Romania

Last Updated: 2026-03-31

Official Portal: Autoritatea Nationala pentru Cetatenie (National Citizenship Authority)

Embassy Finder: Romanian Diplomatic Missions

Quick Facts

Category	Details
Residency for naturalization	8 years of lawful and habitual residence (reduced to 5 years for EU/EEA/Swiss citizens and those married to Romanian citizens)
Language requirement	Romanian language — sufficient knowledge to integrate into social life (assessed during interview; no standardized exam)
Civics test	Yes — interview-based assessment of knowledge of Romanian culture, history, and the Constitution
Processing time	12—24 months (significant backlogs, especially for Article 11 reacquisition)
Naturalization fee	RON 103 (approximately EUR 20) stamp duty
Dual citizenship	Fully permitted since 1991 (Constitutional provision)
Citizenship by birth in Romania	Limited jus soli — only for children of unknown parents or stateless parents
Citizenship by descent	Automatic for children of Romanian citizens; reacquisition available for descendants of former Romanian citizens
Governing law	Legea cetateniei romane nr. 21/1991 (Law on Romanian Citizenship No. 21/1991, as amended)

Dual Citizenship

Romania fully permits dual and multiple citizenship. This has been the case since the adoption of the 1991 Citizenship Law following the fall of the Ceausescu regime. The Romanian Constitution (Article 5) explicitly provides that Romanian citizenship can be held alongside any other nationality.

Key principles:

No renunciation of any foreign nationality is required when acquiring Romanian citizenship.
Romanian citizens who acquire a foreign nationality do not lose Romanian citizenship.
There is no limit on the number of citizenships held.
A Romanian citizen who also holds another nationality is treated exclusively as a Romanian citizen while on Romanian territory.

Reacquisition context: Romania’s liberal dual citizenship policy is particularly significant in the context of the Article 11 reacquisition pathway, which allows hundreds of thousands of descendants of former Romanian citizens (particularly from Moldova, Ukraine/Bukovina, and Israel) to reacquire citizenship without renouncing their current nationality.

Acquisition of Nationality

By Birth (Jus Soli)

Romania follows a primarily jus sanguinis system. Birth on Romanian territory does not generally confer citizenship. Limited jus soli applies:

A child born in Romania whose both parents are unknown is considered a Romanian citizen (Article 5(2)).
A child born in Romania to stateless parents or parents whose nationality cannot be determined acquires Romanian citizenship.
If the parentage is subsequently established and the child would acquire a foreign nationality, Romanian citizenship is lost only if the child is a minor and would not become stateless.

By Descent (Jus Sanguinis)

A child acquires Romanian citizenship at birth if at least one parent is a Romanian citizen (Article 5(1)), regardless of where the child is born.

Key provisions:

Both mothers and fathers transmit citizenship equally.
There is no generational limit — citizenship passes indefinitely through descent, provided the chain is unbroken.
Children born abroad should be registered with a Romanian consulate.

By Adoption

A child under 18 adopted by a Romanian citizen acquires Romanian citizenship on the date the adoption becomes final (Article 6).

If only one adoptive parent is Romanian, the parents decide by agreement which citizenship the child will have. In the absence of agreement, the court decides in the child’s best interest.
If the adoption is subsequently annulled, the child retains Romanian citizenship unless the annulment was due to fraud.

By Marriage

Romania does not grant automatic citizenship through marriage. However, a foreign spouse of a Romanian citizen benefits from a reduced residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years of lawful residence (instead of the standard 8 years).
All other naturalization conditions apply.

Alternatively, if the couple resides abroad, the foreign spouse may apply for naturalization at a Romanian embassy or consulate, though the same conditions and timelines apply.

By Naturalization (Residency)

Standard pathway (Article 8, Law 21/1991):

Requirement	Details
Residence	8 years of lawful and habitual residence in Romania (5 years for spouses of Romanian citizens and EU/EEA/Swiss citizens)
Romanian language	Sufficient to integrate into social life — assessed through an interview, not a standardized examination
Civics knowledge	Knowledge of Romanian culture, history, and the Constitution — assessed through an interview conducted by the National Citizenship Authority (ANC) commission
Good character	No criminal record in Romania or abroad for offenses incompatible with Romanian citizenship
Means of subsistence	Must demonstrate lawful means of existence (employment, business, pension, etc.)
Loyalty	Must exhibit conduct and actions demonstrating loyalty to the Romanian state; must not take actions against national security or public order
Age	18 or older
Fee	RON 103 stamp duty

Reacquisition of citizenship (Article 11) — the most significant pathway:

This provision allows former Romanian citizens and their descendants (up to the third generation — verify: some interpretations extend further) to reacquire Romanian citizenship without residing in Romania.

Eligible persons:

Persons who were Romanian citizens and lost citizenship for reasons not attributable to them (e.g., territorial changes after World War I and World War II, communist-era emigration).
Descendants (children, grandchildren) of such persons.
This primarily affects persons from Moldova (Bessarabia, which was Romanian territory before 1940), Northern Bukovina and Hertza region (now Ukraine), and Romanian Jews who emigrated during or after the communist period.

Requirements for Article 11:

Proof of the ancestor’s Romanian citizenship (birth certificates, identity documents from Romanian territory).
Clean criminal record.
Knowledge of Romanian language and culture (interview).
No residency requirement in Romania.
No renunciation of current nationality.

Scale: Since 2010, Romania has processed hundreds of thousands of Article 11 applications, primarily from Moldovan citizens. The ANC has faced significant backlogs.

Romania is an EU member state. As of 2024, Romania joined the Schengen Area (air and sea borders; land border controls are being phased in). Romanian citizens enjoy full EU freedom of movement.

Loss and Renunciation

Voluntary Renunciation

A Romanian citizen may renounce citizenship by submitting an application to the National Citizenship Authority (Article 26), provided:

The person holds or has been guaranteed the citizenship of another state.
The person is at least 18 years old.
The person does not have criminal proceedings or unpaid debts to the Romanian state.

Involuntary Loss

Ground	Details
Fraud	Citizenship obtained through false documents or fraudulent declarations may be revoked (Article 25).
Treason or acts against the state	A naturalized citizen (not a born citizen) who commits acts gravely prejudicial to Romania’s essential interests while abroad may have citizenship withdrawn.
No loss by foreign acquisition	Acquiring a foreign nationality does not cause loss of Romanian citizenship.

Restoration of Nationality

Romania’s Article 11 reacquisition (described above) is the primary restoration mechanism. It applies to:

Former citizens who lost citizenship before 22 December 1989 (fall of communism) for reasons not attributable to them.
Descendants of such persons.

Additionally, persons who previously renounced Romanian citizenship may apply for its reacquisition under the same Article 11 framework, subject to the same conditions (interview, clean record, no residency requirement).

Stateless Persons and Foundlings

Foundlings (Article 5(2)): A child found on Romanian territory whose parents are unknown is considered a Romanian citizen until proof to the contrary is established.

Stateless persons: Romania is party to both the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Stateless persons lawfully resident in Romania may naturalize with a reduced residency requirement, and stateless children born in Romania acquire citizenship at birth.

Document Checklist

Completed application form (from the National Citizenship Authority — ANC)

Valid passport or travel document

Birth certificate (apostilled, with certified Romanian translation)

Marriage certificate (if applicable)

Criminal record certificate (from Romania and all countries of residence in the past 5 years)

Proof of lawful residence in Romania (residence permit, domicile registration)

Proof of means of subsistence (employment contract, tax returns, business registration)

Two recent passport-sized photographs

Stamp duty payment (RON 103)

For Article 11 reacquisition: ancestor’s Romanian birth certificate, identity documents, or other archival proof of Romanian citizenship; genealogical documents linking applicant to the ancestor

Sources

Legea cetateniei romane nr. 21/1991 — Law on Romanian Citizenship, as amended. Full text: https://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/1849
Autoritatea Nationala pentru Cetatenie (National Citizenship Authority) — application portal. https://cetatenie.just.ro/
Constitution of Romania, Article 5. https://www.constitutiaromaniei.ro/
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania — embassy finder. https://www.mae.ro/en/romanian-missions
Ministry of Justice of Romania — citizenship legislation and policy. https://www.just.ro/

Romania.ro

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