A visa is a document that enables the holder to arrive at any Romanian border post, in order to require a transit through, or, depending on the case, a short-stay on the Romanian territory. The border post officers will demand aliens to make the proof of the fulfillment of the general conditions of entry and stay on the Romanian territory, as provided by law. Should the conditions provided for, not be fulfilled, aliens will be forbidden to enter the Romanian territory, despite the fact that they might have previously obtained a Romanian visa.

According to the provisions of GO 194/2002 concerning the regime of aliens in Romania, republished with all the subsequent amendments and completions, the Romanian visa is granted by the Romanian diplomatic missions and consular posts abroad.

Types of visas granted and issued by the Romanian state:

1. The airport transit visa (identified through the letter A): it allows the access of aliens into the international area of an airport, as well as their pending on the premises of the airport, until their access is allowed on board of the plane heading towards the country of destination;
2. The transit visa (identified through the letter B): it allows the access of aliens on the territory of Romania, for the purpose of transit, throughout a period of maximum 5 days;
3. The short-stay visa (identified through the letter C): it allows the entry and the short residence of aliens on the territory of Romania for a period of 90 days within an interval of maximum 6 months from the date of entry (in the case of a multiple-entry visa, the period of residence will be taken into account starting with the date of the first entry). The Romanian short-stay visa is granted for the following purposes: for an official government mission, for tourism, business, private visit, transportation, partaking in sports activities, as well as cultural scientific or academic events. In the case of a holder of a short-stay visa, the stay right cannot under any circumstances be prolonged.  
4. The long-stay visa (identified through the letter D): it allows the entry and residence of aliens on the territory of Romania, for a period of maximum 90 days, intended for the following purposes: economic activities, professional activities, commercial activities (such as investments), religious or humanitarian activities, work, studying, family reunification, as well as research. The residence right implied by the long-stay visa is of 90 days, however, this type of visa allows for its prolongation by means of an official request addressed to the Romanian Office for Immigration, from the structure of the Romanian Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform. The requests for the prolongation of the right of residence must be personally submitted by the applicants, at the local branch-offices of the Romanian Office for Immigration closest to their place of residence, within at least 30 days before the stay right granted by the visa, expires. Should this term become outdated, it imminently makes the visa obsolete and triggers the obligation of leaving the territory of Romania.

Short-stay and transit visas can be exceptionally granted by border post officers, at the Romanian border posts, according to the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) no. 415/2003, on the issue of visas at the border, including the issue of such visas to seamen in transit, published in the Official Journal of the European Union L/64 from the 7^th of March 2003 and also, according to the provisions of Regulation (EC) no. 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (The Schengen Border Code), from March 15^th , 2006, published in the Official Journal of the European Union L/105 from April 13^th, 2006.

The right of residence on the territory of Romania, granted to aliens by means of the short-stay visa, cannot under any circumstances be prolonged.

The purpose of the trip initially requested by aliens and hence granted to them by means of the short-stay visa, cannot be altered and modified throughout the period of their stay on the territory of Romania.

The long-stay visa inherently grants aliens that have entered the territory of Romania, the right to apply for the prolongation of the right of temporary residence and to obtain a residence permit. The request filed in this respect, must be addressed to the Romanian Office for Immigration, from the structure of the Romanian Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform.

Besides filling in the visa application form, aliens who wish to apply for a Romanian visa must as well submit the following documents: a valid travel document, acknowledged by the state of Romania and that fulfills the formal conditions for affixing the visa sticker. Similarly, aliens must submit all the supporting documents provided by law, as it follows: documents that attest the stated purpose of the trip, the period of stay, the demanded financial means, as well as the means necessary for the aliens’ return to their home country, or the continuation of the trip towards a third state, upon the end of their stay in Romania.

FAQs - For more detailed information, please access the following links:

1. Do I need a visa in order to come to Romania? The conditions of travelling to Romania

2. How is the Romanian short-stay visa granted and what documents do I need if I hold the nationality of one of the states  whose citizens DO NOT need a invitation approved in prior, by the Romanian Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform / the Romanian Office for Immigration? 

3. How is the Romanian short-stay visa granted and what documents do I need if I hold the nationality of one of the states whose citizens DO IMPERATIVELY NEED an invitation approved in prior, by the Romanian Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform / the Romanian Office for Immigration? 

4. Are you a citizen of: the Russian Federation, Albania, the Republic of Moldavia, the Ukraine, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro? You can benefit from facilities upon requesting a Romanian short-stay visa!

5. How is the Romanian long-stay visa granted?

6. Where should I apply for a Romanian visa?

7. Visa application forms

8. Visa handling fees