Is the purpose of your trip to Romania to visit a private person? And are you citizen of a country for which obtaining Romanian travel visa is mandatory?
In this case, the type of visa you will need to obtain is the Romanian short-term visa for the purpose of visit (C/VV symbol).
In this article we will explain you the application procedure for this type of visa. We will give you best tips you need to know before applying for the visa, and the complete list of documents you need to prepare with. We will share our experience over the practical aspects you’ll have to fulfill before even doing the visa application. This will help you prepare in advance for a successful visa application.
First thing you need to know is that, according to the Romanian immigration law, this type of visa is granted to third-country nationals (i.e. from outside the European Union area) who travel to Romania for the purpose of visiting:
Thus, you must bear in mind that this type of visa grants you the right to visit Romania for a limited period of time, and cannot be extended. The maximum period for which you can stay in Romania under this type of visa is 90 days.
If you wish to remain for a longer period in Romania, you will have to apply for a long-term visa. Later (after traveling to Romania), the long-term visa may be extended with a residence permit for Romania.
What are most important conditions for obtaining this type of visa?
Let’s detail them one by one:
1. Written invitation letter from the person inviting you to Romania
First and most important condition enabling you to apply for the short-term Romanian visa for visit purposes? Is having a written invitation letter from the person whom you are going to visit in Romania. The inviting person will have to deliver you the invitation letter, in original, once he/she prepares and signs it.
You will then have to submit the invitation letter, together with the other mandatory documents (the list of mandatory documents is detailed below), to the Romanian consular office in your country.
Here you have the updated list of Romanian consulates abroad: List of Romanian Consulates.
2. Inviting person assumes costs of your repatriation (if the case)
Second most important condition is the inviting person will have to assume that he/she will bear the costs with your repatriation from the territory of Romania. Obviously, if that is the case.
What we want to convey here is that the invitation letter, as per the applicable Romanian legal provisions, represents an enforceable title. Thus, if, for different reasons, you do not leave the Romanian territory until your right of stay ceases (as per the visa), the inviting person, if necessary, will be obliged to bear your repatriation costs.
3. Proof of financial means and proof of accommodation
Also, for the purpose of short-term Romanian visa application you will have to prove you have the necessary financial means for the period of your visit to Romania. This is an obligation established by law: documents proving the financial means will be required by the Romanian embassy or consulate where the visa application is submitted.
Documents proving the financial means are accepted under different forms, but the most accepted ones are: cash, personal bank account statement, copy of your salary slip for last month.
IMPORTANT: If you fetch a bank account statement, you should keep in mind that the consulate will probably request a statement that reflects the transactions in the account for a period of at least 3 months backwards. The reason being that the authorities want to check if that account was opened and fed only for the purpose of obtaining the visa.
The minimum amount you must prove as financial means is 50 euros/day, for the entire period of your stay in Romania. As per the law, the amount should not be less than 500 euros in total, or the equivalent in any exchangeable currency.
You must prove you have personal financial means ONLY if the person inviting you does not provide for such means. Specifically, if he/she states in the invitation letter (see above details about the invitation letter) that he/she assumes to provide all financial means for your visit, then the proving documents will be required from him/her.
More exactly, in the visa application file you will have to enclose documents (i.e. account statement, salary slip, etc.) from the inviting person and not from you. Of course, the more financial means you can prove, the better.
Proof of accommodation:
Proof of accommodation in Romania can be done in one of the following forms:
The authorities can also accept any other form that provides clear evidence of the availability of accommodation for the entire travel period in Romania.
The following is the complete list of documents required to apply for the short-term Romanian visa for visit purposes (C/VV):
List of required documents for the visa application:
- travel ticket (or its confirmed reservation) to the destination; please note the authorities may also request the booking of the return ticket;
- medical insurance that covers the entire period of your visit in Romania;
- the invitation letter signed by the inviting person, authenticated and in original (see more details above regarding this document);
- proof of financial means for the entire period of stay in Romania;
- proof of accommodation.
IMPORTANT: There is an exemption which applies from the fulfilment of the condition regarding the invitation letter, and from the proof of financial means and accommodation means. This exemption applies to all foreign nationals who are family members of Romanian citizens.
In practice, this means that in the visa application file you will not have to provide an authentified invitation letter. And neither will you have to provide proves of financial means and accommodation for the period of stay in Romania.
The following categories of applicants qualify for such exemption:
- the husband or wife of a Romanian citizen
- children of a Romanian citizen, up to the age of 21 years
- parents of a Romanian citizen or of the spouse, who are under his/her care.
To qualify under the exemption described above, the following documents will have to be submitted with the visa application file:
- passport or identity card of the Romanian citizen, in original
- documents proving the kinship with the Romanian citizen; depending on the case, these will be: marriage certificate, birth certificates, etc.
