Romania Work Visa Requirements for Foreign Workers

Romania work visa requirements determine whether a non-EU national can legally take a job in one of the fastest-growing labour markets in South-Eastern Europe. Eligibility depends on three things: the occupation you are being hired for, the salary your employer offers, and whether your qualifications place you among highly qualified staff or in the general workforce. Romania has reshaped its rules, replacing the traditional work authorisation (aviz de muncă) with a single application (cerere unică) filed through the WorkinRomania.gov.ro platform and two new long-stay work visas, D/AM1 and D/AM2. This EU Helpers guide explains who qualifies, which thresholds apply and what the General Inspectorate for Immigration (Inspectoratul General pentru Imigrări — IGI) expects to see. If you are still searching for an employer, you can explore Romanian opportunities through EU Helpers. Romania has been a NATO member since 2004 and an EU member since 2007; it joined the Schengen Area for air and sea borders in March 2024 and became a full Schengen member, including land borders, from 1 January 2025. It is not in the eurozone and keeps the Romanian leu (RON).

Essential Context: Romania's Distinctive Character

Before checking your own eligibility, it helps to understand the market you are entering. Romania is a country of roughly 19 million people with persistent labour shortages caused by large-scale emigration of its own workers to Western Europe, which is why employers actively recruit from Asia, Africa and other regions.

The quota matters most for general workers: once the annual contingent is used up, new applications in the general category can be refused even when every other requirement is met, so timing and preparation are part of eligibility.

Romania's Immigration Framework

Several institutions share responsibility. IGI, which operates under the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ministerul Afacerilor Interne), issues residence permits, registers foreigners, assigns the CNP and supervises compliance after arrival. The National Agency for Employment (Agenția Națională pentru Ocuparea Forței de Muncă — ANOFM) authorises employers and placement agencies that recruit general workers directly and receives vacancy and absence notifications. The Ministry of Labour (Ministerul Muncii și Solidarității Sociale) approves the List of Shortage Occupations (Lista ocupațiilor deficitare), while Romanian embassies and consulates under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerul Afacerilor Externe — MAE) issue the long-stay visa.

Under Government Emergency Ordinance No. 32 (Ordonanța de urgență a Guvernului nr. 32), the employer-level permit stage was merged into one single application. Files that were already lodged under the old aviz procedure continue under the previous rules, so you may still meet both systems in practice.

Main Romania Work Visa Routes

Your eligibility depends first on which route fits your profile. The table below summarises the main options.

Who Qualifies for the D/AM2 General Worker Visa

The D/AM2 route covers the bulk of foreign recruitment. To qualify, the job must appear on the List of Shortage Occupations, which is limited to occupations in major groups 3 to 9 of the Romanian Classification of Occupations (Clasificarea Ocupațiilor din România — COR): technicians, clerical staff, service and sales workers, skilled agricultural and trade workers, machine operators and elementary occupations. The vacancy must also fall within the annual quota.

Your employer must either use an authorised placement agency or hold its own authorisation. Direct hiring is typically reserved for employers with at least 24 months of activity, an average of at least 50 employees and a financial guarantee of approximately EUR 1,000 per foreign worker. Your salary must be at least the national minimum gross wage, which is approximately RON 4,325 per month, and your conditions must match those of comparable Romanian employees. You must be at least 18, have a clean criminal record, be medically fit and hold whatever trade qualification the job requires, demonstrated through certificates or experience.

Who Qualifies for the D/AM1 Visa and the EU Blue Card

The D/AM1 visa is not subject to the general quota or the shortage list and can be requested by any registered employer. Highly qualified workers typically need a salary of at least the national average gross earnings (câștigul salarial mediu brut) published in the annual state social insurance budget law, plus a higher education degree or, alternatively, about five years of relevant professional experience; for ICT managers and specialists, around three years of experience within the last seven years is generally accepted. The route also covers teaching and research staff, professional sportspeople and, under the reform, citizens of Moldova, Ukraine and Serbia on full-time contracts.

The EU Blue Card follows the same highly qualified logic but adds EU-wide mobility. You need a binding job offer or contract of at least six months, a recognised higher education qualification or equivalent professional experience, and a salary at or above the Blue Card threshold, which is linked to the average gross salary. Holders of a Blue Card from another member state can move to Romania after 12 months of legal stay there, without a separate work authorisation, provided they apply within one month of arrival.

Required Documents

Meeting the criteria is only half of eligibility; you must also be able to prove it. The core evidence is listed below.

Application Process Step-by-Step

Step 1 — Check the occupation. Confirm whether your job is on the List of Shortage Occupations or qualifies as highly qualified work under D/AM1.

Step 2 — Compare the salary. Check the offered gross salary against the minimum wage or the average gross salary, depending on the route.

Step 3 — Verify employer eligibility. Make sure the employer is registered on WorkinRomania.gov.ro and, for D/AM2, either authorised or working with an authorised agency.

Step 4 — Gather qualification proof. Collect diplomas, trade certificates and reference letters that match the job description.

Step 5 — Prepare personal documents. Obtain a recent criminal record certificate and a medical certificate, then arrange translations.

Step 6 — Employer files the single application. The employer or agency lodges the cerere unică on the platform within the available quota.

Step 7 — Apply for the long-stay visa. Book an appointment at the Romanian consulate and submit the D/AM1 or D/AM2 visa file with biometrics.

Step 8 — Travel and start work. Enter Romania, sign the bilingual contract and have it recorded in the general register of employees (REVISAL).

Step 9 — Request the residence permit. Apply to IGI for the work residence permit (permis de ședere temporară în scop de muncă) before your visa expires.

Step 10 — Stay compliant. Keep the same employer during the initial period, renew on time and report changes to IGI.

Fees and Costs

The long-stay visa fee is approximately EUR 300 under the reformed rules, while the residence permit carries a smaller fee in lei plus the cost of the card. Placement agencies may not charge foreign workers any commission, so any request for a recruitment fee is a warning sign. Living costs are moderate by EU standards. In Bucharest (București) and Cluj-Napoca, a one-bedroom flat typically costs approximately EUR 450 to 750 per month, while Iași, Craiova and Oradea are noticeably cheaper. Groceries and public transport remain affordable, but you should budget for a deposit and the first month of rent before your first salary arrives.

Romania's Distinctive Character

Romania stretches from the Carpathian Mountains to the Danube Delta and the Black Sea coast, and the Carpathian arc divides the country into distinct historic regions such as Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia. Romanian is a Romance language, which helps speakers of Spanish, Italian or Portuguese learn it quickly.

The economy combines strong automotive manufacturing, led by Dacia (part of Renault Group) in Mioveni and Ford Otosan in Craiova, with an internationally known technology sector that produced UiPath and Bitdefender. Energy, agriculture, construction and logistics also depend increasingly on foreign workers, which is why demand is spread across many regions, not only the capital.

Pathway to Permanent Residence and Citizenship

Work residence permits are renewable, typically for up to two years for general workers and up to three years for highly qualified staff. After about five years of continuous legal residence, you can apply to IGI for long-term residence (drept de ședere pe termen lung), provided you show stable income, health insurance, accommodation and basic Romanian. Blue Card holders can count periods spent in other member states under certain conditions.

Romanian citizenship is handled by the National Authority for Citizenship (Autoritatea Națională pentru Cetățenie — ANC). It generally requires about eight years of legal residence, or about five years for spouses of Romanian citizens, together with knowledge of the Romanian language, basic civic knowledge and good conduct.

Final Guidance

Start by matching your occupation and salary to the correct route: shortage occupations lead to D/AM2, highly qualified roles to D/AM1 or the EU Blue Card. Confirm that your employer is registered on the WorkinRomania.gov.ro platform and authorised where required, because an unqualified employer can make an otherwise strong profile ineligible. Prepare legalised, translated documents early, because the annual quota can close before slow files are processed. Remember that rules introduced by the recent reform are still being implemented, so check IGI and ANOFM guidance before you sign. Treat any request to pay a recruitment fee as a red flag. When you are ready to look at real vacancies, you can explore Romanian opportunities through EU Helpers.