What is Moldova's IT Visa (Moldova Innovation Technology Park)?

Executives, highly qualified IT specialists and investors joining a company that is a resident of the Moldova Innovation Technology Park. If your work is software, this is the route — it is faster, cheaper and longer-dated than the ordinary employment permit, and it sits alongside the park's 7% single tax on turnover. It lasts executives get up to four years, renewable for a further four. IT specialists get up to two years, renewable for up to two more within the term of the employment contract. Spouses and dependants apply separately for provisional residence under Article 38 of Law 200/2010. Time on an IT Visa counts toward the three years of provisional residence that permanent residence requires. The Romanian language certificate is still required at that point, so plan for it early rather than in the third year.

What is Moldova's Provisional residence as a digital nomad?

Remote workers employed by, or holding a stake in, a company registered outside Moldova. Legislated under Article 37² of Law 200/2010 as amended, in force from September 2025 — one of the newest nomad routes in Europe and, unusually, a genuine statutory category rather than a repurposed visitor permit. It lasts granted for the period requested, up to a maximum of two years, and extendable under the same procedure. Extension applications go in at least 30 calendar days before expiry — 15 days for EU citizens. Provisional residence of any kind counts toward the three-year qualifying period for permanent residence, which also requires suitable accommodation, no criminal record in the previous three years and a certificate of Romanian at a satisfactory level. Nomads who intend to settle should start the language early; it is the condition that catches people.

What is Moldova's Provisional residence for work?

Non-EU nationals with a Moldovan job outside the IT Park. IGM runs nine separate work sub-categories — immigrant worker, posted worker, priority-occupation specialist, EU national, highly qualified worker, teaching/culture/health/sport, IT management, IT specialist, and free economic zone employee — and which one you fall into changes the evidence and the term. It lasts provisional residence is granted for the period justified by the contract and renewed with it. Renewals are filed at least 30 calendar days before expiry, 15 for EU citizens. Permanent residence after three years of provisional residence — five for EU citizens on the free-movement track — conditional on accommodation, means, no criminal record in the last three years and a Romanian language certificate. IGM examines the permanent residence file in 90 calendar days, extendable by 60.

What is Moldova's Provisional residence for foreign investment?

Founders and investors putting capital into a Moldovan company. Moldova has no passive citizenship-by-investment product — the citizenship-by-investment programme was closed in 2020 — so this is an operating-business route, not a passport purchase. It lasts granted for the period justified by the investment and renewed while it stands. Renewal is filed at least 30 calendar days before expiry. Three years of provisional residence, then the ordinary permanent residence conditions including the Romanian language certificate.

GlobeQuest

Moving from Liberia to Moldova

What your passport gets you at the border — and what it takes to actually stay.

Liberia

MoldovaShort stay

e-Visa

Liberia passport holders need an e-visa for Moldova, applied for online before travelling.

This is short-stay visitor policy only. It does not let you work, study or settle in Moldova — that needs a residence permit.

Passport Index · updated 17 February 2026Moldova's official immigration service

Long stay

How you actually move to Moldova

Work / sponsoredHigh confidenceVerified August 2026

IT Visa (Moldova Innovation Technology Park)

Executives, highly qualified IT specialists and investors joining a company that is a resident of the Moldova Innovation Technology Park. If your work is software, this is the route — it is faster, cheaper and longer-dated than the ordinary employment permit, and it sits alongside the park's 7% single tax on turnover.

What you need

An employer or your own company registered as a resident of the Moldova Innovation Technology Park
One of three qualifying capacities: executive (administrator, CEO, director, shareholder in a management role), highly qualified IT specialist, or investor
Evidence of the qualification or the management appointment, plus the employment contract
Company registration extract and passport copies, filed by the company rather than by you
A favourable opinion from the park's IT Visa Evaluation Commission before IGM will decide

How long it lasts: Executives get up to four years, renewable for a further four. IT specialists get up to two years, renewable for up to two more within the term of the employment contract. Spouses and dependants apply separately for provisional residence under Article 38 of Law 200/2010.
Path to permanent residence: Time on an IT Visa counts toward the three years of provisional residence that permanent residence requires. The Romanian language certificate is still required at that point, so plan for it early rather than in the third year.
Cost: The IT Visa Evaluation Commission's assessment is free of charge. You still pay the state fees for the residence permit itself and for the identity document, set under Law 213/2023 and scaled by how fast you want it examined.
Processing time: The park's commission decides within 10 working days. IGM's own examination of a work-purpose application is 15 days, reducible to 10 on request against an expedited fee.

Worth knowing

The route is tied to the park, not to the country. If your employer leaves the park or loses residency, the basis for the permit goes with it — which is a different exposure from an ordinary work permit tied only to the job.
Responsibility for the IT Visa evaluation was moved to the park administration's commission by Law No. 144 of 19 June 2025. Guidance written before that describes a different filing route.
Executives and specialists get different terms — four years against two — and the difference is the capacity you are engaged in, not your seniority in ordinary language. Get the contract drafted against the category you actually want.
The application is submitted by the company to itviza@mitp.md, but the residence permit itself is collected in person at IGM's One-Stop Service Desk in Chișinău. Nobody can do that step for you.

Sources:Moldova Innovation Technology Park — IT Visa Invest Moldova — IT Visa programme General Inspectorate for Migration (IGM)

Digital nomadMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Provisional residence as a digital nomad

Remote workers employed by, or holding a stake in, a company registered outside Moldova. Legislated under Article 37² of Law 200/2010 as amended, in force from September 2025 — one of the newest nomad routes in Europe and, unusually, a genuine statutory category rather than a repurposed visitor permit.

What you need

Remote work performed exclusively for legal entities registered outside the Republic of Moldova, using information and communications technology
Either an employment or services contract with the foreign company, legalised or apostilled and translated into Romanian, or documentary proof that you are an associate of it
Income of at least 18 forecast average monthly salaries over the six months before you apply — three times the forecast average salary a month, which for 2026 means about MDL 52,200 a month against a forecast average of MDL 17,400
Bank statements in Romanian or English evidencing that income
Health insurance valid in Moldova and proof of an address — ownership, a lease, or a contract with a hotel
Criminal record certificate, legalised or apostilled and translated

How long it lasts: Granted for the period requested, up to a maximum of two years, and extendable under the same procedure. Extension applications go in at least 30 calendar days before expiry — 15 days for EU citizens.
Path to permanent residence: Provisional residence of any kind counts toward the three-year qualifying period for permanent residence, which also requires suitable accommodation, no criminal record in the previous three years and a certificate of Romanian at a satisfactory level. Nomads who intend to settle should start the language early; it is the condition that catches people.
Cost: State fees for examining the application and issuing the residence permit, set under Law 213/2023 and scaled by processing speed. The larger costs are the apostille chain and the sworn Romanian translations, charged per page.
Processing time: 30 calendar days as standard, reducible to 10 days on request against an expedited fee.

Worth knowing

The income bar is indexed, not fixed. It is 18 forecast average salaries over six months, and the forecast average rose from MDL 16,100 in 2025 to MDL 17,400 for 2026 (Government decision of 17 December 2025). Any euro or dollar figure you find online was computed against a different year's base and a different exchange rate — recompute it before you assemble six months of statements.
You may not work for a Moldovan employer or earn Moldovan-source income on this basis. The route is defined by the income being foreign.
It does not carry EU rights of any kind. Moldova is a candidate country, not a member, and is outside Schengen — a Moldovan permit gets you Moldova.
Moldovan tax residence is a separate question from immigration status. Spending most of the year here can bring you into the Moldovan personal income tax net at 12%; take advice rather than assuming the permit settles it.

Sources:Invest Moldova — digital nomads IGM — right of provisional residence Government of Moldova — 2026 minimum and average wage decision

Work / sponsoredMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Provisional residence for work

Non-EU nationals with a Moldovan job outside the IT Park. IGM runs nine separate work sub-categories — immigrant worker, posted worker, priority-occupation specialist, EU national, highly qualified worker, teaching/culture/health/sport, IT management, IT specialist, and free economic zone employee — and which one you fall into changes the evidence and the term.

What you need

A Moldovan employer and a signed employment contract
The employer's authorisation to engage a foreign worker, obtained before you file
Qualifications for the role, with recognition where the profession is regulated
Proof of accommodation in Moldova, health insurance and a clean criminal record, legalised or apostilled and translated into Romanian
Entry on the correct basis — a long-stay visa where your nationality needs one; visa-free entry is a 90-days-in-6-months tourist admission, not a work basis

How long it lasts: Provisional residence is granted for the period justified by the contract and renewed with it. Renewals are filed at least 30 calendar days before expiry, 15 for EU citizens.
Path to permanent residence: Permanent residence after three years of provisional residence — five for EU citizens on the free-movement track — conditional on accommodation, means, no criminal record in the last three years and a Romanian language certificate. IGM examines the permanent residence file in 90 calendar days, extendable by 60.
Cost: State fees for the application, the permit and the identity document under Law 213/2023, scaled by processing speed. Legalisation and sworn translation of foreign documents is the larger and less predictable cost.
Processing time: 15 days for work immigrants, EU citizens and foreign investors; 30 days for most other categories. Either can be cut to 10 days on request against the expedited fee.

Worth knowing

Moldova's work immigration is small in absolute terms — a few thousand approvals a year across the whole country — so counter staff outside Chișinău meet these files rarely. File in the capital if you have the choice.
The nine work sub-categories are not interchangeable and the document lists differ. Establish which one your employer is filing under before you start collecting apostilles.
If your work is software, compare this route against the IT Visa before committing: the park route is free to assess, decided in ten working days, and gives executives four years rather than a contract-length permit.
Entering through the Transnistrian segment of the Moldova–Ukraine border does not put a Moldovan entry record in your passport. You must report to a documentation office within 72 hours, and an unregistered stay becomes an exit problem.

Sources:IGM — right of provisional residence General Inspectorate for Migration (IGM)Ministry of Foreign Affairs — visa regime for foreigners

InvestmentMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Provisional residence for foreign investment

Founders and investors putting capital into a Moldovan company. Moldova has no passive citizenship-by-investment product — the citizenship-by-investment programme was closed in 2020 — so this is an operating-business route, not a passport purchase.

What you need

An investment in a Moldovan company, evidenced to IGM's satisfaction
Company registration documents and evidence of the investment actually made
Proof of accommodation, means of support and health insurance
Clean criminal record, legalised or apostilled and translated into Romanian

How long it lasts: Granted for the period justified by the investment and renewed while it stands. Renewal is filed at least 30 calendar days before expiry.
Path to permanent residence: Three years of provisional residence, then the ordinary permanent residence conditions including the Romanian language certificate.
Cost: Company formation and the capital commitment dominate. Immigration fees themselves are modest and set under Law 213/2023.
Processing time: 15 days for foreign investors, reducible to 10 on request against the expedited fee — the same accelerated track as work immigrants and EU citizens.

Worth knowing

The minimum investment is assessed against the file rather than published as a single headline number, and anyone quoting one should be asked where it comes from. Get IGM's position in writing before wiring capital.
If the business is software, the IT Park is almost certainly the better structure: 7% of turnover replacing corporate income tax, personal income tax, social and health contributions, local taxes and property tax, guaranteed by the state to 2035, with the IT Visa attached.
Moldova closed its citizenship-by-investment programme in 2020. Any offer of a Moldovan passport for money is not describing a route that exists.

Sources:IGM — right of provisional residence Invest Moldova — IT Visa programme General Inspectorate for Migration (IGM)

StudentMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Provisional residence for studies

Students at Moldovan universities. Nicolae Testemițanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Chișinău draws a large international cohort, and medicine is by some distance the biggest draw.

What you need

An admission order or enrolment confirmation from the institution
Proof of tuition payment and of means of support
Accommodation, health insurance and a clean criminal record

How long it lasts: Granted for the academic period and renewed annually for the length of the programme.
Path to permanent residence: Study time counts toward the three-year provisional residence qualifying period, and graduates of Moldovan institutions are well placed to convert to the work route. The Romanian language certificate that permanent residence requires is a much smaller obstacle for someone who has studied here.
Cost: Immigration fees are small. Tuition — particularly for medicine taught in English or Romanian — is the real number.
Processing time: 30 calendar days, reducible to 10 on request against the expedited fee.

Worth knowing

Admission by the faculty and the paperwork the immigration file needs are two different things. Confirm which document IGM wants before the term starts.
Working on a study permit is restricted. Do not build a budget on it.

Sources:IGM — right of provisional residence General Inspectorate for Migration (IGM)

FamilyMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Provisional residence for family reunification

Spouses, minor children and dependent relatives of Moldovan citizens or of foreigners already holding Moldovan residence. Also the route spouses and dependants of IT Visa holders use, under Article 38 of Law 200/2010.

What you need

Proof of the family relationship, legalised or apostilled and translated into Romanian
For a sponsor who is a foreign resident, an authorisation for family reunification obtained from IGM first
Evidence of the sponsor's accommodation and means
Health insurance and a clean criminal record

How long it lasts: Aligned to the sponsor's permit and renewed with it.
Path to permanent residence: Counts toward the three-year provisional residence period. Family members of Moldovan citizens are treated more favourably at almost every step than family of a foreign sponsor.
Cost: Immigration fees under Law 213/2023, plus the document legalisation chain, which is where the time and money actually go.
Processing time: 30 calendar days, reducible to 10 on request against the expedited fee. The family reunification authorisation is a separate prior step with its own clock.

Worth knowing

Family of a Moldovan citizen and family of a foreign resident are two different regimes. Establish which one applies before assembling anything.
Even where a company files the principal's IT Visa, dependants' applications are submitted in person at IGM's One-Stop Service Desk by the principal permit holder.
Moldovan civil registry practice on foreign documents is strict — apostille or consular legalisation plus a sworn Romanian translation, with originals frequently retained.

Sources:IGM — right of provisional residence Moldova Innovation Technology Park — IT Visa IGM — right of permanent residence Moldova eVisa portal

On the ground

Where you'd land in Moldova

Chișinău

An EU candidate capital where one neighbour in six already holds a second passport, a 7% tax park runs to 2035, and the world's largest wine cellar is a bus ride out.

Full Chișinău guide