Therefore, it has been tailored for following nationalities: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon.
IMPORTANT: please read the “IMPORTANT PREREQUISITES” below to ensure this guide is also applicable to your situation.
The application for the invitation letter approval is a mandatory step for obtaining a Romanian short-term visit visa by individuals having nationality of certain countries, such as: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Lebanon.
More precisely, if a national of any of the countries listed above needs to apply for a Romanian travel visa, prior to applying for the visa at the Romanian consulate, he/she must obtain approval of the Romanian Immigration Office on a special visa invitation letter. Therefore, if for example you are Indian national, this invitation letter approval is a mandatory step that you must comply with for securing this type of visa (visit visa, symbol C/VV).
The complete list of those countries can be checked here. They are marked with a star sign (*). If you are national of one of those countries, this invitation letter approval is a mandatory step prior to the visa application at the consulate.
If you have other nationality than the ones listed above, please look for the guide that is applicable to your nationality and particular case.
Important conditions:
- private visit visas (symbol C/VV) must be obtained by third-state citizens who travel to Romania for private visits to Romanian citizens, or to foreigners already living in Romania and holding valid Romanian residence permit;
- the application for invitation letter approval is the first step as part of the Romanian short-term visit visa application; second step is the visa application itself at the Romanian consulate in the applicant’s home country – for guidance on the second step, you can use our guide here: Short-term visit visa for Romania – step-by-step guide.
- the Romanian visit visa for short stay allows you to entry Romania for an aggregated stay, or stays, of no more than 90 days during any period of 180 days. If you need to stay in Romania for a longer period, you should apply for a long-term visa (which can be extended afterwards with a residency permit);
- the applicant’s passport validity must exceed the validity of the requested visa by at least 3 months; if validity criterion is not fulfilled, we recommend applying for a new passport before commencing the visa application procedure.
INVITATION LETTER APPROVAL PROCEDURE
For Romanian visit visa for private visits (symbol C/VV),
for nationals of: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon
As per the applicable Romanian immigration law, the short term visit visa application for nationals of the above mentioned countries must be fulfilled in 2 main steps, as follows:
1. INVITATION LETTER APPROVAL PROCEDURE – i.e., getting approval of the invitation letter from the Romanian Immigration Inspectorate
This step must be fulfilled by the person inviting the foreigner to Romania, and is detailed in this guide.
2. APPLYING FOR VISA AT THE ROMANIAN CONSULATE IN THE FOREIGNER’S COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE
This step must be undertaken by the foreign individual himself.
For detailed instructions to fulfill this step, you can check and follow our step-by-step guide here: Short-term visit visa for Romania – step-by-step guide.
Step 2 can be initiated only after the invitation letter approval procedure is completed and the final approval is issued by the Romanian Immigration Office, as detailed in this guide below.
1. List of DOCUMENTS required, explained
a) Applicant’s passport copy
Please ensure that your passport’s validity is of at least 3 months from the moment you plan to return to your country. Otherwise, we recommend obtaining a new passport before starting the application, as you risk visa application rejection by the authorities.
b) 2 Colored photos
Size of the photos must be: 3×4 cm.
c) Proof of accommodation in Romania
Proof of accommodation can be made through:
- ownership contract over the house/apartment of the person that the foreigner is visiting in Romania (in case the foreigner will stay there during his/her visit), or
- hotel reservation, or
- rental contract from any other place where he/she will stay.
Please ensure you have both a clear scan copy (in pdf format) and a hard copy.
d) Romanian ID or Romanian residency permit of the person inviting the foreigner + passport
Romanian ID or residency permit (if the person inviting is not Romanian citizen but has legal right of stay in Romania) of the person who is inviting the foreigner to Romania.
Please note that the visit visa’s validity may be limited to the validity of the residency permit of the person inviting the foreigner!
e) Proof of financial means
The inviting person must provide proof of financial means for ensuring the eventual expenses of the foreigner in Romania. These must be in amount of at least 30 euro/day of stay in Romania.
The proof of financial meas can be made with either of the following, depending on the case:
- bank account statement (not older than 3 days),
- salary payslip for last month,
- pension payslip, etc.
f) Tax of 1 RON
A tax of 1 RON must be paid at any local Treasury office, to the following account: 20A3308008609468. This represents the invitation form tax (in Romanian: “formular de invitație”).
Once the above listed documents are in place, the following step must be undertaken:
2. Notarization of the invitation letter
An invitation letter must be drafted by the inviting person, which then must be signed and be notarized by him/her at a notary public office. The invitation letter must contain:
- identification details of both the inviting person and the foreigner invited,
- the period of travel to Romania,
- address where the foreigner will stay in Romania,
- and the fact that the inviting person assumes to support all expenses with the foreigner’s repatriation, if the case.
We recommend requesting at least 3 duplicates of the invitation letter to be issued by the notary.
NOTE: If the inviting person doesn’t speak Romanian at all, the notary may request that a certified English translator be present when he/she signs the invitation letter (this is the legal procedure). Therefore, you may need to arrange also with an English certified translator to assist you. But first we recommend checking with the Notary Office if they can recommend a translator that they usually work with.
Certified translators are generally charging the interpretation services by hour. Average hourly fee for English interpretation is around 150 – 200 lei.
3. Online filing to the Romanian Immigration Office
So, once the documents detailed above – including the notarized invitation letter – are ready, it is time to take the final step: submit the invitation letter approval request to Romanian Immigration Office (“Inspectoratul General pentru Imigrari“). The application must be done initially online, at the following link:
https://portaligi.mai.gov.ro/portaligi/
To do so, as first step you need to access the website and register for an account with a valid email address.
Please make sure you have all of the above documents scanned under PDF format in advance. All documents will have to be uploaded during the online application. Each document should not exceed the size of 5 MB.
Once you log in, go to “My Applications” and select from the left side menu a new application for the purpose “Invitation (preliminary form)”, which is under last bullet. Please refer to print screen below:
The application form will then open, where you will have to fill in with: the inviting person’s address and personal information, as well as the invited foreigner’s personal information. Then you have to select the “Purpose” of the visa from the drop-down menu named “Scop/Purpose”. Here you will have to select “Vizita/Visitation” from the available options, as this will be the purpose of your visa. Please refer to print-screen below for this step:
Going forward, you will be then asked to upload a part of the documents already described above, as follows:
- Romanian ID or Romanian residency permit and passport of the inviting person (depending on citizenship),
- proof of accommodation in Romania,
- proof of financial means,
- foreigner’s passport copy,
- and receipt of tax paid
Please refer again to the above for detailed advice on each of these documents.
Please keep in mind that, as a basic rule, all documents must be in PDF format and each document should not exceed the size of 5 MB.
After uploading all files, you will then have to click the ‘Save” button (in Romanian: “Salveaza”). Once you save, you will be directed to a page where you will need to review the application and send it for processing by clicking on the link “Transmite solicitare/Send application”. Please refer to print-screen below for this step:
Once you do this successfully, the online application is finalized. As next step, it will be reviewed by the Immigration Office representatives and, if all ok, you will receive an e-mail inviting you to go and submit the entire file in hard-copy, together with all documents in originals. You will be invited for the final submission on a scheduled date and hour.
4. physical submission of the application file + interview
NOTE: The inviting person, must be present for submitting the application file physically at the local Romanian Immigration Office, as you must sign the invitation form in front of the immigration police inspector. So please schedule your agenda properly in advance.
Also, as part of the invitation letter approval procedure, we recommend to prepare in advance for questions that might be addressed by the police inspector reviewing your file. The questions will have the purpose of checking the background of your relationship with the foreigner, and the detailed purpose of his/her stay in Romania. There may be questions such as: Is the foreigner a relative of yours? How and when did you meet him/her? When did you meet last time? Why is he/she coming to Romania?, etc.
The application file must be submitted to the local Romanian Immigration Office where the inviting person is living. To check the detailed address of the immigration authority’s office in the Romanian county where you live, please go to the Romanian Immigration Office’s website here: http://igi.mai.gov.ro/en.
Then, in the main menu please go to: About Us —> Organization —> Territorial formations.
Please refer to print-screen below for details:
A new page displaying the country’s map will open, as in the print-screen shown below, where you have to select the county/region where you are living. Then the authority’s detailed address will be shown.
Please make sure to arrive at the local Immigration Office on the date scheduled, with at least 15 minutes in advance of the scheduled time.
The invitation letter approval may take approximately 60 to 90 days to be issued. Very often, the deadline can be extended up to 90 days.
Once the invitation letter approval procedure is successfully finalized with the Romanian Immigration Office, then the visa application can be submitted by the foreigner to the Romanian consulate in the foreigner’s home country.
For detailed instructions on the visa application procedure with the Romanian consulate, use our premium step-by-step guide: Short-term visit visa for Romania – step-by-step guide.
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