Romania | Immigration | Changes to the immigration law as regards the right of foreign nationals to work and stay in Romania, applicable starting 22 March 2024

Immigration

On 22 March, the Emergency Ordinance no 25/2024 regarding the amendments and completion of certain laws related to the foreign nationals and the border (“the Amendments Law”) was published. The main provisions concern the Governmental Ordinance no. 25/2014 on employment and secondment on the Romanian territory and the Emergency Ordinance 194/2002 on legal status of foreigners in Romania. The Amendments Law brings some changes in the process of obtaining the right of work in Romania for permanent workers and highly skilled workers, as well as in terms of right of stay in Romania for these categories of foreign nationals. Some of these changes related to the right to stay are in line with requirements connected to Romania joining the Schengen Area on 31 March 2024.

The most important changes in respect of obtaining the right of work

• The employer has the obligation to conclude the individual employment contract within 15 working days from the foreign national’s entry date into Romania (in case of obtaining the long-term visa for employment purposes) or from the date of obtaining the new work authorization.
  Failure to conclude the individual employment contract within the legal deadline can trigger fines for the employer in amount of RON 5,000 – RON 10,000 (the sanction will enter in force on 21 April 2024). In case the employment contract cannot be concluded because of the foreign national’s fault, the employer cannot be sanctioned.
• For obtaining the work authorizations for permanent employees, a new condition is that employers must carry out activities for at least 1 year in the same domain of activity as the work authorization is requested. To verify the fulfillment of the condition, the representatives of the immigration authorities can carry out inspections.
• For obtaining the work authorizations for changing the employer the condition of annual quota availability is not required anymore.
• The legal term for filing the notifications with the General Inspectorate for Immigration in case the employer / services beneficiary changes or ends the employment contract (concluded with no work authorization) or the secondment letter (Romanian company’s obligation) has been modified from 10 days to 5 working days.

The most important changes in respect of obtaining the right of stay

• Foreign national holders of long-stay visas or residence permits issued by other Schengen countries are allowed to enter on the Romanian territory and may stay for a maximum period of 90 days during any 180-day period preceding each day of stay on the Romanian territory, calculated as a cumulative period with days spent on the territories of the other Schengen countries, other than the one that issued them the long-stay visa, respectively the residence permit.
• Foreign nationals who are exempted from the visas have the right to entry on the Romanian territory and stay here for 90 days during any 180-day period preceding each day of stay on any Schengen country territory.
• Visa applications can be submitted to the diplomatic missions or consular offices of Romania abroad, where the applicant has the domicile or residence, and in special, urgent cases, to the diplomatic missions or consular offices of Romania abroad if the applicant resides legally in that country.
• A new provision has been introduced regarding the extension of the short-stay visa or of the right of stay granted to the foreign nationals through a visa. Thus, the duration of the validity and/or of the right of stay based on a short stay visa issued by the Romanian authorities (or by any other Schengen country) may be extended if the competent authority considers the visa holder has provided proof of force majeure or humanitarian reasons preventing him from leaving the territory. The competent authorities in Romania for extending such visas applied in regular passports is the Romanian General Inspectorate of Immigration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in case of short- stay visas applied in diplomatic passports.
• Russia has been added to the list of non-EU countries whose nationals must have available an invitation issued by the immigration authority for obtaining a short-term visa.
• Long- term visas for work purposes can be revoked in case the employment contract between the foreign national and Romanian employer is not concluded within 15 working days from the entry date in Romania of the foreign national. However, the measure is not applied in case the employment contract is not concluding due to the employer’s fault.
• The legal term for filing the notification with the General Inspectorate for Immigration in case of any changes in the employment contract (foreign national’s obligation) has been modified from 10 days to 3 working days.
• The legal term for filing the notification with the General Inspectorate for Immigration in case of ending or suspension of the legal relation with the foreign national (host entity’s obligation) has been modified from 10 days to 5 working days.
• For extending the right of stay for employment purposes, a new condition is imposed in terms of employment contract, which must be concluded within 15 working days from the entry date in Romania of the foreign national. The term is not applying in case the employment contract is not concluding due to the employer’s fault.
• A personal numerical code for each foreign national can be granted by the General Inspectorate for Immigration either when issuing the work authorization for work/ secondment purposes or when issuing the residency permit, depending on the case.
• The Romanian General Inspectorate for Immigration can issue the decision of return to the foreign nationals who do not meet or no longer meet the entry conditions stipulated by the Schengen Borders Code or the conditions of entry and/or stay provided by the Romanian law.

Please contact Vialto for assistance with any of the services above.

For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:

Irina Marinescu
Director

Alina Dumitru
Manager

Specific queries on the above can be send to the email address: ro_vialto_immigration@vialto.com

Further information on Vialto Partners can be found here: www.vialtopartners.com

For additional alerts, please visit: www.vialtopartners.com/regional-alerts

Contact us on the following address: me-immigration@vialto.com

Vialto Partners (“Vialto”) refers to wholly owned subsidiaries of CD&R Galaxy UK OpCo Limited as well as the other members of the Vialto Partners global network. The information contained in this document is for general guidance on matters of interest only. Vialto is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. All information is provided “as is”, with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event will Vialto, its related entities, or the agents or employees thereof be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information in this document or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

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Further information on Vialto Partners can be found here: www.vialtopartners.com

Vialto Partners (“Vialto”) refers to wholly owned subsidiaries of CD&R Galaxy UK OpCo Limited as well as the other members of the Vialto Partners global network. The information contained in this document is for general guidance on matters of interest only. Vialto is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. All information is provided “as is”, with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event will Vialto, its related entities, or the agents or employees thereof be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information in this document or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

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