Before you start

A Romanian employer or sponsor prepared to obtain the aviz de angajare, or another qualifying ground such as study, family or the digital nomad route
A D-series long-stay visa obtained abroad, applied for within 60 days of the aviz
Apostilled and sworn-translated criminal record certificate and civil status documents
Proof of accommodation in Bucharest — a registered lease or an owner's declaration
Health insurance covering the period before you enter the Romanian system

Step-by-step

1
Employer obtains the aviz de angajare from IGI
This is the employment approval and it comes first. IGI checks the role, the employer's standing and the annual quota. The 2026 quota is 90,000 non-EU work permits, set by Government Decision 1169/2025 and 10,000 lower than 2025's. Approval takes roughly a month.
Via employerWho: Your employer≈30 days
2
Apply for the D-series long-stay visa abroad
With the aviz in hand you apply at a Romanian embassy or consulate — D/AM for employment, D/AD for digital nomads, D/SD for study, D/VF for family. The application must be lodged within 60 days of the aviz being issued. Consular appointment availability, not the decision, is usually the delay.
In personWho: You2–4 weeks after the appointment
3
Enter Romania and start the residence permit application immediately
The long-stay visa admits you for 90 days. Within that window you must file with IGI in Bucharest for the residence permit. Appointments are booked through the IGI portal and can be scarce; book on the day you land rather than in the week before expiry.
OnlineWho: YouWithin 90 days of entry
4
Attend the IGI Bucharest appointment with the full file
Bring the passport, visa, aviz, employment contract, registered lease or owner's declaration, health insurance, apostilled criminal record with sworn Romanian translation, and the fee receipt. Biometrics are taken at the appointment. A missing sworn translation is the most common reason for being sent away.
In personWho: You
5
Collect the permit and note your CNP
The residence permit card carries your Cod Numeric Personal — the personal numeric code that functions as your national identifier. Everything downstream, from a bank account to a GP registration, is keyed to it. Photograph the card and keep the number accessible.
In personWho: YouWeeks after biometrics
6
Renew at least 30 days before expiry
Renewal is filed with IGI at least 30 days before the permit lapses, with updated employment and accommodation evidence. Letting a permit expire is not a paperwork inconvenience — it breaks the continuity of residence that the five-year long-term residence clock depends on.
OnlineWho: You30+ days before expiry

Documents you’ll need

Passport with the D-series long-stay visa
Aviz de angajare and the employment contract
Registered lease or notarised accommodation declaration from the owner
Criminal record certificate, apostilled and translated by a sworn Romanian translator
Health insurance certificate
Proof of fee payment and passport photographs to Romanian specification

Things most newcomers don’t know

The chain is aviz, then visa, then permit — and it cannot be started from inside Romania.

A great many people arrive visa-free, find a job, and then discover the employment approval and the long-stay visa must both be obtained before entry, which means leaving and restarting. The 60-day link between the aviz and the visa application makes it worse: a delay at the employer's end can expire the approval before you ever book a consular slot. Sequence it deliberately and treat the aviz issue date as a clock, not a milestone.

Source: General Inspectorate for Immigration

The annual work-permit quota is a real gate, and 2026's is smaller than 2025's.

Romania fixes the number of non-EU work permits by government decision each year. The 2026 figure is 90,000 under Government Decision 1169/2025, against 100,000 for 2025, and the government stated the reduction was deliberate. Quota exhaustion in a given category is an actual refusal reason rather than a theoretical one, so an employer who says 'we'll file in the autumn' is taking a risk they may not have priced.

Source: Government Decision 1169/2025

The whole work-permit process is being moved onto a new state platform mid-2026, and transitions like this are where guidance goes stale.

Emergency Ordinance 32/2026, published in April 2026, digitalises the work-permit and visa chain onto a WorkinRomania platform whose full operation was expected during 2026. During a changeover the published procedure, the adviser's habit and the counter's actual practice can all differ. Confirm the current process with IGI directly rather than with a guide — including this one — written before your filing date.

Source: Emergency Ordinance 32/2026

Romania joined Schengen fully on 1 January 2025, which changed what your permit is worth.

Air and sea borders opened in March 2024 and land borders on 1 January 2025 following the Council decision of 12 December 2024. A Romanian residence permit now carries ordinary Schengen movement, and travel to Hungary, Bulgaria or Austria involves no border check. Guidance written before 2025 describes Romania as an EU-but-not-Schengen country, which is now simply wrong and affects everything from weekend travel to how a Romanian permit is read at other borders.

Source: Council of the European Union

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving visa-free intending to convert to a work permit from inside Romania.
Letting the 60-day window between the aviz and the visa application lapse.
Booking the IGI appointment late in the 90-day visa window and finding no slots.
Bringing a criminal record certificate that is apostilled but not translated by a sworn Romanian translator.
Allowing a permit to expire and breaking the continuity the five-year long-term residence clock requires.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.