Romania Work Visa 2026: Types, Cost, Processing Time, How to Apply

Who needs a Romania work visa at all

• EU, EEA or Swiss citizen: no visa and no work permit. Register with the immigration office within three months and work from day one.
• Ukrainian under temporary protection: immediate access to the labour market without a work permit, until 4 March 2028.
• Citizens of Moldova: a work permit is needed but the process is lighter, and many Moldovans also hold Romanian citizenship.
• Everyone else, including the large groups from Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Philippines: your employer in Romania must obtain a work authorisation (aviz de munca) for you first, and you then apply for a long-stay visa for employment (D/AM) at the Romanian embassy. That route is below.

Romania has become one of the main doors into the EU for South Asian tradespeople, because the government sets a large yearly quota and the process is employer-driven and predictable. Since 1 January 2025 Romania is fully in the Schengen area, which matters: the long-stay visa and the residence permit now let you move around the Schengen zone, and the paperwork is checked more strictly than before.

The visa and permit types, with their Romanian names

• Aviz de munca pentru lucratori permanenti: the work authorisation for an open-ended or long contract, issued by the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI). This is the route for construction, warehouse, factory, driving, hospitality and care.
• Aviz de munca pentru lucratori sezonieri: seasonal, for agriculture, hospitality and construction, up to 9 months in a year.
• Aviz pentru lucratori detasati: posted workers, used by foreign contractors; not for an individual applying from abroad.
• Aviz pentru lucratori inalt calificati: highly qualified, leading to the EU Blue Card.
• Viza de lunga sedere pentru angajare (D/AM): the 90-day long-stay visa the embassy issues once the aviz exists.
• Permis de sedere: the residence permit you apply for at IGI after arrival, usually valid one year and tied to the employer.

The yearly quota for newly admitted foreign workers was 100,000 in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and the government set the 2026 figure by decision in late 2025; the contingent has been large enough that it has not run out mid-year, but the Inspectorate processes files in order. Check the current figure on igi.mai.gov.ro.

Who files what, and in which order

This is an employer-first system. You cannot apply for a Romanian work visa without a company that has already been approved to hire you.

• Step 1, the employer proves it tried to fill the job locally (a job notice with the county employment agency, AJOFM), that it has no unpaid tax debts, and that it is really active. It then files the aviz de munca request with IGI with your passport copy, CV, a sworn statement that you meet the conditions, a medical certificate, and your criminal record.
• Step 2, IGI issues the aviz de munca, in theory within 30 days. The employer sends you the original or a certified copy.
• Step 3, you apply online at eviza.mae.ro and then at the Romanian embassy or consulate for the D/AM visa, within 60 days of the aviz being issued.
• Step 4, in Romania: sign the employment contract, register it with the labour inspectorate (REVISAL), and apply at IGI for the residence permit within the visa's validity. The permit card is collected in person.

The employer must pay you at least the national minimum gross wage; for 2026 that is 4,325 lei a month, about 870 euro, from which tax and social contributions of roughly 40 per cent are deducted. Many contracts for foreign workers are written at exactly this floor, with housing and meals provided on top, so ask in writing what is deducted for them. For highly qualified work the floor is much higher.

Official fees

• Aviz de munca: 100 euro equivalent in lei, paid by the employer (25 euro for seasonal). The law forbids passing this cost to you.
• Long-stay visa D/AM: 120 euro, paid in local currency at the embassy.
• Residence permit: 120 euro equivalent in lei for the first permit, plus the cost of the card, around 260 lei.
• Medical certificate and criminal record in Romania: 100 to 300 lei.
• Translations and legalisation in your country: often 50 to 200 euro.

Figures as of October 2026; check the IGI and embassy pages for today's amounts. Recruitment agencies in Nepal, Bangladesh and India have charged 3,000 to 8,000 euro for Romanian jobs. Nothing in that sum is a government fee. Romania's labour inspectorate has fined employers for this, and you can report it.

Processing time: what the law says and what actually happens

• Aviz de munca: 30 days by law. In practice 1 to 3 months in Bucharest and Ilfov, where most requests land; faster in smaller counties.
• Visa appointment and decision: the embassy has 60 days by law. Kathmandu, Dhaka and New Delhi have had appointment waits of 2 to 4 months in busy periods, so 2 to 5 months total is normal.
• Residence permit: 30 days by law, 1 to 3 months in practice; your visa and the submission receipt cover you.

From first file to first day of work, 4 to 9 months is the honest range. It slips mostly at the embassy, where a small consular staff handles tens of thousands of D/AM applications a year, and after Schengen entry each file is checked against Schengen databases.

Documents and the legalisation step

For the visa: passport valid at least three months beyond the stay, the aviz de munca, the employment contract or offer, proof of accommodation in Romania, medical insurance for the first period, a criminal record certificate from your country, proof of means or the employer's guarantee, and photos. Your criminal record and civil documents must be apostilled (Hague) or legalised and translated into Romanian by an authorised translator. Nepal and Bangladesh are not in the Hague convention, so documents from there go through consular legalisation, which adds weeks.

Qualifications are not formally checked for most manual trades; drivers need a licence that can be converted, and nurses and electricians in regulated roles need recognition.

Reality check: what people get wrong about Romania

• The 3,000 to 8,000 euro "fee": it is not a government cost and it is illegal for the employer to charge you. Many people arrive already in debt for years. Ask every agent to show which line of that sum is an official fee.
• Fake aviz copies: an aviz has an IGI registration number and the employer's exact company name. Call IGI or ask the embassy to verify before you pay anything.
• Housing: the employer must prove accommodation. Twelve people in a two-room flat has been the reality for some; ask for the address in writing.
• Changing employer: possible, but the new employer needs a new aviz, and the permit is tied to the job. Leaving without that makes you irregular.
• Schengen: your permit lets you travel, not work, in other Schengen states. Working in Germany on a Romanian permit is illegal.
• Language: no Romanian is needed for the visa; employers manage with English and translators on site. Learning basic Romanian raises your chances of a better job in year two.
• Family reunification: possible after you hold a residence permit, with adequate housing and income; not on a seasonal permit.

Where this leaves you

Read the page for your own country: working in Romania from Nepal, from Bangladesh or from India. The trades Romania hires most are in construction jobs in Romania, warehouse jobs in Romania and hotel jobs in Romania, and the waiting times in detail in Romania work permit processing time.

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