Immigration to Romania
Introducing Romania a country which can be described as a European country which is today the largest of the Balkan nations. Statistics tell that the population of Romania is currently estimated at around 19,6 million people. According to the statistics, Romania has the second highest rate of immigration from non-EU countries (86%). The official language is Romanian.
Romania’s nominal GDP per capita in 2019 is estimated at around 13 664 USD. The Official currency is Romanian Leu (RON). Romania is a member state of the European Union and placed its bid to join the Schengen Zone in 2011, which was approved by the European Parliament but rejected by the EU Council in September 2011. Today, the EC President Juncker suggests Romania could join Schengen Zone in 2019.
Immigration legislation requires that if you are a non-European Union Citizen and one intends to stay in the Republic of Romania more than 90 days consecutively, or if one wants to conduct business activities or work, then he or she must apply for a residence permit. The law currently provides three major ways for doing so: starting a business in Romania, getting a qualified job there or getting an education. In case a foreigner stays in Romania for less than 90 days, a simple visa is required.
Immigration services
Immigration services in the Republic of Romania could be done by the assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (https://www.mae.ro/en), responsible for immigration matters. It also can provide information on residence permits, however, the advice of a qualified lawyer also is suggested.
Immigration service providers
A residence permit in Romania is possible to acquire in several ways. For example, one can acquire a residence permit by owning a company in the country. This could be useful if one wants to develop a business in Romania or any of the European Union countries. Then comes a temporary residence permit, if one is employed or gets enrolled as a student. However, each case is considered to be unique. For this reason, you can contact us in order to find yourself a suitable solution.
Here are three email address of companies which offer immigration services in Romania:
- E-mail: residency@baltic-legal.com
- E-mail: europe@forsetico.com
- E-mail: hello@movetoromania.com
Lawful immigration
In order for immigration to Romania to be lawful, an immigrant needs to follow all the requirements laid out in the immigration laws of the current country. There are several possibilities, depending on the purpose of one’s visit. Therefore, a visa is required in order to visit the country. If one plans to immigrate to Europe and reside in Romania for a long period of time – he or she may need a residence permit, which can be acquired on the following grounds: establishing a company in Romania, getting an education or getting a job.
Immigration law
The main immigration laws for immigrants from non-EU states in Romania are the Regulation (EU) no. 610/2013, provisions of GO 194/2002 concerning the regime of aliens in Romania. [https://www.mae.ro/en/node/2035]
Immigration statistics
As for the UN International Migration Report from 2007 to 2015, about 3.4 million Romanians emigrated, which placed the country on the 2nd place by emigration growth rate between 2007 and 2015 worldwide, this is after Syria. Since the end of 2017, as for the General Immigration Inspectorate, around 117,000 foreigners settled in Romania. 3,900 were under refugee status or subsidiary protection. The political asylum requests number grew from 1,500 in previous years to 4,820 last year (2017). There is the lowest percentages of non-EU residents – 0.3 percent in the country. This is similar to that of Slovakia or Slovenia. Only 9% of all foreigners who immigrate to Romania do so through a work contract.
Most popular cities by population
The largest cities by population are Bucharest and Lasi, however, there is a large immigrant population in the small city of Suceava due to the presence of several large international companies – including IBM.
The top 5 biggest cities of Romania by population according to the 2011 estimate are:
| # | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bucharest | 1 883 425 |
| 2 | Cluj-Napoca | 324 576 |
| 3 | Timisoara | 319 279 |
| 4 | Lasi | 290 422 |
| 5 | Constanta | 283 872 |
Migration in and out of Schengen area
Bulgaria and Romania and are among the only four EU countries not taking part in the Schengen Zone, together with Cyprus and Croatia. This does not include the UK and Ireland that chose to opt-out. However, the members of the European Parliament called on the admission of Bulgaria and Romania in the Schengen Zone in June 2011 for the first time. After this, the MEPs had provided support for several times. Even though, a final decision must be taken by the European Council, chaired by Romania in 2019.
Types of visas in Romania
If staying in Romania for a short time period under 90 days, one must make his or her visit legal. For this reason a third-country national must apply for one of several types of visas. Additionally, according to the immigration policy legislation of Romania, there are several different types of visas, which must be acquired depending on case and circumstances:
| The airport transit visa (referred to as A) | Gives access into and stay in the international area of an airport till the boarding to the country of destination. | Airplane ticket required |
| The transit visa (referred to as B) | Allows access on the Romanian territory for the purpose of transit, duration of at the most 5 days. | Travel health insurance, documents on sufficient funds and proof of accommodation required. |
| The short-stay visa (referred to as C) | Allows entry and a short stay of aliens on the Romanian territory for no more than 90 days (if a multiple-entry visa, the duration of the stay shall be taken into consideration starting with the day of the first entry). Usually is granted for: tourism; government mission, private visit; business, transportation. | Travel health insurance, documents on sufficient funds, police clearance certificate, documents proving the purpose of stay and proof of accommodation required. |
| The long-stay visa (referred to as D) | Allows the entry and stay of aliens on the Romanian territory for 90 days for professional activities, economic activities, commercial activities (for example, investment), religious activities, studying; work, family reunification, research. 90 days stay, allowing an official request addressed to the Romanian Office for Immigration while being a part of the Romanian Ministry of Administration and Interior. | Travel health insurance, documents on sufficient funds, police clearance certificate, documents proving the purpose of stay and proof of accommodation required. |
Residence permit
A third-country national who has been issued or, by case, extended the right of residence on the territory of, may apply and acquire a Romanian EU residence permit card, one of the following: a temporary residence permit, a single residence permit, a residence permit for detachment purposes, EU Blue Card, a long-term residence permit.
Also, if a foreigner enters Romania and he or she is currently an EU citizen or the US citizen, in this case, they are permitted to stay in Romania without a visa for an overall period of 90 days. However, this does not apply for the US and EU citizens exclusively. This is because many nationalities are allowed to stay without the need of a residence permit or a visa for up to 3 months. Therefore, if one is planning to stay more than 90 days in the country, he or she will need a residence permit also referred to as a registration certificate, allowing to stay up to one year in the country. This residence permit is referred to as permis de sedere. It can be obtained on a yearly basis. All the procedure is clear, quick and straightforward.
Currently, there are two basic types ways of a residence permit in Romania: The temporary residence permit and the long-term residence permit. The best solutions to obtain a residence permit according to statistics is investing, starting a business or getting a highly-qualified job in the country. One of the top-offered solutions is setting up a local business in Romania. The conditions that must be met are opening or investing in an existing business to create minimum 10 permanent jobs for at least 5 years.
Immigration documents
To read more about the various immigration, residency and citizenship documents in Romania, please refer to the immigration documents section.
History
Romania gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877. It was ruled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, reunited with Transylvania after fighting for the Allies in World War I. During World War II, it gained a Soviet influence and now operates as a republic under an elected president and an appointed prime minister. After that, in 1878 there was a Treaty of Berlin signed. Therefore Romania was finally officially recognized as an independent state by the Great Powers. Then, Romania ceded the district of Bessarabia to Russia. This was done in exchange for the access to the ports on the Black Sea shore by acquiring Dobruja.
However, the Romanian military campaign ended in disaster for Romania. This was due to the Central Powers conquering two-thirds of the country as well as capturing the majority of its army within several months. However, Moldavia remained in Romanian hands after this ended. The invading forces stopped in 1917. After that, in 1918, Romania was in no position to continue the war. Therefore, it negotiated a peace treaty with Germany. Moreover, there were two periods identified in the country between the two World Wars. It was 1918-1938. The country was a liberal constitutional monarchy. Then, facing the rise of the nationalist, anti-semitic parties, after the elections in 1937. From 1938 to 1944, Romania was under the dictatorship.
In case you have questions or you need a free consultation regarding immigration opportunities to Romania, feel free to contact us: