Hiring in Romania after the 2026 immigration reform: what foreign companies need to know

TL;DR

• If you’re hiring Romanian citizens, or nationals of any other EU or EEA country, in Romania, nothing changes. Romania’s 2026 immigration reform, Government Emergency Ordinance (GEO) no. 32/2026, only covers non-EU nationals.
• It matters if you want a non-EU national, for example an engineer from India, Turkey or Brazil, to live and work in Romania for your company, where you don’t have a local entity.
• The filing employer must be based in Romania and registered on the new WorkInRomania.gov.ro platform. A company with no Romanian entity can’t file the application itself.
• That leaves two options: set up a Romanian entity or branch, or employ the worker through an Employer of Record (EOR) that is already registered for the right visa route.
• Most skilled tech hires are likely to fall under the D/AM1 route: the employer files directly, with no placement agency, no shortage-occupation list and no annual quota.
• Whoever is the legal employer also takes on new ongoing duties, including bilingual contracts and at least six months of Romanian-language courses for the worker.

The full detail of the reform, for anyone who needs it, is in the reference section further down.

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Does Romania’s immigration reform affect your hiring?

It depends on the nationality of the person you’re hiring and whether they already have the right to live and work in Romania. Find your scenario:

If you’re hiring…	Does the reform apply?	What it means for you
A Romanian citizen in Romania	No	Hire as normal, through your own entity or an EOR
An EU, EEA or Swiss national in Romania	No	EU free movement applies, so there’s no work visa or WorkInRomania step
A non-EU national who already holds a status such as long-term residence, a student permit or international protection	Usually not the registration step	The duty to register on WorkInRomania doesn’t apply to these statuses. Check the worker’s documents with your provider
A non-EU national you want to relocate to Romania, for example a skilled engineer	Yes	The legal employer must be based in Romania, registered on WorkInRomania, and file a single application for a D/AM1 or D/AM2 visa
A non-EU national already working in Romania for another employer	Yes	From 8 August 2026, workers with a right of stay granted under the old rules change employer under the new procedure
Someone who stays outside Romania and works for you remotely	No	Romanian immigration rules don’t apply. Hire them in their own country instead

If your scenario is in the first two rows, you can stop here. The rest of this article is for the non-EU cases.

Hiring a non-EU national in Romania without a Romanian entity

You can’t file the application yourself. The GEO defines the employer for these hires as a business with its registered office, work point or domicile in Romania, or the Romanian branch of a foreign company (art. 45 pt. 2, inserting art. 2(aa) into GEO no. 194/2002). Only that employer can register on WorkInRomania and submit the application.

Your two options

	Set up a Romanian entity or branch	Hire through an Employer of Record
Who is the legal employer	Your new Romanian company	The EOR’s registered Romanian entity
Before you can hire	Incorporate, then register on WorkInRomania. ANOFM decides within 30 working days	The EOR must already be registered for the route your hire needs
Track record needed	For D/AM2 hires, at least one year of actual activity in a compatible field, so a new entity can’t use that route straight away	Already held by the EOR’s entity, if it qualifies
Who carries the ongoing duties	You	The EOR, under the terms of its agreement
Best for	A long-term, larger team in Romania	One or a few hires, or testing the market

An Employer of Record (EOR) becomes the legal employer in Romania, and the person works for your company day to day. For the wider trade-offs, see our comparison of an EOR vs a local entity.

Which visa route your hire is likely to need

Most hires by tech and professional services companies are likely to sit on the simpler of the two routes:

• D/AM1 covers highly qualified workers and some other groups set by law, including citizens of Moldova, Ukraine and Serbia employed full time. The employer files directly, with no placement agency, no shortage-occupation list and no annual quota.
• D/AM2 covers permanent, seasonal and cross-border workers. The job must be on Romania’s List of Shortage Occupations, an annual quota applies (reported at 90,000 for 2026), and a Registered Employer must use a licensed placement agency.

Whether a particular candidate counts as highly qualified depends on the statutory criteria, so confirm the route with your provider before you make an offer.

How long it takes

Build the immigration step into your hiring timeline from the start:

1. Employer registration. If the legal employer isn’t yet registered, ANOFM approves or rejects registration within 30 working days. This step disappears if your EOR is already registered.
2. Single application. The employer submits one electronic application on WorkInRomania (the “cererea unică”). An application that fails the admissibility conditions is rejected outright, and that rejection can’t be contested, so the documents need to be right first time.
3. Visa and arrival. Once the application is approved, the long-stay D/AM1 or D/AM2 visa is issued, within the annual quota for D/AM2, and the worker travels to Romania.
4. Start date. The start is recorded in REGES-ONLINE, Romania’s register of employee records. Several ongoing duties count from this date.

What the legal employer must do once your hire starts

These duties fall on the legal employer, so with an EOR they sit with the provider. They still affect your hire and your costs:

• an employment contract in Romanian and in the worker’s language or another international language they understand (a Romanian-only contract carries a fine of RON 6,000 per contract)
• salary paid into the worker’s bank account
• health and safety training in a language the worker understands
• Romanian-language courses with cultural integration content, for at least six months and at least six hours a week
• notifying the authorities of unjustified absences of more than three working days, or the end of the contract, within five working days
• keeping copies of the worker’s documents and proof of compliance for at least five years after employment ends

The language courses are the duty most likely to affect your hire’s working week. Agree with your provider who arranges them, who pays, and whether they take place during working hours.

What to ask an Employer of Record before a non-EU hire in Romania

The GEO has no separate provisions for Employers of Record. What matters is the status of the entity that will be the legal employer. Ask the provider:

1. Is the entity that will employ my worker registered on WorkInRomania, and for which route, D/AM1 or D/AM2?
2. For D/AM2, do you hire through a licensed placement agency or hold Authorised Employer status, and which agency do you use?
3. Does my candidate meet the criteria for D/AM1, or will the shortage-occupation list and the annual quota apply?
4. How long will registration, the single application and the visa take, end to end?
5. Who arranges and pays for the Romanian-language courses, and do they happen during working hours?
6. Who handles the notifications and document retention, and where does the agreement say so?
7. Who bears any fines, and who carries the return costs if a D/AM2 employment ends?
8. What happens to my hire if your registration is suspended? Pending applications are paused during a suspension.

How Emerald helps

Emerald acts as the legal employer in 150+ countries and carries liability for its compliance obligations, covering payroll, tax, statutory contracts and termination, under the terms of its agreement. For Romania, that means you can hire Romanian and EU talent without setting up an entity, and get support with work visas for non-EU hires through Emerald’s immigration and visa services.

To check whether your candidate fits the D/AM1 route and how long the process will take, talk to an Emerald EOR specialist about hiring in Romania.

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The full reform explained

This section covers GEO no. 32/2026 in full, for HR, legal and mobility teams who need the detail.

What is Romania’s 2026 immigration reform?

Romania’s 2026 immigration reform is Government Emergency Ordinance (GEO) no. 32/2026, known in Romanian as OUG no. 32/2026. It was adopted on 23 April 2026 and published in the Official Gazette on 27 April 2026. It changes how work-related immigration status is obtained, and how Romanian employers hire, employ and monitor non-EU workers.

It also introduces a regulated regime for foreign-worker placement agencies. A placement agency is an authorised intermediary that arranges the placement of foreign workers with Romanian employers. It isn’t the worker’s employer: the employment relationship is directly between the Romanian employer and the worker.

What is changing?

GEO no. 32/2026 replaces the previous framework with a platform-based process, and repeals Title I of Government Ordinance no. 25/2014, the old regime (art. 55).

Area	What’s changing
Process	The previous work-authorisation process, followed by separate immigration stages, is replaced by one single application on WorkInRomania
Starting point	Employers register, or are authorised, on WorkInRomania before hiring a foreign national, so the immigration analysis moves ahead of candidate selection
Visa routes	Two new routes: D/AM1, filed by the employer, and D/AM2, filed by a placement agency or an Authorised Employer
Placement agencies	The ordinance’s preamble notes that placement activity had no specific regulatory framework. It is now authorised by ANOFM, backed by a financial guarantee, and supervised
Contracts and language	Mandatory framework models for placement contracts, and employment contracts in Romanian plus the worker’s language of origin or another international language the worker understands
After hiring	Duties that were spread across several acts are consolidated: notifications, document retention, complaint access and Romanian-language courses
Changing employer	Six months before a D/AM2 worker can initiate a change, then through the placement agency until two years have passed
Enforcement	New fines of up to RON 40,000 per breach tier, and suspension or removal of registrations and authorisations

Key dates

Date	What it means
23 April 2026	GEO no. 32/2026 adopted
27 April 2026	Published in the Official Gazette, Part I, issue no. 335
7 August 2026	Last day of the interim period, during which the new platform rules applied only to employer registration, agency authorisation and platform testing
8 August 2026	WorkInRomania becomes the sole interface for the employment process, and foreign nationals with a temporary right of stay for work granted under the previous rules can change employer under the new procedure (art. 51(1))

WorkInRomania: the central platform

WorkInRomania.gov.ro is the electronic platform through which the new procedures are managed. Employers must register on it, or be authorised on it, before hiring foreign nationals under the new framework. It connects employers, placement agencies and the authorities through three registers:

• the Register of Employers of Foreign Nationals (R.A.S.)
• the Register of Authorised Employers (R.A.A.)
• the Register of Foreign-Worker Placement Agencies (R.A.P.S.)

Registration isn’t automatic. The National Employment Agency (ANOFM) approves or rejects each application within 30 working days. Legal-entity employers must have no outstanding obligations to the state budget and, except for D/AM1 hires, at least one year of actual activity in a field compatible with the shortage occupations. The duty to register doesn’t apply to employers hiring foreign nationals who already hold certain statuses, such as long-term residents, students and beneficiaries of international protection.

D/AM1 vs D/AM2

The two employment visa routes decide who files the application and whether a placement agency is needed.

D/AM1 is primarily intended for highly qualified workers and several other categories set by law: staff carrying out projects requested by central public authorities, teaching and research staff in state higher education institutions, professional athletes, and citizens of Moldova, Ukraine and Serbia employed full time. The employer submits the single application directly through WorkInRomania, so a placement agency is not mandatory.

D/AM2 applies to permanent, seasonal and cross-border workers who meet the corresponding statutory conditions. The occupation must be on Romania’s List of Shortage Occupations. D/AM2 visas are subject to an annual quota of newly admitted foreign workers and are issued only while it isn’t exhausted. The 2026 quota is set by Government Decision no. 1.169/2025 (art. 53), and Romanian media report it at 90,000 workers, 10,000 fewer than in 2025.

A D/AM2 hire depends on the employer’s status. A Registered Employer, registered on WorkInRomania and entered in R.A.S., must use an authorised placement agency. An Authorised Employer, which has obtained additional authorisation and met extra eligibility, operational and compliance requirements, including a financial guarantee, can hire D/AM2 workers directly.

	D/AM1	D/AM2
Typical scope	Highly qualified workers and other categories set by law	Permanent, seasonal and cross-border workers
Who submits the application	The employer	An authorised placement agency for a Registered Employer, or the Authorised Employer directly
Placement agency mandatory	No	Yes for a Registered Employer; no for an Authorised Employer
Shortage occupation list	Not a condition for the route	Required
Annual quota	No	Yes

To work out which route applies, take these questions in order:

1. Is the worker highly qualified, or in another category set by law? If yes, D/AM1 applies: the employer registers on WorkInRomania and files directly.
2. Is the worker a permanent, seasonal or cross-border worker? If yes, D/AM2 applies: check the occupation is on the shortage list and the quota isn’t exhausted.
3. For D/AM2, is the employer an Authorised Employer? If yes, it can hire directly. A Registered Employer must use an authorised placement agency.

The single application

The reform introduces the single application, the “cererea unică”. Instead of a work authorisation followed by separate immigration stages, key information and documents go into one electronic process on WorkInRomania. If an application doesn’t meet the admissibility conditions, it is rejected without the remaining conditions being checked, and that rejection can’t be contested.

What it takes to become an Authorised Employer

An Authorised Employer is a legal entity authorised by ANOFM to hire D/AM2 workers directly, without a placement agency. It must meet all of these conditions:

• no outstanding obligations to the state budget, and no tax, accounting, customs or financial-discipline offences in the fiscal record
• at least 24 months of uninterrupted, actual activity in a field compatible with the shortage occupation concerned
• an average of at least 50 employees in the year before the application
• no more than 20% of the foreign workers employed in the previous year without a valid right of stay or long-stay visa at the time of application
• no health and safety fines or undeclared-work sanctions in the previous 24 months
• no relevant final convictions for the employer or its representatives, and no national security or money-laundering risk flags
• a financial guarantee covering the number of foreign workers for which authorisation is requested

The guarantee is EUR 1,000 per foreign worker, calculated in lei at the National Bank of Romania rate, lodged with the State Treasury or provided as a bank guarantee letter from a Romanian bank. It covers return costs and the cost of supporting workers in vulnerable situations, and can be used to pay unpaid fines. If it is drawn on, the employer must restore it within 30 days, or its authorisation can be suspended.

ANOFM decides within 15 working days. An Authorised Employer can hire only for shortage-list occupations, can’t hire foreign workers for the benefit of other employers, and is fully responsible for the lawfulness of the hiring, including the ban on charging workers commissions, fees or deposits.

How placement agencies are regulated

GEO no. 32/2026 introduces an authorisation framework for companies providing foreign-worker placement services. It matters mainly for the D/AM2 route; placement agencies aren’t required for every case. The agency is an intermediary and compliance participant, and never becomes the worker’s employer.

Authorisation and financial guarantees

A placement agency needs specific authorisation from ANOFM. It can place workers only in occupations on the List of Shortage Occupations, based on firm job offers from Registered Employers with at least one year of actual activity in a compatible field.

Before authorisation, the agency must lodge a financial guarantee with the State Treasury or as a bank guarantee letter from a Romanian bank:

• EUR 75,000 for up to 250 foreign workers placed
• an additional EUR 50,000 for each additional group of 250 workers

Authorisation is valid for two years and can be renewed for successive two-year periods, subject to continued compliance.

Worker protections and mandatory contracts

The Romanian employer pays for placement services. The agency can’t charge placed workers commissions, placement or hiring fees, or other charges, and can’t ask them for a guarantee or deposit. Visa, travel and accommodation costs fall on the worker unless the employer’s firm job offer provides otherwise.

Under Ministerial Order no. 655/2026, published in the Official Gazette on 11 June 2026, mandatory framework models were adopted for:

• the services contract between the placement agency and the Romanian employer
• the placement contract between the agency, the employer and the foreign worker
• the individual employment contract between the Romanian employer and the foreign worker

The placement contract must give the worker contact details for the Labour Inspectorate, the General Inspectorate for Immigration, the Police, the National Agency against Trafficking in Persons and ANOFM. Documents involving the worker must be in Romanian and, as applicable, in the worker’s language of origin or another international language they understand.

Responsibilities after placement

For two years from the start of the worker’s activity, as recorded in REGES-ONLINE, the agency must notify the authorities of any breach of the conditions for the worker’s right of stay and work within three working days, and report unjustified absences of more than three consecutive working days. It must also confirm the worker holds the required documents before arrival, organise transport, and advise the worker on returning home.

If a D/AM2 employment ends in the circumstances the law sets out, the placement agency must make diligent efforts to present the worker with at least two alternative job offers in shortage occupations during the 90-day period in which the person may remain legally in Romania. If no new employer is found within that period, the agency bears the cost of the worker’s return to the country of origin where its efforts didn’t succeed.

An Authorised Employer that hired the worker directly has a different duty: it must identify the worker and put them in contact with a placement agency so they can be employed by another employer. If the worker refuses, the refusal is recorded in writing and the employer notifies the General Inspectorate for Immigration and ANOFM. If no new employer is found within the 90 days, the Authorised Employer bears the return costs (art. 40(6)(b) and (7)).

Changing employer

A D/AM2 worker can’t initiate a change of employer during the first six months from the start of activity in Romania, except where the employer has committed serious breaches of the contract or the conditions of employment. After that, a worker placed through an agency can change employer only through that agency until two years have passed from the start of activity. If the agency’s authorisation is withdrawn or ends, the worker can change employer under the general rules for permit holders.

Ongoing obligations for employers and agencies

The reform substantially increases responsibilities during the employment relationship. The table shows who carries each duty under the GEO, and when.

Obligation	Who it falls on	Timing	Article
Pay salary into the worker’s bank account	Employer	Ongoing	Art. 7(1)(a)
Conclude the employment contract in Romanian and in the worker’s language of origin or another international language the worker understands	Employer	At hiring	Art. 7(1)(b)
Provide health and safety training in a language the worker understands, and supply protective equipment	Employer	Before and during work	Art. 7(1)(d)
Notify the placement agency and the General Inspectorate for Immigration of an unjustified absence of more than three consecutive working days, the end of the contract, or a worker in danger or being exploited	Employer	Within five working days	Art. 7(1)(e)
Make employment documents, payment records and contracts available to inspectors	Employer	On request	Art. 7(1)(f)
Provide Romanian-language courses with cultural and social integration elements	Employer	At least six months, at least six hours a week	Art. 7(1)(g)
Give workers confidential access to complaint and abuse-reporting procedures, including through the platform	Employer	Ongoing	Art. 7(1)(h)
Keep a copy of the travel document or residence permit, and proof of compliance with these duties	Employer	At least five years after employment ends	Art. 7(1)(i)
Notify the authorities of any breach of the conditions for the worker’s right of stay and work	Placement agency	Within three working days	Art. 39(1)(j)
Present at least two alternative job offers when a D/AM2 employment ends	Placement agency	Within the 90-day period	Art. 40(6)(a)
Identify the worker and put them in contact with a placement agency when a D/AM2 employment ends, and notify the General Inspectorate for Immigration and ANOFM if the worker refuses	Authorised Employer	Within the 90-day period	Art. 40(6)(b)
Bear the worker’s return costs if no new employer is found	Placement agency, or the Authorised Employer where it hired directly	After the 90-day period	Art. 40(7)
Restore the financial guarantee after it is drawn on	Placement agency or Authorised Employer	Within 30 days	Art. 14(8), art. 26(9)

For D/AM2 placements, several of the employer’s duties also involve ongoing communication with the placement agency. Where the employer provides accommodation and charges rent, the rent can’t exceed 25% of the worker’s net pay.

The Romanian-language courses must run for at least six months from the start of activity as recorded in REGES-ONLINE, for at least six hours a week. The employer can organise them directly, through accredited providers, or with public institutions, NGOs, international organisations or educational institutions.

Penalties for non-compliance

The exposure sits in three places: the financial guarantee (EUR 1,000 per worker for an Authorised Employer, from EUR 75,000 for an agency), the fines below, and the loss of the ability to hire while a registration or authorisation is suspended.

Fine	Breach
RON 5,000–10,000 per placed foreign worker, as applicable	Failing duties on salary payment, bilingual contracts, health and safety training, Romanian-language courses or complaint access
RON 15,000–20,000	Hiring foreign nationals without being registered or authorised
RON 15,000–30,000	Failing to notify absences, terminations or danger within five working days; failing to give inspectors documents; failing to retain documents
RON 25,000–40,000	Charging workers fees or deposits, or carrying out placement without authorisation
RON 6,000 per contract	An employment contract with a foreign employee concluded only in Romanian

Enforcement also includes a six-month suspension of an employer’s registration, during which it can’t upload new firm job offers and its pending single applications are paused. Authorised Employers can lose the right to apply for a new authorisation for six to 36 months, or indefinitely where workers were exploited. Placement agencies face suspension and withdrawal of authorisation, and their guarantee can be paid to the state budget in the cases the law sets out.

Appealing a decision

Registration, suspension and removal decisions can be contested with ANOFM within 30 days of notification. ANOFM must resolve the contestation within 45 days of registering it, and the decision can then be challenged in the administrative courts. A court action doesn’t automatically suspend the measure.

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Frequently asked questions

Does Romania’s 2026 immigration reform affect hiring Romanian citizens?

No. GEO no. 32/2026 only covers non-EU nationals. Hiring Romanian citizens, or nationals of other EU or EEA countries, in Romania works as before.

Can a company with no Romanian entity hire a non-EU worker in Romania?

Not by filing the application itself. The employer must have its registered office, work point or domicile in Romania, or be the Romanian branch of a foreign company. A company without a Romanian presence can set up an entity or branch, or employ the worker through an Employer of Record that is registered on WorkInRomania for the route required.

Which visa route will a skilled tech hire need?

Usually D/AM1, if the worker meets the criteria for a highly qualified worker. The employer files directly, with no placement agency, no shortage-occupation list and no annual quota. Confirm the route with your provider before making an offer.

How long does it take to hire a non-EU worker in Romania?

If the legal employer isn’t yet registered on WorkInRomania, registration alone can take up to 30 working days. The single application and visa follow. Using an EOR that is already registered removes the registration step.

Do I need a placement agency?

Not for D/AM1: the employer files directly. For D/AM2, a Registered Employer must use an authorised placement agency, while an Authorised Employer can hire directly.

What is the 2026 quota for non-EU workers in Romania?

D/AM2 visas are issued only while the annual quota isn’t exhausted. The 2026 quota is set by Government Decision no. 1.169/2025, and Romanian media report it at 90,000 workers. D/AM1 hires aren’t subject to the quota.

What is the “cererea unică”?

It is the single application: one electronic process on WorkInRomania that consolidates employment, immigration and compliance information. It replaces the previous work authorisation followed by separate immigration stages.

Do employers have to provide Romanian-language courses?

Yes. The courses must include cultural and social integration elements, run for at least six months from the start of activity as recorded in REGES-ONLINE, and take at least six hours a week.

What happens if a D/AM2 worker’s employment ends?

The placement agency must make diligent efforts to present the worker with at least two alternative job offers in shortage occupations during the 90-day period. An Authorised Employer that hired the worker directly must instead put them in contact with a placement agency. If no new employer is found, the agency, or the Authorised Employer, bears the worker’s return costs.

How do employers appeal a decision under the new system?

Contest it with ANOFM within 30 days of being notified. ANOFM must resolve the contestation within 45 days, and the decision can then be challenged in the administrative courts.

Before you hire a non-EU worker in Romania

1. Check the candidate’s nationality and any existing Romanian status. EU and EEA nationals are outside the reform.
2. Decide whether you’ll set up a Romanian entity or hire through an EOR.
3. Confirm the legal employer is registered on WorkInRomania for the route you need.
4. Confirm whether the candidate qualifies for D/AM1, or whether D/AM2, the shortage list and the quota apply.
5. Build registration, the single application and the visa into your start date.
6. Agree who delivers the language courses, notifications and document retention.

We’ve turned these checks into a free one-page Romania employer readiness checklist you can use with your HR and legal teams.

Download the Romania employer readiness checklist →

For wider background, read our Romania hiring guide, or talk to an Emerald EOR specialist about hiring in Romania.

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This article gives a general overview of the Romanian immigration framework as set out in GEO no. 32/2026, published on 27 April 2026, for information only. It isn’t legal advice. Individual cases depend on the immigration category, the employer’s status and the foreign national’s circumstances.

Sources: OUG no. 32/2026 – Romanian legislation portal · WorkInRomania – official platform · Ministerial Order no. 655/2026 of the Minister of Labour, Official Gazette, Part I, no. 484 of 11 June 2026 · Kinstellar on the new conditions for hiring foreign workers · Europa Liberă on the 2026 quota · France Immigration on WorkInRomania