Working in Romania: Work Visa & Permit Guide for Foreign Workers (2026)

How work permits in Romania work

Most non-EU hiring runs through the work permit (aviz de angajare): the Romanian employer obtains it from the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI), the worker then gets a long-stay employment visa (viză de lungă ședere pentru angajare, type D/AM) at a Romanian consulate within 60 days, and after arrival applies to IGI for a residence permit (permis de ședere) within 30 days.

The authority you ultimately deal with is the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI). Romania sets an annual work-permit quota by government decision — 100,000 for 2025, reduced to 90,000 for 2026. Once the quota is used up, no further permits are issued until the next year opens.

The routes, and the EU Blue Card

Beyond the standard national work permit, highly-qualified workers can use the EU Blue Card. In Romania the Blue Card salary floor is among the EU's lowest — roughly €20,800 gross/year (2025), reduced to about the national average gross salary; confirm the current figure with IGI.

Romania has no general job-seeker visa, so in almost all cases you need a signed job offer before the permit process can start.

For lower-skilled seasonal work: seasonal work in agriculture and hospitality (HoReCa) is available, with the seasonal permit sitting inside the annual quota.

Salary, language and recognising your qualifications

• Salary: the Blue Card floor is among the EU's lowest — roughly €20,800 gross/year (2025), reduced to about the national average gross salary; confirm the current figure with IGI.
• Language: romanian; no formal language test for the work permit or EU Blue Card, though Romanian is expected in most workplaces.
• Qualifications: there is no automatic EU-wide recognition — get your degree or diploma assessed through CNRED — National Centre for Recognition and Equivalence of Diplomas, and formally recognised before working in a regulated profession. Start early; it is often the hidden bottleneck.

Which jobs hire foreign workers in Romania

The sectors that actually recruit non-EU workers in Romania are construction, hospitality (horeca), transport & logistics (drivers), manufacturing & warehousing and agriculture. Typical end-to-end timing: the aviz de angajare typically takes ~30–60 days; then the D/AM visa (a few weeks) and the residence permit after arrival. End-to-end is often 2–4 months, subject to quota availability.