Romania Digital Nomad Visa Application 2026 - Visa Abroad, Residence Permit After Arrival

TL;DR

• Romania is a two-step route in plain English: first you secure the Romanian long-stay D/AS visa through the consular system abroad, then after entry you apply to IGI for the extension of temporary residence and the residence permit. Romanian eVisa visa types IGI other purposes
• Romania’s FAQ says long-stay visa applications should be lodged at least 45 days before travel. The visa fee published on eVisa is EUR 120, but actual timing still depends on consular congestion and document readiness. Romanian eVisa FAQ Romanian eVisa visa fees
• The document sequence matters more than many glossy guides admit: company good-standing evidence, tax certificate and fiscal residence certificate, criminal record, Romanian translations, apostilles or legalization, insurance, and accommodation all need to be ready in the right order. Romanian eVisa supporting documents Romania checklist
• The D/AS visa is a 90-day entry stage. The first digital-nomad residence extension is only 6 months, and later extensions require continued threshold compliance plus a fiscal income certificate. Romanian eVisa visa types Romanian foreigners law PDF

Who qualifies

Before you think about sequencing, confirm that Romania is the right route. The official definition is narrow: foreign-company employees and owners of foreign companies working remotely through ICT. That means the application flow should be built around route fit first, not around a hope that consular filing will fix an off-route freelance case. Romanian eVisa visa types Romania overview

• Employees use the foreign employment contract route. Romanian eVisa supporting documents
• Owners use the foreign company ownership and remote-management route, including the 3-year company-history angle shown on the checklist. Romanian eVisa supporting documents
• If your facts still look like general freelance work without that company structure, solve the route-fit problem before spending on translations and legalization. Romania FAQ

Documents

Romania’s strongest sequencing advantage is simple: start with the documents that are hardest to reissue, legalize, or translate. The supporting-documents page is explicit about Romanian authenticated translations for the contract, company-status document, letter of intent, and tax papers, plus apostille or superlegalization where required for tax and criminal-record documents. Romanian eVisa supporting documents

• Start early on: employment contract or ownership proof, company-status document, tax certificate and fiscal residence certificate, criminal record certificate, and any document that needs apostille or superlegalization. Romanian eVisa supporting documents
• Then align the easier but still mandatory layer: accommodation, EUR 30,000 travel medical insurance, passport validity, photographs, and your letter of intent. Romanian eVisa supporting documents
• Common sequencing mistakes: translating a weak base document, getting a criminal record too early and letting it go stale, or leaving the company good-standing document until after the interview slot is already booked. Those are operational warnings drawn from the official checklist and the legal research. Romania checklist

Cost & timeline

The official published fee is EUR 120 for a long-stay D visa. Romania’s FAQ says long-stay applications should ideally be filed at least 45 days before travel. On the IGI side, the “other purposes” page says the favorable opinion for the long-stay visa is issued within 30 days of receiving the request, with a possible 15-day extension, and that the residence-permit request after arrival should be filed at least 30 days before the visa-based stay expires. Romanian eVisa visa fees Romanian eVisa FAQ IGI other purposes

The official law adds the nuance many applicants miss: the first digital-nomad residence extension is 6 months, and later extensions are possible only if you still meet the 3x income rule and present a fiscal income certificate from the competent authority. Romanian foreigners law PDF

Step-by-step

1. Step 1: Confirm that the D/AS route really fits your case

   Check whether you are filing as a foreign-company employee or as the owner of a foreign company you manage remotely. If that premise is weak, the rest of the sequence is built on sand. Romanian eVisa visa types Romania eligibility check

2. Step 2: Collect the hard documents before you chase an appointment

   Get the contract, company-status document, tax certificate and fiscal residence certificate, and criminal record first, because these are the papers most likely to need apostille or superlegalization plus Romanian translation. Romanian eVisa supporting documents

3. Step 3: Build and submit the visa file abroad

   Romania issues the D/AS long-stay visa through diplomatic missions and consular posts. Use the eVisa workflow, then attend the consular stage with the originals and copies requested for your jurisdiction. Romanian eVisa FAQ Romanian eVisa visa types

4. Step 4: Leave room for review, extra requests, and travel timing

   Do not file at the edge of your flight date. Romania itself recommends long-stay filing at least 45 days before travel, and consular follow-up can still depend on congestion and document completeness. Romanian eVisa FAQ

5. Step 5: Enter Romania on the D/AS visa and prepare the IGI stage immediately

   The visa is the entry door, not the end state. After arrival, move quickly into residence-permit planning instead of waiting until the final weeks of the 90-day window. Romanian eVisa visa types IGI other purposes

6. Step 6: File for the residence permit before the visa-based stay expires

   IGI says the application for extension of temporary residence must be submitted at least 30 days before the right of stay granted through the visa expires. Keep the 6-month first extension and later fiscal-proof renewals in view from day one. Romanian eVisa visa types Romanian foreigners law PDF Book a Romania planning call