When the short-stay visa is conditional on an invitation

If you have a simple passport, you can obtain a short-stay visa with one or more trips if you present to the diplomatic missions or consular offices a written invitation (model here), endorsed by the General Inspectorate for Immigration, from a natural or legal person in Romania .

The invitation, accompanied by a series of documents, depending on the purpose, is picked up, completed in two copies and submitted to the headquarters of the territorial formations of the General Inspectorate for Immigration, for approval. Consult the list of documents necessary to endorse the invitation depending on the purpose of coming to Romania: visit, tourism, business.

Invitations shall be approved within 45 days of the date of submission, with the possibility of extending the period by 15 days in justified cases.

For foreigners who are to come to Romania for tourism purposes, in organized groups of at least 20 people, at the request of companies regulated by Law no. 31/1990, republished, with subsequent amendments and completions, members of the National Association of Travel Agencies from Romania, the approval of the invitations is made within 30 days from the date of submission.

In case of approval, a copy of the invitation will be handed to the invitee, who will send it to you. You will present the invitation, in original, to the diplomatic mission or to the consular office, accompanied by the other documents, for obtaining the Romanian visa. You must apply for a visa within 30 days of approval of the invitation, otherwise it will lose its validity.

The guest, natural or legal person will bear the expenses occasioned by the removal from the territory of Romania of the invited foreigners. The invitation constitutes an enforceable title in case the invited foreigner does not leave Romania until the date on which the right of residence established by visa ends.

Exceptions for short-stay visas

There are certain situations when you no longer need an invitation endorsed by the General Inspectorate for Immigration to obtain a short-stay visa, in which case you apply for a visa from diplomatic missions or consular offices with a notarized invitation. (See exceptions to the invitation procedure).

In order to approve a short-stay visa, the National Visa Center requests the approval of the General Inspectorate for Immigration, thus increasing the term for granting the visa. The General Inspectorate for Immigration issues the approval for the short-stay visa within 7 working days from the date of receipt of the application, and in duly justified situations the term may be extended by another 7 working days. However, there are also situations in which this opinion is no longer needed. (See the list of exceptions to the I.G.I. opinion).

If you are a citizen of the states whose nationals need a visa (see list) you can enter Romania without a visa if you find yourself in one of the following situations:

• - are holders of uniform visas (with two or more journeys), visas with limited territorial validity, long-stay visas or residence permits issued by the Schengen Member States, as well as short-stay or long-stay visas and permits issued by Bulgaria, Cyprus and Croatia - for transit and stays not exceeding 90 days in duration during any 180-day period preceding each day of stay in Romania, if the documents presented are valid, and the number of entries and the duration of the authorized stay have not been exhausted. The right of residence on the territory of Romania may not exceed the right of residence conferred by the respective visas / residence permits.
• - hold a valid long-term residence permit issued by an EU Member State - for an uninterrupted stay or for several stays the total duration of which does not exceed 90 days during any period of 180 days prior to each day of stay on the territory of Romania; You can calculate your right of residence by using the computer provided by the European Commission.
• - you are the holder of a small traffic permit, issued in accordance with the O.U.G. no. 194/2002 on the regime of aliens in Romania and Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EC) no. 1931/2006 of 20 December 2006 laying down rules on small border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States and amending the Schengen Convention, provided that you exercise your right of movement in accordance with the low border traffic regime .
• - you are the holder of travel documents with a red or blue cover, issued by the United Nations, except for those with a blue cover and the numerical series preceded by the letter A - for an uninterrupted stay or more

For foreign nationals who intend to come to Romania and remain in the country for purposes that are not short-term, but focus on medium to long-term stays, our team is also able to provide details on the procedure to acquire Romanian citizenship by application. This is based on the naturalization of the foreign national and application is possible after at least eight years in the country (less in some cases).