Ways to Obtain Romanian Citizenship

Romanian citizenship is acquired through the following methods:

by birth
through adoption
by application

Acquisition of Romanian Citizenship by Birth

Children born on the territory of Romania to Romanian citizens are citizens of Romania.

Also, citizens of Romania are those who:

were born on the territory of Romania, even if only one of the parents is a Romanian citizen;
were born abroad, and both parents or one of them have Romanian citizenship.

A child found on the territory of Romania is considered a Romanian citizen if their parents are unknown.

Romanian citizenship is acquired by a child of foreign citizenship or statelessness through adoption, if the adopters are Romanian citizens and the adopted child is under 18 years of age.

Acquisition of Romanian citizenship by application on legal grounds

Romanian citizenship may be granted upon application to a stateless person or a foreign citizen, provided the following conditions are met:

was born and resides on the territory of Romania at the time of filing the application
despite not being born on this territory, has legally resided in Romania for at least 8 years,
if married and living with a Romanian citizen, at least 5 years from the date of marriage;
proves his conduct, actions and attitude of loyalty to the state of Romania and declares that he has not undertaken or supported, nor in the past undertaken or supported, actions against the rule of law or national security;
has reached 18 years of age;
has legal means of subsistence in Romania, in accordance with the legislation on the regime of foreigners;
is known for good conduct and has not been convicted in Romania or abroad for a crime that makes him/her unworthy of being a Romanian citizen;
knows the Romanian language and has basic knowledge of Romanian culture and civilization, sufficient for integration into social life;
knows the provisions of the Constitution of Romania and the national anthem.

Approval of applications for granting or reinstating Romanian citizenship is carried out by Government decision, which in this regard evaluates the proposals of the Minister of Justice.

Application for granting Romanian citizenship

is submitted in person or, in justified cases, through a representative with a special and notarized power of attorney (or a duly executed power of attorney, for example, at the consulate) and must be accompanied by documents confirming compliance with the legal conditions for submitting documents and obtaining Romanian citizenship.

The application for granting Romanian citizenship is sent to the commission for establishing the conditions for granting citizenship, which operates under the Ministry of Justice.

The commission orders, at the applicant’s expense, the publication of an excerpt from the application for granting Romanian citizenship in the Official Monitor of Romania.

The commission may review the application only after 30 days have elapsed from the date of its publication.

A person granted Romanian citizenship with the establishment of residence in the country shall, within 6 months, take the oath of allegiance to Romania before the Minister of Justice or a State Secretary specially delegated for this purpose.

A person who has obtained Romanian citizenship while maintaining their residence abroad takes the oath of allegiance before the head of the diplomatic mission or consular office of Romania in their country of residence.

Romanian citizenship is acquired from the date of taking the oath of allegiance to the Romanian state

After the oath is taken, the Minister of Justice or the head of the diplomatic mission or consular office issues to the person granted citizenship a certificate bearing the owner’s photograph. If minor children acquire citizenship together with their parents, they will be entered in the certificate.

Loss of Romanian citizenship

Romanian citizenship is lost in the following cases:

revocation of citizenship
approval of renunciation of citizenship
in other cases provided for by law