UK citizens migration to Romania after Brexit

If you want to move to Romania from the UK, our team can assist you with the needed applications, as well as during the mandatory submissions in front of the Romanian authorities.

A British citizen relocating to Romania after Brexit will need a long-term stay visa to remain in the country for more than 90 days in any given period of 180 days. For this purpose, the UK national will also apply for a residence permit in Romania, by personally submitting a set of documents to the General Inspectorate for Immigration.

Our immigration lawyer in Romania can answer your questions and provide you with fully personalized answers, depending on your purpose for relocation – be it as an intra-company transferee, as an investor, a student, or as a UK national reuniting with family members in Bucharest.

Types of long-term visas for UK nationals living in Romania

The first step if you want to immigrate to Romania is to apply for and obtain a long-term visa that serves for temporary residence purposes, according to your reason to relocate to the country.  These are issued for study, employment (including intra-company transfers), business, or family reunification. We present a short list below:

• – economic and commercial activities: for British investors, those who intend to enter the country to engage in various economic and commercial activities;
• – professional activities: for individuals who will engage in liberal professions in Romania, for self-employed individuals;
• – employment: for British citizens who have taken up employment in Romania, and have signed an employment agreement;
• – detachment: for UK nationals who are the intra-company transferees of a UK-based legal entity that is doing business in Romania;
• – study: for UK students who have been admitted to a Romanian University; please note that this type of temporary residency cannot lead to permanent residency; our experts in immigration to Romania can give you more details;
• – family reunification: the spouse, children and/or other family members of a British national who is already a lawful Romanian resident can apply for this type of visa and move to Romania from the UK; conditions apply;
• – other purposes: a long-term visa type D can also be issued for scientific research purposes, or for religious activities.

UK citizens who have entered the country based on a long-term stay visa can reach out to us for more information about how and when they are required to apply for a resident permit for Romania. This document is mandatory for all foreign nationals who remain in the country for long-term purposes and it is obtained from the immigration authorities that govern the area in which one has his or her declared domicile.

If you want to relocate to Romania from the UK, you can read below several important details about the temporary residence permit, as presented by our immigration lawyer in Romania:

• – temporary residence permits are issued to foreign nationals who obtain a long-stay visa type D for Romania;
• – the permit is issued within 39-45 days after making the necessary submission to the Romanian authorities and it is valid for 1 year or more (depending on the purpose of stay);
• – the temporary residence permit is issued according to a pre-defined purpose of stay, and requires documents that attest to this specific purpose;
• – a UK national who will immigrate to Romania from the UK for employment purposes will receive a single permit, allowing him or her to work and reside in the country for the duration of the employment agreement (subject to renewal, as may be the case).

Move to Romania permanently

British citizens who move to Romania from UK and intend to make their stay permanent can apply for a permanent residence permit under the following conditions:

• – they have resided in the country lawfully and continuous for 5 years prior to submitting their request;
• – during this time, they did not leave the country for more than 6 consecutive months or 10 months in total; those who relocate to Romania from the UK and leave the country for work purposes should be able to justify their exit from the country;
• – this period is reduced by half for those who are under international protection and who are married to a Romanian citizen (for at least 5 year).

In addition to proving their lawful and minimum stay, British nationals who immigrate to Romania from the UK and wish to obtain permanent residence will need to provide proof of the following:

• – minimum income in Romania, according to country’s minimum wage at the time of the application;
• – social security contribution;
• – lawful ownership/lease of the living space;
• – satisfactory Romanian language knowledge
• – the applicant is not a risk to the public order/national security.

UK citizens who relocate to Romania and remain in the country for at least eight years can qualify for citizenship in Romania. For those who have married a Romanian citizen during this time, the application period will be shorter. Our team can give you complete details about the naturalization process which is based not only on a minimum stay, but also on adequate Romanian language knowledge, among others.

If you are an UK immigrant in Romania, do not hesitate to contact our lawyers in Bucharest whenever you need information about residence permit extensions, renewals, or changing the residence permit type. We can also assist you if you are interested in applying for citizenship by naturalization.