Costaș, Negru & Asociații’s lawyers are constantly asked to provide guidance and legal assistance for various citizenship and immigration issues. In this context, we recently focused on Romanian economic citizenship and the associated investment requirements.
The Romanian passport joined Japan, Slovenia, Latvia, Latvia, New Zealand and Liechtenstein as the 6 strongest passports in the world in 2025.
In this context, Romanian citizenship has become a desideratum for many foreigners from outside the European Union, as there are many different ways of acquiring Romanian citizenship, which brings multiple benefits to its holders. The most important aspect are the short terms in which Romanian citizenship can be obtained under certain conditions, which we will detail below, namely 2 years and 6 months and 4 years.
Apart from the right to own land throughout the European Union, not just in Romania, the right to free movement is the most important right for those who want to acquire Romanian citizenship, given that from 2025, the Romanian passport will give access to 175 countries and territories where you can travel without a visa and with minimal formalities, including the USA, leaving on the list only 51 countries and territories where you still need a visa on arrival.
Romanian citizenship can be acquired upon application, according to Law no. 21/1991, in several ways, of which we detail the following:
- Acquiring Romanian citizenship by investing over 1.000.000 euro
Romanian citizenship is granted upon application to a foreign citizen who has invested in Romania sums exceeding 1.000.000 euro and who fulfills the following additional conditions:
– has attained the age of 18
– has been domiciled under the law on the territory of the Romanian state for at least 4 years or, if married to a Romanian citizen, for at least 2 years and 6 months from the date of marriage
– knows the Romanian language and is declared admitted to the Romanian culture and civilization examination;
– knows the provisions of the Romanian Constitution and the national anthem.
- Acquiring Romanian citizenship by setting up a company
In this case, we are not talking about a classic way of acquiring Romanian citizenship, but about a staged and slightly longer process.
Thus, a way of acquiring Romanian citizenship within a period of 2 years and 6 months or 4 years for EU citizens or within a period of 5 or 8 years for foreign citizens can be obtained by setting up a company on Romanian territory and acquiring the right to stay in Romania for commercial, economic, professional or labor activities.
Setting up a company in Romania is a short and efficient process, with minimal costs and can be done remotely without the need to be present.
After setting up the company, depending on the specifics of the company and the type of employment relationship desired, the person who wants Romanian citizenship will be able to obtain a long-term residence permit in Romania.
After a stay in Romania, the person in question may apply for Romanian citizenship if he/she fulfills the following conditions:
a) EU citizens:
– has attained 18 years of age;
– has been residing under the law on the territory of the Romanian State for at least 4 years or, if married to a Romanian citizen, for at least 2 years and 6 months from the date of marriage
– knows the Romanian language and is declared admitted to the Romanian culture and civilization examination;
– knows the provisions of the Romanian Constitution and the national anthem.
b) non-EU citizens:
– has reached the age of 18;
– has been domiciled under the law on the territory of the Romanian State for at least 8 years or, if married to a Romanian citizen, for at least 5 years from the date of marriage
– knows the Romanian language and is declared admitted to the Romanian culture and civilization examination;
– knows the provisions of the Romanian Constitution and the national anthem.
The acquiring of citizenship by economic means is referred to in comparative law as “economic citizenship” and is already established at European level in countries such as Malta, Cyprus and Austria.
In Malta, since 2014 there is a special investment program called the Malta Individual Investor Programme (IIP) under which an individual can acquire Maltese citizenship in one year if he or she owns property worth at least €350,000 in Malta, donates €650,000 to the Malta Development Fund and invests €150,000 in shares or government securities.
A similar program is also in place in Cyprus, so individuals seeking Cypriot citizenship can acquire it in just 6 months provided they invest €2,000,000 in Cyprus in the form of real estate, infrastructure or a newly established company.
Although the rules differ from state to state, economic citizenship is widely held around the world and is possible on the basis of a principle increasingly common in the European Economic Area, “dual citizenship“.
Thus, it is compulsory for the states whose citizenship is to be acquired to allow dual citizenship, as is the case in Romania.
Our law firm represents clients both for setting up companies in Romania and for acquiring Romanian citizenship on all legal criteria.
This article was prepared for the blog of the law firm Costaș, Negru & Asociații by lwy. Clara Dohotar, from the Bucharest Bar Association and lwy. Andrei Fătu, from the Cluj Bar Association.
Costaș, Negru & Asociații is a law firm with offices in Cluj-Napoca, Bucharest and Arad, which provides assistance, legal representation and advice in several practice areas through a team of 17 lawyers and consultants. Details of the legal services and the composition of the team can be found at https://www.costas-negru.ro.
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