Before you start

A qualifying purpose: a Moldovan job, IT Park residency, foreign remote income, an investment, a study place or a family sponsor
Entry on the correct basis — visa-free entry is a 90-days-in-6-months admission, not a work basis
Criminal record certificate, apostilled or legalised and translated into Romanian by an authorised translator
Proof of an address in Chișinău — ownership, a lease, or a contract with a hotel
Health insurance valid in Moldova

Step-by-step

1
Pick the route before you buy the flight
IGM runs nine separate work sub-categories plus digital nomad, investment, study, family and several minor grounds, and the document lists differ between them. The IT Visa is a distinct lane: the park's evaluation commission issues an opinion, and only then does IGM decide. Establishing which lane you are in is the step people skip and then repeat.
OnlineWho: You
2
Get the foreign documents apostilled and translated first
The criminal record certificate, any marriage or birth certificate, and a foreign employment contract all need apostille or consular legalisation plus a Romanian translation. This is the slowest part of the whole process and it happens in your home country, not here. Start it before anything else.
In personWho: YouWeeks, at home
3
For IT work, file through the park
The company emails the file to the IT Visa Evaluation Commission at Moldova Innovation Technology Park. The commission decides within 10 working days and the assessment is free. Executives get up to four years renewable for four more; IT specialists get up to two, renewable for up to two within the contract term.
Via employerWho: Your employer10 working days
4
Submit in person at the IGM One-Stop Service Desk in Chișinău
Whoever prepared the file, the principal applicant appears in person. Bring passport, the purpose documents, the apostilled and translated criminal record, insurance, accommodation evidence and the fee receipts. Family members' applications are also lodged here by the principal.
In personWho: You
5
Expect 15 or 30 days, and buy the fast track if you need it
IGM examines work, investor and EU-citizen files in 15 days and most others in 30 calendar days. Either can be cut to 10 days on request against an expedited fee. Fees are set under Law 213/2023 and scale with the speed you choose.
In personWho: You10–30 days
6
Collect the permit, note the IDNP, and diarise the renewal
The permit carries your IDNP — the state personal identification number every downstream registration keys on. Renewals must be filed at least 30 calendar days before expiry, 15 for EU citizens. A lapse breaks the continuity the three-year permanent residence clock depends on.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport, valid well beyond the period requested
The purpose document: employment contract, IT Park commission opinion, foreign contract and bank statements, investment evidence, admission order or family relationship certificate
Criminal record certificate, apostilled or legalised and translated into Romanian
Proof of address in Chișinău — ownership, lease or hotel contract
Health insurance valid in Moldova
Colour 3×4 photograph and proof of fee payment

Things most newcomers don’t know

Permanent residence requires a Romanian language certificate, and almost nothing written in English mentions it.

IGM's conditions for the right of permanent residence include documented Romanian at a satisfactory level, evidenced by an official certificate or a diploma from a Romanian-medium institution (pensioners are exempt). Three years arrives faster than a language does, and the people caught by this are precisely the ones who spent those three years working in English inside an IT Park company and speaking Russian in shops. Start the language in year one, not year three.

Source: General Inspectorate for Migration

The IT Visa is a better product than the ordinary work permit and almost nobody outside the park knows it exists.

The park's IT Visa Evaluation Commission assesses free of charge and decides within 10 working days; executives get up to four years renewable for another four, against a work permit tied to a contract. Responsibility for the evaluation moved to the park administration under Law No. 144 of 19 June 2025, so pre-2025 write-ups describe a different filing route. If your employer is a park resident and is putting you through the ordinary route, ask why.

Source: Moldova Innovation Technology Park

Entering through the Transnistrian segment leaves no Moldovan entry record, and you have 72 hours.

Moldova does not control that stretch of the Moldova–Ukraine border, so nobody stamps you in. The Border Police's own guidance is that foreigners entering that way must report within 72 hours to a population evidence and documentation unit, which issues the registration document you need on the way out. People arriving from Odesa by road learn this at the exit checkpoint, which is the worst place to learn it.

Source: Border Police of the Republic of Moldova

Visa-free entry is 90 days in six months, and it is not a runway.

Moldova admits EU, UK, US and many other nationals without a visa for up to 90 days within six months of first entry. That is generous enough to feel like a plan and it is not one: you cannot work for a Moldovan employer on it, the digital nomad route requires six months of prior income evidence before you file, and the permanent residence clock does not start until you hold a provisional residence right. Treat the 90 days as time to file, not time to live.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Border Police

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving visa-free and expecting to convert to a work permit without the employer's authorisation in place.
Filing through the ordinary work route when the employer is an IT Park resident and the IT Visa was available.
Bringing a criminal record certificate that is apostilled but not translated by an authorised Romanian translator.
Reaching year three of provisional residence without a Romanian language certificate.
Renewing late — the deadline is 30 calendar days before expiry, 15 for EU citizens, and a lapse breaks continuity.
Entering from Ukraine through the Transnistrian segment and not registering within 72 hours.

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