How does Romanian Citizenship (Naturalisation and Restoration) work in Romania, and who qualifies?

Romania has two routes to citizenship. Naturalisation is for long-term residents and generally requires several years of continuous lawful residence (shorter for spouses of Romanian citizens), a clean criminal record, and proof of integration and good conduct. Restoration (redobândire) is a distinctive Romanian route for people who lost their Romanian citizenship and for their descendants up to the third degree — children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren — and it does not require residence in Romania; instead you prove your Romanian ancestry or the loss of citizenship.

A notable recent change is that, under 2025 reforms, both routes now require Romanian language proficiency at the required level (B1), with exemptions for some groups such as older applicants and former citizens. The procedure is handled by the National Authority for Citizenship (ANC).

Because the residence requirements differ between the routes and the language rule is new, confirming which route applies and what it now demands is the important first step. ACME can help you work out whether naturalisation or restoration fits and prepare the ancestry or residence evidence, and we always recommend verifying the current rules through the official sites.