Did you know there is more than one way to get your Romanian passport, in a totally legal way? Check out our article below and find out more about the ways in which you can obtain a Romanian passport!

We will go through the main three options and, more specifically, recommendations which would apply to any situation. If you are interested in tailored advice for your particular case, we encourage you to reach out to us or book a legal consultation with us.

According to international law, there are two ways in which you can obtain a citizenship. The first way, and most common procedure, would be through jus sanguinis (the right of blood), meaning that you have the citizenship of your parents. The second way, which is not applicable in Romania, would be through jus soli (the place of birth), this is usually applicable in the United States of America, so if you are born on American soil, you are automatically a U.S citizen. If you are curious about the countries that give citizenships through jus soli (the place of birth), you can search this up online, but most of the countries are on the American continent.

1. Ancestry

As regards obtaining the Romanian citizenship, the first way to get citizenship would be through ancestry.

Romania, as most countries in the world, gives out citizenship through the right of blood. This means that when you are born, you obtain the citizenship through your parents’ blood, therefore their citizenship is automatically passed down to you. This is indeed the most common way through which you get a citizenship, and this is how the Romanian citizenship is passed down generations.

As such, if you have a grandfather or grandmother or a parent who had the Romanian citizenship and did not lose it, you can always go back and claim your citizenship at the Romanian authorities. Please note that determining if you still have the Romanian citizenship or not, what happened with the citizenship of your ancestor is a procedure in its own right, and it is not as simple as stating that you have a Romanian ancestor.

2. Naturalization

The second way to obtain a Romanian citizenship is by going through the naturalization process. This usually applies for non-EU citizens, which have been legally living in Romania for a certain period of time.

These periods of time are divided as follows, the general term is of 8 years, and it applies for any non-EU citizens who would like to apply for the Romanian citizenship. There is also a reduced term of 5 years if the non-EU citizen is married to a Romanian citizen.

The smallest term for applying for the Romanian citizenship is 4 years which applies to EU citizens or non-EU citizens who have made investments in Romania. Even in these cases there are some traps within the overall procedure, and so it is best to be careful and to respect each and every step of the procedure for a successful application.

3. Repatriation

The third and last way noted would be through repatriation. This usually applies for expats who had a Romanian ancestor and left Romania a long time ago, and in the process, they either lost their citizenship or their citizenship cannot be clarified.

This procedure is a kind of mixture between the two mentioned previously, because on the one hand, you do not need to spend time in Romania in order to apply for the citizenship, but on the other hand, you still need to go through the citizenship procedure. As a reference, usually all citizens that left Romania before the 1990s, in one way or another, lost their Romanian citizenship. However, we have cases in which this citizenship was not lost and it was purely claimed back by the ancestor.

It is also important to mention that we also have cases in which the Romanian citizenship was not lost and was obtained by pure claim of the descendant.

 

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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