General info

Aliens who travel to Romania have the prior obligation to apply for a visa at a diplomatic mission or consular office, except those citizens belonging to countries with which Romania concluded agreements on waver of visa requirements or has renounced unilaterally at the visa requirement (see annexes 1, 2, 3).

• Annex 1 - Countries whose citizens are exempt from the visa requirement by Romania

• Annex 2 - Countries whose citizens are required to have visa without an invitation

• Annex 3 - Countries whose citizens are required to have an invitation to apply for a visa

• Annex 4 - Countries whose citizens are required to have visa for the transit area of an international airport of Romania

The Romanian visa is granted by the diplomatic missions or consular offices of Romania abroad on prior approval by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
 

Note: Romanian short stay visas may be issued without prior approval by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to aliens who do not need a visa to enter European Union member states, if they apply for a visa in the country whose citizenship they hold.

Visas may be issued for one or multiple entries.

Exceptionally, the border police may issue transit or short stay visas, provided if the following circumstances are met:

1. in emergency case of disasters, natural calamities or accidents;

2. in case of death or severe illness of close relatives, which is to be proved by appropriate documents;

3. in case of damage, bad weather conditions or terrorist attack danger when ship or aircraft crew and passengers are forced to land;

4. in case of international organization officials commissioned to carry out short-term official missions in Romania;

5. in case of foreign participants in international meetings, when the interval between the announcement and the meeting date is too short to allow visa procedures. In that case, visas will be granted with prior agreement of the Authority for Foreigners, at the request of the organizer and subsequent notification of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

6. in case of foreign ship-crew to be repatriated when the work contract expires or in case of rapid crew change.

Documents to be presented when applying for a visa:

1. Visa request form, duly completed and signed in original by each applicant (for minor children the visa request form will be signed by the parents or legal guardian, and the signatures will be notarized by a local public notary)

2. Two color passport size recent pictures of the applicant

3. Applicant's passport or travel document and one copy

4. Original and a copy of applicant's Resident Alien Card or Permanent Resident Card, if applicable, or of any other document showing clearly the legal status in the US

5. Proof of travel or medical insurance to cover accident or hospital charges, valid for the entire period of stay in Romania

6. Proof of sufficient funds for the entire period of stay in Romania, in the amount of at least 100 US dollars per day (bank statement in the applicant's name, travelers checks or credit card statement for the last three months)

7. Proof of accommodation:

   • hotel reservation

   • if you are staying with family or friends you should submit a letter of  invitation. Ask your friends/relatives to send you an informal invitation with the name, address and one copy of the friend’s/relative’s ID card.

   • proof of reservation for tourist services (voucher) with a Romanian tourist services provider, for all tourist trips.

8. Flight reservation

9. Reference letter from employer stating position and monthly or annual salary. If you have your own company, you must submit letter from the bank that you do business with, stating that the company is in good standing.

10. Reference letters issued by the sending company and by the Romanian company certifying the purpose of travel, for all business trips

11. Marriage certificate for persons married with Romanian citizens

The visa request form and all additional documents will be presented with the Romanian embassy or with the nearest Romanian consulate.

All visa applications must be made in person (mailed applications will NOT be accepted)

Appointments are Required

Please note: In individual cases, you may be required to provide additional documents.

Visa requirements

Citizens of the following countries can enter Romania without a visa if their stay does not exceed more then 90 days, for purposes of transit, tourism, affairs, visit, transport, sports, cultural, scientific and humanitarian activities, short-term medical treatment or other activities that do not infringe Romanian law:

Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Chile, Cyprus, South Korea, Costa Rica, Croatia (30 days), Denmark, Switzerland, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, United Kingdom, Monaco, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Norway, Holland, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Holly See, El Salvador, Singapore (30 days), Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, United States of America, Sweden, Hungary, Uruguay, Venezuela.

Citizens of countries not listed above can enter Romania only with an entry visa issued by the Romanian embassy or by the nearest Romanian consulate, irrespective of the duration and purpose of their travel.

NOTE: Beginning with January 1,  2007 citizens of the Republic of Moldova can travel to Romania with a free issued visa. The visas issued for the Moldavian citizens, with the exceptions of the transit visas, will be issued with a validity of 1 year with the staying right of 90 days within 6 months from the date of the first entry.

NOTE: US citizens who wish to stay longer then 90 days are not required to obtain the long term visa (Type D) at  the Romanian embassy or consulates in the US. They could apply for a long term visa with the Authority for Aliens in Bucharest or its territorial branches.

Visa Types

1. Airport transit visa, (Type A);

2. Transit visa, type B or B/CL when applied to groups, (collective visa);

3. Short-stay visa, for applicants seeking the following visa types:

   • mission (type C/M)

   • tourism (type C/TU or CL/TU, when applied to groups);

   • visit (type C/VV);

   • business (type C/A);

   • transport (type C/TR);

   • sports (type C/SP);

   • cultural, scientific and humanitarian activities, short-term medical treatment or other activities that do not infringe Romanian law (type C/ZA).

     Short term visa entitling the holder for single or multiple entry within six months and in case of an non-interrupted stay for maximum 90 days from date of entry or in case of a brake for stay totaling no more than 90 days within 6 months from the date of the first entry taking all the entries account.

4. Long-stay visa, identified by one of the following symbols, according to the type of activity the applicant is to develop in Romania:

   • economic activities (type D/AE);

   • professional activities (type D/AP);

   • commercial activities (type D/AC);

   • work contract (type D/AM);

   • studies (type D/SD);

   • family unification (type D/VF);

   • aliens married to Romanian citizens (type D/CR);

   • religious or humanitarian activities (type D/RU);

   • purposes other than those listed (type D/AS);

5. Diplomatic and official service visa (type DS).
   
   Visas are valid and entitle holders to stay in Romania for:
   
   1. 90 days, with the possibility of extension in the country, in the case of long-stay visas;
   2. up to 90 days with short-stay visas;
   3. 5 days with transit visas.

Visa fees

• official and short-term visa:

  • one entry (6 month) - 40 US dollars

  • multiple entries (6 month) - 75 US dollars

• transit visa:

  • simple (and for simple airport transit) - 30 US dollars

  • double (and for double airport transit) - 40 US dollars

• For expeditious issuance of visa (within 48 hours) additional charges: 6 US dollars. Additional costs for consular services are to be recovered on a separate basis.
  
  No visa fee is required for:

• representatives of International Organizations of which Romania is a member;

• members of foreign diplomatic missions and consular offices, who are accredited in Romania, persons who travel together with the Head of States, Prime Ministers;

• members of parliamentary delegations and other officials, as well their family members, on the basis of reciprocity;

• organized tourist groups, which provide evidences of prior payment of the services (voucher).

• Fees are to be paid by money order only, made payable to the Consulate General of Romania. Personal checks and credit cards are not accepted. The usual turnaround time is of 5 business days. The turnaround time may vary depending on the purpose of travel.