Self-Employed Visa in Romania

A self-employed visa for Romania (also searched as a freelance visa, freelancer visa or entrepreneur visa) is, under Romanian law, one of two long-stay visas: the visa for commercial activities (viză de lungă ședere pentru activități comerciale, marked D/AC), for a founder or shareholder who manages a Romanian company, and the visa for professional activities (activități profesionale, marked D/AP), for regulated professions such as doctors or architects. After arrival, the holder applies for a residence permit (permis de ședere) at the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI).

Who it is for

• Non-EU entrepreneurs who want to run their own business in Romania through a limited company (SRL).
• Members of a liberal profession who are authorised to practise in Romania under the rules of their professional body.
• Not EU, EEA or Swiss citizens: they need no visa, register their business and then their residence.
• Not the short-stay business visa for meetings and trips, which many searches for a Romania business visa are really about.

From company to residence permit

1. The company is set up and registered with the Trade Register (Oficiul Național al Registrului Comerțului, ONRC).
2. For the D/AC visa, a business plan showing the investment and the jobs it will create is submitted for approval to the competent public authority.
3. The visa is requested at a Romanian consulate with the approval, proof of funds, a criminal record certificate, health insurance and proof of accommodation.
4. In Romania, IGI issues the residence permit, which is renewed while the business plan is being carried out.

What to watch for

• Investment levels, the number of jobs and even the approving authority have changed over time. The rules have changed more than once; a lawyer confirms the current ones.
• Registering as an authorised self-employed person (persoană fizică autorizată, PFA) is common among Romanians and EU citizens; whether a PFA on its own supports a residence permit for a non-EU national is a question for a lawyer.
• Remote workers employed by a foreign company may look at the separate digital nomad route instead.
• The company stays active and keeps its filings with ANAF, the tax authority, up to date, since this is looked at when the permit is renewed.

What a lawyer does

An English-speaking lawyer compares the routes, handles the business set-up and any business licence, prepares the business plan file, obtains a criminal record certificate and follows the visa and the IGI permit. For a family, the lawyer plans a family reunification visa; a partner from the EU registers through the EU registration certificate.

Questions and answers

Does Romania have a freelance visa?

Not under that name. Freelancers from outside the EU usually work through a Romanian company with the D/AC visa or, in a regulated profession, with the D/AP visa.

Is there a startup or entrepreneur visa in Romania?

The visa for commercial activities plays that role: it rests on a business plan and an investment in a Romanian company.

Can the company be set up before the move?

Yes. A Romanian company can be formed from abroad, often by a lawyer acting under a power of attorney, and the visa file is then built on it.

Can my family come with me?

Once the residence permit is issued, the holder can usually sponsor a spouse and children through family reunification.