Obtaining Romanian citizenship – applicable rules and conditions

Do you want to become a Romanian citizen? In this guide we explain what obtaining Romanian citizenship means, the conditions you must meet, and the documents your application file must contain for obtaining Romanian citizenship as foreign national.
obtaining Romanian citizenship

An important aspect that you should know is that the Romanian citizenship law is founded on the basic principle of jus sanguinis (“right of blood”). In short, this means that the Romanian citizenship is determined by the condition of one’s ancestor’s citizenship, and not by one’s place of birth.

This is different from the principle of jus soli (“right of soil”) which is applied by other states. According to jus soli principle, citizenship is determined by one’s place of birth.

Who can become a Romanian citizen? What are the criteria that must be fulfilled to obtain Romanian citizenship?

Romanian citizenship can be acquired in 3 main ways, as follows:

  • through birth – i.e., children born from Romanian citizens, which can be either of the below:
  • born from Romanian parents (both Romanian citizens), on Romanian territory
  • born on Romanian territory, even if only one of the parents is a Romanian citizen
  • born abroad, with both or at least one parent holding Romanian citizenship
  • through adoption
  • upon request, by foreign citizens.

Florin Stoicescu

Florin Stoicescu

Tax & Legal consultant since 2005.

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