Given the legal limitation of the period of secondment for foreigners to a maximum of 12 months within 5 consecutive years, are you wondering what would be the best solution for extending the right to work and stay in Romania for the foreigner?
In this article we briefly explain the practical solutions for extending the right to work and the right to stay in Romania for a foreign citizen (from a non-EU country) who was seconded to Romania and whose Romanian residency permit for secondment is about to expire.
We will briefly detail the solutions that are available in practice, and the conditions under which it can be applied for each solution. We will also explain the differences between the existing options and the deadlines for submitting the applications, as well as for obtaining the work permit and the residency permit.
Maximum period for secondment of a foreigner to Romania
As a general rule, in accordance with the Romanian legislation in force (Emergency Ordinance 25/2014), the residency permit for secondment allows a foreign citizen to work and stay in Romania for a maximum of 12 months in a period of 5 consecutive years.
Thus, for the foreign citizen to be able to continue his professional activity and stay in Romania after the expiration of the right of residence for the purpose of secondment, it will be necessary to change the structure under which he carries out his activity. More precisely, the practical solution is the transition from secondment to local employment (i.e., employment based an individual employment contract, in the company where the foreigner was initially seconded to Romania).
Solutions for local employment of the foreign citizen
For the local employment, as a first step, the Romanian company will have to obtain for the foreign individual a new Romanian work permit from the General Inspectorate for Immigration. Unlike the work permit for secondment, the new permit will be requested for the purpose of local employment. After obtaining the work permit, the second step provides for the foreign citizen to apply for a new residency permit (for local employment). The application for the residence permit must be submitted by the foreign citizen to the same General Inspectorate for Immigration.
For the case analyzed here, in practice there can be two possible solutions, depending on the conditions that both the Romanian employer and the foreigner can fulfill. Specifically, the employer has the possibility to initiate the request for one of the following types of work permits:
1. Work permit for regular employee
Conditions for applying:
- minimum monthly employment salary: minimum gross wage per economy – i.e. 2,230 lei per month, applicable for year 2020
- required minimum studies: not applicable
- obligation to obtain certification from the Romanian Unemployment Agency (ANOFM) regarding the available local workforce: YES
2. Work permit for highly skilled employee
Conditions for applying:
- minimum monthly employment salary: two average gross salaries per economy – i.e., 2 x 5,429 lei = 10,858 lei per month, applicable for year 2020
- required minimum studies: higher (university) or post-secondary education
- obligation to obtain certification from the Romanian Unemployment Agency (ANOFM) regarding the available local workforce: NO
Given the above, the advantages of obtaining a work permit for highly skilled employee are:
- period of obtaining the work permit: approximately 1 month shorter than in the case of the regular work permit;
- validity of the residency permit: 1 year for regular employee, and 2 years for highly skilled employee – Blue Card type of permit.
Applicable deadline for getting the new residency permit
For extending the right of residence, the general rule under both options explained above is that the application for the new residency permit must be submitted to the territorial General Inspectorate for Immigration with at least 30 days before the expiration of the current permit, but not later than the last day of validity of the document.
If the deadline of 30 days for submitting the application is not met, the authorities may issue a fine between 100 – 500 lei, which can be reduced by half if it is paid within 15 days.
What if the residency permit expires too soon?
As an exception to the general rule, if the work permit application file is submitted by the company to the authorities until the expiration date of the current residence permit, then the foreign citizen’s right of residence will automatically be extended for the entire duration of processing of the work permit file, plus 5 days after the work permit is issued.
Thus, the foreign citizen can still stay in the country, and within 5 days from the date on which the new work permit is obtained, he has the obligation to submit to the General Inspectorate for Immigration the application for the issuance of the new residency permit.
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