Living and working in Romania: pick the status first
Your residence status decides everything else — tax, family, the road to permanent residence. Romania has no golden visa, so money alone does not buy a permit. The four routes compare on one parameter that matters most in practice: how long each permit runs before you renew it.
- Employment: 2 years12, renewable. Salary at least national gross minimum wage37. The employer gets the aviz de muncă from IGI first; you then apply for the D/AM visa at a consulate. See the work permit.
- EU Blue Card: 2 years213. Salary of 1 x average gross salary in Romania (castigul salarial mediu brut)2.
- Digital nomad visa: 6 months16, then residence while you keep the income. Details on the nomad visa page.
- Shareholder of a Romanian SRL: 1 year18 for a standard permit.
Living in Romania as an American remote worker
The nomad visa is about steady foreign income, not about how much you earn in a good month.
US citizens and other remote workers usually pick the nomad visa. The income test is 3 x average gross monthly salary in Romania1611, for each of the six months before you apply. One weak month is the most common reason a file fails.
The second reason is a Romanian client. Income must come from an employer or company registered abroad; invoicing a Romanian firm moves you to another route.
The third is family. Whether a spouse can join on this visa is Not publishedno data: secondary source says family not covered; not confirmed in GEO 194/2002 text. — the law text does not settle it, so we check consulate practice before filing.
Tax residency: the part expats underestimate
Romania taxes you as a resident once any one test is met: Resident if domiciled in Romania, or centre of vital interests in Romania, or present more than 183 days in any 12 consecutive months, or a Romanian citizen working abroad for the Romanian state.412
Digital nomads are exempt from Romanian income tax for 6 months6. After that, Romanian tax applies to worldwide income. Rates are in our tax system overview.
A residence permit and tax residency are separate things. You can hold a permit and not be tax resident, or the reverse.
Bringing your spouse and children
Family reunification is available: Yes1. The sponsor needs a residence right of at least one year, normal housing and means of at least the net minimum wage for each family member.
This is why the employment route suits families better than the nomad visa. The employed sponsor already holds a renewable permit when the family files.
Permanent residence and citizenship
Permanent residence needs 5 years19 years of continuous legal stay. Long absences break the count, so keep entry and exit stamps. You also show income of at least the gross minimum wage, health insurance, housing and basic Romanian.
Naturalisation comes later: 8 years510 years of residence under Law 21/1991, with a Romanian language, culture and Constitution test.
With a Romanian parent or grandparent, skip the wait: citizenship by descent has no residence condition.
Where this guide stops
- EU citizens: you register your residence, you do not apply for a permit.
- Prices of rent, food and salaries — see the cost of living guide, which cites dated statistics.
- Job offers from agencies asking for fees upfront — first check the work permit through IGI.
How we work
We prepare the file, order sworn translations and file with the consulate or IGI. The decision stays with the authority. Our process is described in How we work.