Law on the amendment and completion of normative acts regarding the regime of foreigners in Romania

Ordinance No. 25 has been published in the Official Gazette, following Council (EU) Decision 2024/2010 of December 30, 2023, on the full implementation of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania, according to which, starting from March 31, 2024, checks on persons at the aerial and maritime borders of Bulgaria and Romania are eliminated, as well as the application of the Schengen acquis between the two states and in their relations with other Schengen states.

Thus, foreigners in possession of a visa issued by a Schengen state under the conditions of the Visa Code, or holders of long-stay visas or residence permits issued by other Schengen states, as well as foreigners who are exempt from the visa requirement in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14.11.2018, are allowed entry into Romania for a maximum period of 90 days within 180 days preceding each day of stay in Romania, calculated as the period cumulatively spent in other Schengen states, other than the state that issued the long-stay visa, respectively the residence permit, where applicable.

The new Order stipulates that the duration of validity and/or right of stay established by the short-stay visa issued by the Romanian authorities or by another Schengen state may be extended, under the conditions of the Visa Code, by the General Inspectorate for Immigration, in the case of simple (tourist) passports, or by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the case of service or diplomatic passports.

The deadline for the foreigner to notify any changes related to his employment status is reduced from 10 days to 3 working days. Also, the host entity will notify the territorial formation of the General Inspectorate for Immigration about the termination or suspension of the legal relationship with the foreigner within 5 working days from the date of the event, instead of 10 days.

The ordinance introduces the possibility of assigning a personal identification number to each foreigner for whom an employment or secondment work authorization has been issued, by including this number directly in the employment or secondment work authorization, as the case may be.

The employer is obliged to conclude the individual employment contract within 15 working days from the entry of the foreigner into the territory of Romania or, as the case may be, after obtaining the new employment work authorization. If the employment contract is not concluded within the statutory period, the employer will be fined between 5,000 and 10,000 RON. It will not be considered a contravention the situation in which the non-conclusion of the employment contract is due to the fault of the foreigner.

For further details, please consult Official Gazette No. 250 of March 22, 2024.

The EY team is available for more details on the above.