If you are a citizen of a country outside the European Union and European Economic Area and you want to stay in Romania for a period of time for other purposes, you must meet a number of conditions, according to the chosen purpose.
What do other purposes mean?
The other purposes category contains a number of activities that you can perform in Romania. Thus, you can stay here: as administrator of a company, for unpaid training or as a volunteer, for long-term medical treatment or for other activities that do not breach Romanian laws.
Admnistrator
If you come as a manager of a company you must make proof that you fulfill the following conditions: as an administrator of the company, on the date of the request you are not associated or shareholder of the company concerned or to another Romanian legal entity and have not had these qualities in the past 2 years. Other conditions that must be met: there is no other foreigner associated with the company having obtained a right of residence for this purpose, and the company realized a contribution of capital or a technology transfer of at least 50,000 EUR.
Unremunerated training
If you come to Romania for the purpose of unpaid professional qualification with an accredited training provider or in an enterprise in the public or private sector, authorized by law to conduct such activities, you must have concluded a contract of professional training and must dispose of means of support amounting to at least the monthly gross average salary per economy for the entire period specified in the visa.
Volunteering
As a volunteer in Romania you must have signed a voluntary agreement with a legal person in a public or private non-profit organization called the host-organization and a civil insurance policy. The contract will include mentions regarding the activity that you are going to pursue, the conditions under which you will be monitored on the job, as well as information concerning the working hours. The host-organization provides accommodation, means of support and medical insurance for the entire period of validity of the visa and covers the potential costs related to removal. You must have over 14 years of age; if the foreigner is a minor, they must have parental or guardian consent concerning the stay in Romania for this purpose.
For long-term medical treatment
If you follow a long-term medical treatment in the public or private medical institutions, you must submit a letter of acceptance from the respective institutions, specifying the diagnosis and duration of the treatment. A potential companion may remain with you, who will assist you if you are unable to care for yourself, but only if this is expressly mentioned in the letter of acceptance.
You can get a long-stay visa for the purposes specified above, diplomatic missions and consular offices. (See list of these).
The long stay visa
In order to obtain the long stay visa for other purposes, you must submit the following documents:
- documents proving one of the qualities mentioned above
- proof of medical insurance valid through the duration of the visa
- proof of accommodation
- criminal record certificate or other document with the same legal value issued by the authorities of the country of origin.
The visa fee is 120 EUR and is paid in State where you make the request.
As an internal procedure, the long-stay visa receives approval from the National Visa Center only after obtaining the favorable opinion of the General Inspectorate for Immigration. The favorable opinion is issued within 30 days of receiving the request, with the possibility to extend the deadline by 15 days.
The long stay visa is granted for a period of 90 days, with one or more trips.
The residence permit
After entering Romania, you must obtain a residence permit. It certifies your right to stay in Romania and you can get it from the territorial units of the General Inspectorate for Immigration in the county where you live. In order to obtain a residence permit, you will submit personally a number of documents at least 30 days before the expiry of the right to stay granted to you by the visa. You also have the possibility to submit the documents through the online service, available at https://portaligi.mai.gov.ro/portaligi/
In order to extend the right of residence (obtaining the residence permit) for medical treatment, you must submit the following documents:
a. application;
b. border crossing document (passport, travel document, etc.) original and duplicate
c. a letter of acceptance from a public or private medical institution, specifying the diagnosis and duration of the treatment
d. proof of the means of maintenance at least at the monthly average gross monthly salary for the period for which the right of residence is extended
e. proof of legal ownership of the living space (original and duplicate)
f. proof of social health insurance
h. fees
In order to extend the right of residence (obtaining the residence permit) as a manager of a company, you must submit the following documents:
a. application;
b. border crossing document (passport, travel document, etc.) original and duplicate
e. address of the National Trade Registry Office
f. documents proving the investment made
g. proof of the financial means of support amounting to at least 500 EUR per month from the activity exercised in accordance with the mandate agreement
h. proof of legal ownership of the living space (original and duplicate)
i. proof of social health insurance
k. fees
In order to extend the right of residence (obtaining the residence permit) for unpaid training, you must submit the following documents:
a. application;
b. border crossing document (passport, travel document, etc.) original and duplicate
c. constituent act of the professional training institution
d. the training agreement for the unpaid participation in some form of training within a public or private sector company or within an accredited training provider
e. proof of the means of maintenance at least at the monthly average gross monthly salary for the period for which the right of residence is extended
f. proof of legal ownership of the living space (original and duplicate)
g. proof of social health insurance
i. fees
In order to extend the right of residence (obtaining the residence permit) for volunteering programs, you must submit the following documents:
a. application;
b. border crossing document (passport, travel document, etc.) original and duplicate
c. constituent act of the organization (original and duplicate)
d. volunteering agreement concluded with the host-organization, the contents of which mention the work you are going to pursue, the conditions and the working hours
e. civil insurance policy
f. proof of the means of maintenance at least at the monthly average gross monthly salary for the period for which the right of residence is extended
g. proof of legal ownership of the living space (original and duplicate)
h. proof of social health insurance
j. fees
In order to extend the right of residence (obtaining the residence permit) for activities which are not contrary to Romanian law, you must submit the following documents:
a. application;
b. border crossing document (passport, travel document, etc.) original and duplicate
c. the favorable opinion of the competent authorities (when applicable) or documents proving the necessity of staying in Romania
d. proof of the means of maintenance at least at the monthly average gross monthly salary for the period for which the right of residence is extended
e. proof of legal ownership of the living space (original and duplicate)
f. proof of social health insurance
h. fees
If you are a stateless person of Romanian origin repatriated on the basis of international agreements to which Romania is a party, you can request extension of the right to stay (obtaining the residence permit) without fulfilling the general conditions and being exempted from the payment of consular fees.
Validity terms for the right of residence
The residence permit is renewed at least 30 days before the expiration of the previous one. The request for granting or extension of the right of residence shall be resolved within 30 days from the date of its submission. In case that 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 other purposes shall be extended for successive periods of up to one year and in the case of stateless persons of Romanian origin it will be extended for periods of 4 years.
The right of residence for foreigners who entered the territory of Romania for the purpose of unpaid professional training is granted for a maximum of one year, without the possibility of extension.
The right of temporary residence for foreigners carrying out volunteer programs is extended for a period equal to the period of validity of the voluntary contract, without exceeding a total duration of one year residence on the territory of Romania in that capacity.