to stay lasts for 3 years.
In case of investments of at least 150,000 euros or if it had been created at least 25 jobs, proof of means of support can be made with other legal documents.
For the investments at least 200,000 euros or if it had been created at least 50 jobs is no requirement for proof of the means of support.
The amount of investment and number of jobs is calculated based on the participation of the shareholder or shareholders in the company.
NOTE: You can find more relevant information at the following link: IGI | Free Movement (gov.ro)