What are the main immigration pathways to Romania?

Romania has been an EU member state since 2007 and is now a full member of the Schengen Area, with internal air and sea controls lifted in March 2024 and land controls in January 2025. It applies EU rules through its own national procedures, and it follows a visa-then-residence-permit model: a non-EU national obtains a long-stay D-type visa abroad and then applies to the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI) for a residence permit, usually within 30 days of arrival.

The main routes for third-country nationals are employment (employer work permit, then visa and single permit), the EU Blue Card for highly qualified workers, studies, and commercial activities for entrepreneurs and investors. For families there is family reunification via an IGI endorsement, and there is also a digital nomad visa introduced by Law 22/2022 for remote workers earning from outside Romania.

For settling, long-term residence is available after five years of continuous legal residence, and citizenship comes by naturalisation or — distinctively — by restoration (redobândire) for descendants of former Romanian citizens, who need not live in Romania. Because quotas and thresholds change, confirm the current position on igi.mai.gov.ro and mae.ro, and ACME is glad to help you weigh up which route fits.