Moving to Romania for work, study or family? Compare seven routes

Income for the digital-nomad visa

For each of the previous six months and throughout the visa period, monthly income must be at least three times the average gross monthly wage. INS reported an average gross monthly wage of 9,497 lei for August 2026; three times that amount is 28,491 lei. This is a calculation from the published month, not a current threshold confirmed by IGI. Check with IGI which reference and evidence requirements apply. INS release 262, 13 October 2026.

EU Blue Card salary

OUG 32/2026, Article 27¹, requires the contract salary to be at least the average gross wage. Confirm the reference used with your employer and IGI; this guide gives no current monthly amount.

Visa fees (per-category confirmations)

Long-stay visa for commercial activities: €300 (IGI business page); D/AS long-stay visa for other purposes: €300 (IGI other-purposes page); residence permit after entry on the single-permit/Blue Card channel: 265 lei permit cost + €120 consular fee (IGI single-permit page). eViza's fee schedule lists the long-stay (D) visa fee generally at €300 (eViza fee schedule). Checked 2026-09-19.

Means of support (rules, no fixed figures)

Reunification: the sponsor shows net minimum wage per family member (IGI); students: monthly means of at least the national minimum wage (Study in Romania). Exact amounts live on the official pages; this page invents no figures. Checked 2026-09-19.

Investment tranches (IGI business page)

€150,000 or 25 jobs, and €200,000 or 50 jobs, relax the means proof; €500,000 or 50+ jobs give a 3-year stay. Administrator track: paid-up capital or technology transfer of at least €50,000. Checked 2026-09-19.

Deadlines (IGI + WorkInRO)

Initial D visa: 90 days; IGI opinion: 30 days (+15); general reunification decision: 3 months; students on a permit work 6 hours/day with no work permit. Checked 2026-09-19.

P1 · Highly qualified work D/AM1

• Higher education or advanced professional skills (e.g. IT, engineers, economists, managers).
• An employer offering at least 6 months of work, under contract.
• Also eligible: ministry-requested activities, teaching/scientific/artistic activities, professional athletes with a club contract, MD/UA/RS citizens on full-time contracts.
• For highly qualified workers: The full-time contract must specify a salary at least equal to the average gross wage under OUG 32/2026, Article 27¹. Confirm the filing reference with your employer and IGI.
• Flow: employer registers → publishes a firm offer → files the single application → after approval you go to the consulate for D/AM1 (initially 90 days) → after entry you apply for the permit at IGI.

WorkinRomania visas page · IGI work page

P2 · Permanent/seasonal/cross-border work D/AM2

• Permanent workers (fixed or open-ended contracts: cooks, drivers, carpenters, electricians), seasonal workers (farming, by season), cross-border workers (neighbours in border localities).
• When the application flow is available, the occupation must appear on the shortage-occupation list. The list alone does not mean you can submit an application now.
• Usually through an authorised placement agency: service contract → recruitment → tripartite placement contract → the agency files the single application.
• Exception: an authorised employer (R.A.A. registered) may file directly, without an agency.
• After approval you go to the consulate for D/AM2 (initially 90 days), then the permit after entry; contracts are signed in Romanian plus a language you understand.

WorkinRomania notice on D/AM2 flows · D/AM2 conditions · Shortage-occupation list

P3 · Highly qualified / EU Blue Card track

• The full-time contract must specify a salary at least equal to the average gross wage under OUG 32/2026, Article 27¹. Confirm the filing reference with your employer and IGI.
• After entry go to the IGI office in your county for a single permit or Blue Card: application, passport, proof of address, medical certificate, at least 30 days before the visa expires.
• Fees on this channel (IGI single-permit page): 265 lei at CEC Bank (permit cost) + €120 consular fee (leu equivalent).
• Decided in 30 days (extendable for checks); after 12 months on a Blue Card you may move to a second EU state under simplified rules. Full Blue Card and long-term residence conditions are on the EU portal page.

IGI: highly qualified employment visa conditions · IGI single-permit page · This site's deep work-visa guide

P4 · Study D/SD

• First get admitted to an accredited Romanian institution and receive the Ministry of Education letter of acceptance.
• With the letter go to the Romanian mission abroad for D/SD: the letter, tuition-fee proof, monthly means of at least the national minimum wage, medical insurance for the whole validity, criminal record; minors add parental consent.
• Romanian-state scholars and ethnic Romanians are exempt from the means proof.
• After entry apply for the student permit at IGI (usually 1 year); on a student permit you work 6 hours/day with no work permit.

Study in Romania: visa FAQ · Study in Romania: work FAQ

P5 · Digital nomad D/AS

• Monthly income must be at least three times the average gross wage. INS reported an average gross monthly wage of 9,497 lei for August 2026; three times that amount is 28,491 lei. This is an example for the published month, not a current threshold confirmed by IGI. Check with IGI which reference and evidence requirements apply.
• History rule: you must show the bar met for each of the last 6 months before applying, and for the entire visa period (eViza D/AS supporting documents).
• The income must come from outside Romania (a foreign employer or company).
• The category is the “long-stay visa for other purposes D/AS”, initially 90 days, then the permit after entry.
• The full checklist and steps live in this site's deep nomad guide; this page keeps the bar and the links.

IGI other-purposes page (D/AS category) · eViza supporting documents (D/AS) · INS August 2026 release, issue 262 · This site's deep nomad guide

P6 · Family reunification

• The sponsor: a temporary permit valid for one year, an EU Blue Card, an ICT permit, a Mobile ICT permit, long-term residence, or refugee/subsidiary protection (researchers and Blue Card, ICT and Mobile ICT holders also qualify with permits shorter than one year).
• May join: spouse, unmarried minor children (including the spouse's, including adopted); first-degree parents who cannot support themselves and lack care at home; unmarried adult children unable to earn for medical reasons.
• First step: the sponsor requests the IGI opinion in the county of residence: application, kinship documents (translated, legalised), cohabitation statement, sponsor permit copy, decent housing, net minimum wage per member, health insurance.
• Decided in 3 months; with the approval notice the family goes to the consulate. Refugees use a separate IGI channel (9 months).

IGI reunification page (general channel) · IGI reunification page (refugees)

P7 · Business / company administrator

• The correct name is the “long-stay visa for commercial activities”: business plan + technical opinion of the Romanian Agency for Investments and Foreign Trade + the MEIMMMA notice — all three, no exceptions.
• Criminal record, travel medical insurance valid across Schengen of at least €30,000, proof of accommodation.
• The visa fee is €300, paid in the state where you apply — confirmed for this category on the IGI page; eViza's fee schedule lists the long-stay (D) visa fee generally at €300.
• Tranches: €150,000 or 25 jobs, and €200,000 or 50 jobs, relax the means proof; €500,000 or 50+ jobs give a 3-year stay.
• CEO/administrator track: at the request date and in the previous 2 years you were not an associate or shareholder of the company (or of any Romanian legal entity); the company holds paid-up capital or technology transfer of at least €50,000; one foreigner per company on this ground.

IGI business-activities page · IGI company-CEO page · IGI other-purposes page (administrator) · eViza fee schedule

Schengen C / visa-free entry

90 days at most, then you leave; it converts into no residence. Enter on C and want to stay, and you start from zero.

“Sort it out after entry”

No D visa on these seven roads is requested after entry: each is filed at Romania's diplomatic missions or consular offices abroad (IGI business and other-purposes pages; Study in Romania visa FAQ).

Asylum without grounds

Without facts of persecution, keep off the asylum channel: a separate procedure with its own rules, outside these seven roads.