In which cases can I become a Romanian citizen?

• by birth – if at least one of your parents is a Romanian citizen
• by adoption – if you are adopted by a Romanian
• regaining the Romanian citizenship, if you were a Romanian in the past and lost your citizenship:
  • through voluntary renunciation, as well as children and grandchildren of such persons
  • without your fault (e.g. residents from the inter-war United Romania, like the Republic of Moldova and parts of Ukraine) or you are relative of maximum 3rd degree (son, grandson, grand-grandson) of such persons

For more details you can check the following article on our blog: How to regain the Romanian citizenship in 6 steps.

• apply for citizenship by naturalization, as detailed below

How do I know I’m eligible for Romanian citizenship?

• you have been living in Romania for at least 8 years (non- EU citizens). If your husband or wife is a Romanian citizen, you only need 5 years since the date of marriage
• 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
• 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 in this respect
• 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:

• citizen of the EU
• an internationally recognized personality
• a person with refugee status
• 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.

What are the steps for obtaining Romanian citizenship?

1. Submit your application – you can submit your immigration file to the National Authority for Citizenship (ANC) in person, with previous online appointment. The file can be submitted by a proxy if the applicant suffers from a condition which prevents him from moving
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 in 15 days. For this phase, we strongly recommend you contact a specialized immigration lawyer.
4. The oath-taking – you will take the Romanian oath of faith in maximum 6 months from your file approval. You will not become a Romanian citizenship if you refuse to take this oath.

Final tips

• All documents in your file must have an authorized translation in Latin writing. Documents written in alphabets such as Cyrillic or Hebrew 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 must be filed in certified copy, with a legalized/ over-legalized/apostille translation, depending on the country of origin.
• For each document in copy 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.

If you have any questions or require assistance in the process, so that everything goes smoothly, please contact us at office@rrpb.ro or check out our website for more information: www.rrpb.ro.

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