If you are a non-EU citizen working in Romania, you might be interested in the process of changing your Romanian employer.

In most cases, after your arrival in Romania with the D-type visa, a Romanian company has given you a work permit. However, after starting work and obtaining your residency permit, you might find a new employer that provides better conditions and you might want to start working for him. In this situation, you are not allowed to change your employer if the new one hasn’t obtained another work permit for you, for the new job you are starting.

With the latest amendments on immigration and labor procedures, you must keep in mind the following rules. In case you resign (so you’re not dismissed) you do not seize the work agreement by the parts` mutual agreement. You just give your resignation to the employer and that is how the work agreement ceases. Your former employer must give you a written agreement on allowing the change of employer in the first year of labor, or else you will need to go back to your home country and repeat the process: reapply, get a new visa, get back to Romania for work.

According to Romanian law, because you have temporary residency, the company that employs you has to obtain a work permit for you. If not, your employment won’t be approved. The work permit acts as a guarantee that the company hiring you has the proper finances and is in good standings with the Romanian state, so it will not go out of work after a few months following your employment.

In some cases, like when you need to increase the revenue, you can start working part-time at another Romanian employer. However, you must fulfill the necessary procedures and notify these changes to the immigration office. Otherwise both you and your new employer can get fines and even have your residency permit canceled.

If you have decided on changing your Romanian employer, be aware that the timeframe is the same as when you first arrived in Romania. As this is your second employment, the documentation will be easier than the first time you submitted for the work permit. While the application is ongoing, the best option is to remain employed at your current job and to continue work. We strongly advise you to do so and prevent the unpleasant situation when your new work permit has been denied and you must start from the beginning, being sent back to your home country.

The new employer must enroll you in the recruitment process and the new work permit will be issued based on the yearly quota for all work permits. So if there is no longer a quota for non-EU workers you will not be able to change your employer. Also, the new employer has to demonstrate that he is not able to get another employee from Romania or the EU.

After obtaining the work permit, you should request the main employer to close your work agreement. Afterwards, you can immediately start a new work agreement, even on the same day of closing the first agreement.

So these are the mandatory steps to follow for changing your Romanian employer. If you follow these closely, we can assure that you won’t encounter any issue with the immigration office and everything will go smoothly.

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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