Immigration & Travel

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.

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.

In order to obtain Romanian citizenship, any foreign citizen must meet at least the following 7 mandatory criteria:

must have been residing in Romania for at least 8 years, or been married for at least 5 years to a Romanian citizen;
must be of legal minimum age of 18;
must have not committed acts against the Romanian state or its regulations;
must prove that he/she has a legal occupation, for a decent existence;
has not been convicted, in the country or abroad, of particularly serious deeds, which could lead to the rejection of the application for obtaining Romanian citizenship;
he/she knows the main laws, and the national anthem of Romania;
he/she knows Romanian language, both spoken and written, and has basic notions about Romanian culture and civilization, including geography and history.

What documents must the file for the Romanian citizenship application contain?

Passport, in legalized copy and legalized translation in Romanian;
Romanian permanent residence permit (for foreign nationals), in legalized copy;
Proof of legal residence in Romania for at least 8 years or, if he/she is married to a Romanian citizen, for at least 5 years from the date of marriage, respectively the date from which the right of permanent residence in Romania was granted – issued by the General Inspectorate for Immigration;
Affidavit, authenticated by a notary, showing that the foreign citizen does not currently take or support actions against the rule of law or Romania’s national security, nor has he/she carried out such activities in the past;
Civil status documents for the applicant (i.e., birth certificate, marriage certificate, change of name / surname or divorce, etc.) superlegalized/apostilled, and with legalized translation into Romanian; in case the civil status documents included in the application file do not clearly show the mentions regarding name, surname, place of birth, name / surname of parents, etc., a statement is requested, authenticated at the notary, from which should result the civil status data, or alternatively, certificate from the embassy reflecting the civil status data;
Proof of the Romanian citizenship for the husband or wife (i.e., Romanian identity card in legalized copy), if applicable;
Birth certificates for minors, superlegalized/apostilled, and with legalized translation into Romanian, if applicable;
The written agreement of the parents regarding the granting of the Romanian citizenship for children, given by notarized authenticated statement. If the agreement is authenticated in another country, it is necessary to apostille/superlegalize and translate it into Romanian;
The consent of the minor who has reached the age of 14 for obtaining Romanian citizenship, if applicable, given by a notarized declaration, in the presence of a parent;
Criminal record from abroad, in original, and apostilled/superlegalized, and with legalized translation into Romanian;
Proof of accommodation in Romania, in certified copy, under one of the following options:
- Lease contract registered with the Romanian Tax Office (ANAF), in legalized copy;
- Sale-purchase contract in legalized copy, and Land Registry extract of information for the owner for the real estate in question;
- Accommodation agreement in legalized copy, and Land Registry extract of information for the owner for the property in question;
- Authenticated statement signed at a notary office for accommodating the applicant, and Land Registry extract of information for the owner for the property in question.

Proof of the financial means for decent living in Romania, under the conditions established by the legislation on the foreigners’ regime; the proof must reflect the income generated on the Romanian territory during the last 3 years.

IMPORTANT:

The civil status data in the submitted documents must correspond to those in the birth certificate;
All documents must be submitted in a file with rail;
All required fees must be paid before the application is submitted;
The application must be submitted personally, and only in duly justified cases, by proving documents, based on a prior written approval, can be submitted by a legal representative, agent or lawyer, with special and authentic power of attorney;
Documents drawn up abroad must bear the apostille applied by the authority designated by the issuing State, in accordance with the Convention adopted at The Hague on 5 October. 1961, or must be super legalized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The legalization is also necessary for the documents issued by the foreign diplomatic missions, accredited in Romania.

Where must the file with all the above listed documents be submitted?

The application for obtaining Romanian citizenship will be submitted at the premises of the National Authority for Citizenship (in Romanian: Autoritatea Națională pentru Cetățenie, ANC). For more information, we recommend accessing the official ANC website.