Are you a foreign citizen and want to obtain Romanian citizenship? Did you know there are several ways to become a Romanian citizen?

Read below and find out more!

In which cases can I become a Romanian citizen?

1. by birth – if at least one of your parents is a Romanian citizen
2. by adoption – if you are adopted by a Romanian
3. regaining the Romanian citizenship, if you were a Romanian in the past and lost your citizenship. Usually the Romanian citizenship has been lost in one of the following situations:
   • retraction of your Romanian citizenship (if you left Romania during the communist regime) or you expressly renounced at it after the communist regime has fallen. In this case, the citizenship can be claimed back even by children or grandchildren directly.
   • losing the citizenship without your fault, this applies only to the residents that lived in part of current Moldova (without Transnistria) or Ukraine (only Cernauti and Odesa region). In this case, the citizenship can be claimed back even by children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren directly.
4. obtain the citizenship by naturalization, this case will be detailed below

Am I eligible for Romanian citizenship?

Check out the conditions below to see if you qualify for Romanian citizenship:

• as a non-EU citizen you have been living in Romania for at least 8 years. Do note, if you are married to a Romanian citizen, you only need 5 years since the date of marriage
• proof that you have your domicile in Romania
• you are at least 18 years old
• you committed no criminal acts against the Romanian state or public order
• you have enough financial resources to make a living in Romania in the last 3 years.
• you’ve had a good behavior and were not convicted for crimes which make you unworthy of being a Romanian citizen
• you speak the Romanian language well and have basic knowledge of Romanian culture and civilization – the test for Romanian language and culture are quite advanced, so we suggest you take courses from a specialized Romanian professor to know Romanian language and you can also find the answers in our e-book to all the questions from the exam.
• you know the Romanian constitution and national anthem

The periods of 8 and 5 years necessary for naturalization can be cut in half to 4, respectively 2.5 years if you are:

1. citizen of the EU
2. an internationally recognized personality
3. a person with refugee status
4. you invest over 1 Million Euro in Romania

You can also become a citizen without living for a certain time in Romania if you have offered a special contribution to promoting the Romanian culture and civilization, but such cases are very rare in practice and you need the referral of the Romanian Embassy.

What are the steps for obtaining Romanian citizenship?

1. 1. Submit your application – you can submit your immigration file to the National Authority for Citizenship (ANC) in person, with previous online appointment. 
   2. The interview – if your immigration file is complete, ANC will schedule you for the citizenship interview, to test your knowledge of Romanian language and culture
   3. Official decision of ANC – after the file examination and interview, ANC will either approve or deny your request for citizenship through an official decision. If your request is denied, you can appeal the decision at the Bucharest County Court 
   4. Taking the oath – you will take the Romanian oath of faith in maximum 12 months from your file approval. Do note that starting with 2024, the term cannot be extended and you will have to give the vow at the embassy of domicile (country of origin or Romania). Also, all vows are now individual and recorded.
   5. Obtaining the citizenship card – also from 2024, you will obtain a citizenship card which has a digital scan of your fingerprints and your face.

Final tips

• All documents in your file must have an apostille and be translated by an authorized translator in Latin writing and certified by a notary. Documents written in other languages are not accepted.
• Your file must contain 2 recent photos (3,5×4,5 cm).
• You should make an online appointment before submitting your file based on articles 8, 8’, 10, 11 and 27 from the Law no. 21/1991.
• All documents in Romanian language must be filed in certified copy by a notary
• For each document submitted, you must also present the original, so that ANC can check and compare them.

For more details, you can check the website of the National Citizenship Authority of Romania (ANC)  here.

 

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If you want to obtain Romanian citizenship, do not miss our Amazon eBook. This material will help you prepare for the citizenship exam, find out more details here.

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If you would like to address more questions or if you need a legal consultation, you can contact us at office@rrpb.ro or by accessing our site www.rrpb.ro for more information.

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