(ROMANIA) — Romania’s government published Emergency Ordinance No. 32/2026 on April 27, 2026, replacing the traditional work permit system for non-EU, EEA and Swiss nationals with a digital process that will run through WorkinRomania.gov.ro from August 8, 2026.

The ordinance, signed by Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, creates two long-stay work visa tracks, the D/AM1 Visa and D/AM2, and shifts core approvals into an electronic system designed to track employers, workers and authorizations more closely.

Romania framed the change as a response to a gap between approvals and arrivals. More than 100,000 authorizations were issued in 2025, while the utilization rate stayed under 40%.

The new system splits foreign workers into two categories. The D/AM1 Visa covers highly qualified workers, including managers and specialists, along with researchers, ICT workers and intra-company transferees, and it is not subject to annual quotas or Romania’s shortage occupation list.

D/AM2 covers general labor roles and remains tied to government-set quotas and the List of Shortage Occupations. A May 5, 2026 announcement by the National Agency for Employment set the 2026 quota for D/AM2 at 100,000 authorizations.

Romania’s List of Shortage Occupations, published on May 12, 2026, includes 150 occupations. The list ranges from welders and construction workers to nurses and IT support staff, giving employers a narrower lane for hiring under D/AM2.

Both visa types will carry the worker’s Romanian personal identification number, or CNP, on the visa sticker. Residence permits issued afterward will show the employer’s unique registration code, or CUI.

After August 8, 2026, employers or placement agencies must first register on WorkinRomania.gov.ro and upload a firm job offer, a bilingual employment contract, proof of a financial guarantee and self-responsibility statements. The contract must be in Romanian and the worker’s language.

The National Agency for Employment then has 15 days to review the file and issue an electronic authorization if it approves the request. That authorization must carry a qualified electronic signature or seal.

The employer then files the full visa dossier on the platform. That package must include the individual employment contract, medical insurance with minimum coverage of €30,000, a criminal record certificate, proof of subsistence of at least €600/month, and documents showing qualifications or experience.

The Inspectorate General for Immigration, known as IGI, handles that stage. Once approved, the worker applies at a Romanian consulate for a long-stay D/AM1 or D/AM2 visa.

Romania set the visa issuance period at 30 days, with a possible extension of 15 days for verification. The visa then allows entry for a period of 90-360 days, and the worker must apply for a residence permit within 90 days at an IGI office after arrival.

The first residence permit can match the duration of the employment contract, up to a maximum of 2 years. It can then be renewed annually.

From application to visa, the government put the overall processing time at 45-60 days. The fees total €420, broken down as €120 for the visa, €100 for the authorization and €200 for the residence permit.

Employer obligations also tighten under the new rules. Bilingual contracts must spell out salary, working hours and at least 20 hours of language training for non-Romanian speakers.

For D/AM2 workers, the minimum gross salary in the contract must be €800/month. Employers must also notify IGI within 3 days when employment starts or ends, and they must submit quarterly compliance reports.

Financial guarantees will range from €5,000 to €20,000, depending on worker count. The minimum is €5,000 per worker at the registration stage, and the guarantee can be forfeited for non-compliance, including cases in which a worker absconds.

Penalties rise sharply. Authorities can impose fines of €2,000-€10,000 per violation, suspend authorizations for up to 6 months, or halt the activity of agencies.

IGI revoked 1,200 authorizations for misuse in 2025, a figure that gives the ordinance a hard enforcement backdrop. The government is pairing digital processing with tighter oversight rather than a simpler compliance regime.

Dr. Radu Pavel, Managing Partner of Pavel, Margarit and Associates, stated: “The new measures. may lead to significant fines, suspension of activity, enforcement of guarantees or loss of authorisation.”

Posted worker rules also narrow. Romania will limit posted workers to non-EU nationals seconded by employers from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, and the secondment can last no longer than 12 months.

The ordinance leaves the core unemployment rules in place but folds them into the digital framework. If a worker loses a job, the D/AM visa remains valid for 90 days, or for the duration of unemployment benefit, and the person must secure a new authorization or leave Romania.

Long-term residence rules also stay in place. A foreign national can qualify after 5 continuous years, with half of student time counting, provided absences do not exceed 6 months/year and 10 months in total.

Applicants for long-term residence must pass a Romanian language test at A2 level and show health insurance, proof of accommodation, a criminal record and income at or above the national minimum wage. As of January 2026, that threshold stands at €3,700 gross/month.

Long-term residence remains renewable every 5 years and carries equal labor market access. The ordinance changes the delivery system more than the underlying residency thresholds.

Romania will keep the older process in place until August 8, 2026. During that transition, employers must still obtain an IGI work permit, a step that takes 30 days, followed by a D/AM long-stay visa at a consulate in 10-20 days and then a residence permit within 90 days.

The quota for the first half of 2026 under that legacy system is 25,000. Employers can begin early registrations for the new platform during a testing phase from June 1, 2026.

That overlap leaves Romania operating two systems for nearly three months, one paper-era and one digital. Employers filing before the August launch must keep using the existing IGI route, while companies preparing autumn hiring can start building files on the new portal.

The official resources named alongside the overhaul include WorkinRomania.gov.ro, the IGI hotline at +40 21 414.1234, and the shortage occupation list published by ANOFM.ro. Those tools will shape early compliance because the ordinance ties general labor recruitment to both quota limits and listed occupations.

Newland Chase analysts note: “Expect procedural complexity during the initial phase as workflows are stabilised.” That warning fits the structure of the system, which now requires employers to assemble job offers, guarantees, bilingual contracts, insurance proof, subsistence calculations and qualification records in one digital chain before a worker boards a flight.

The overhaul marks one of Romania’s most extensive changes to labor migration controls in recent years. By shifting approvals onto WorkinRomania.gov.ro, linking visas to CNP numbers, and tying residence permits to employer CUI codes, the government is building a system that tracks not only who was authorized, but who arrived, who employed them and whether the job remained in place.