- Digital nomad visa
- Yes
Overall5.5/10Harder visas than about 55% of cities
Good to know
Good to Know
- Romania is a full Schengen member now, so time spent here counts toward — and is counted from — the same 90/180-day pool as time spent in France, Italy, Spain, etc. It is no longer a separate 'reset your clock' side-trip like it used to be before 2024/2025.
- If you're on the 90/180 Schengen clock and want to legally extend your time in Europe without a visa, non-Schengen European countries like the UK, Ireland, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, or Moldova don't count against your Romania/Schengen days.
- Overstaying even by a day or two is taken seriously post-EES (the EU's digital Entry/Exit System) — fines and multi-year entry bans are possible, so track your days carefully if you're stitching together a longer Europe trip around a Cluj-Napoca base.
- For stays beyond 90 days, you'll need a Romanian temporary residence permit (e.g. via a digital nomad visa route, if eligible) rather than relying on repeated visa-free entries.
- The income bar for this visa has climbed a lot since it launched in 2022 — by 2026 it sits close to RON 27,000-28,000/month (over €5,500), making Romania's digital nomad visa one of the pricier income thresholds among European nomad visa programs, despite the country's low cost of living.
- The tax exemption is genuinely attractive but conditional: stay under 183 days in a rolling 12-month period and you owe Romania nothing on foreign salary income; cross that line and you become a full Romanian tax resident on your worldwide income (flat 10% plus social contributions).
- EU/EEA/Swiss citizens don't need this visa at all — a simple registration certificate covers stays over 90 days for them, with far less paperwork.
- Fee and duration details differ noticeably between sources published at different times in 2025-2026 (e.g. €120 vs €300 application fee, 6-month vs 1-year initial permit) — always double-check current figures directly with your nearest Romanian embassy or the eVisa portal before applying.
- You cannot use this visa to take local Romanian clients or employment — your income must stay foreign-sourced throughout your stay.
Visa Free Entry
- Country
- Romania
- Baseline Rule
- Standard Schengen 90/180-day rule now applies to Romania for most non-EU nomads. Citizens of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and roughly 50+ other visa-exempt nationalities can enter and stay in Romania (and the wider Schengen Area, since stays now count together) for up to 90 days within any rolling 180-day period, without a visa.
- Who Qualifies
- Nationals of countries on the EU's visa-exemption list (Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806) — this includes most Western nomad-heavy passports (US, UK, Canada, Australia, NZ, Japan, South Korea, most of Latin America, etc.). EU/EEA/Swiss citizens have unrestricted freedom of movement and no day-limit at all. Citizens of some countries still require a visa to enter Romania even for short stays and should check Romania's national visa list before travel.
- Beyond 90 Days
- For any stay longer than 90 days, a temporary residence permit is required, and the application should be filed before the visa-free period expires (Romania's guidance suggests applying at least 30 days before the 90-day period runs out).
- Schengen Status
- Full Schengen member as of 2024–2025. Air and sea border checks with other Schengen states were lifted on 31 March 2024, and land border checks (with Hungary and Bulgaria) were lifted on 1 January 2025, completing full application of the Schengen acquis.
- Day Count Mechanics
- The 180-day window is rolling, not a fixed calendar quarter: on any given day, authorities look back 180 days and count how many days were spent in the Schengen Area (Romania included since it now counts as Schengen territory for this calculation). Entry and exit days each count as a full day in-country.
- Process For Qualifying Nomads
- No visa application, appointment, or fee is needed for a qualifying short stay. Requirements are simply: a passport valid for at least 3 months beyond the intended departure date and issued within the previous 10 years, and (if asked) proof of purpose/means of stay such as return tickets or accommodation booking. Entry is via passport control at the border; there is no special Romanian entry form for this baseline visa-free stay.
Upcoming Change ETIAS
- Visa fee
- RON 99
- Fee Note
- Fee is set EU-wide at €20; RON/USD figures are an approximate conversion since Romania uses the leu, not the euro.
- Description
- Starting later in 2026, most visa-exempt travelers will need to pre-register online via ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) before entering Romania and other Schengen/EU countries. This does not replace the 90/180 day limit — it is an added pre-travel screening step, similar to the US ESTA.
Digital Nomad Visa And Tax
- Visa Name
- Long-stay visa for digital nomads (D/AD), commonly called the Romania Digital Nomad Visa
- Legal Basis
- Law 22/2022 (established the visa category, amending the foreigners' regime ordinance), with tax treatment codified separately under Law 69/2023
- Who Needs It
- Only non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizens. EU/EEA/Swiss citizens do not need this visa; they can instead register for a simple residence certificate for stays over 3 months.
- Visa Ease Tier
- moderate
- Applies Nationally
- This is a national Romanian government program, not city-specific — identical rules apply whether basing in Cluj-Napoca, Bucharest, or elsewhere in Romania.
- Visa Ease Tier Rationale
- Romania offers 90-day visa-free Schengen entry plus a genuine digital nomad visa, but the high income threshold (~$6,300/month), extensive documentation, and rising fees add moderate complexity.
- Schengen Note
- Romania became a full Schengen member on 1 January 2025, so a Romanian residence permit now also enables visa-free travel of up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the wider Schengen area.
Tax Notes
- Annual Filing
- Tax residents must file an annual tax return by 25 May of the following year.
- Governing Law
- Law 69/2023 (published in the Official Gazette, 30 March 2023)
- Over 183 Days
- Once the 183-day threshold is crossed, the nomad becomes a Romanian tax resident, must register with ANAF within 30 days (via questionnaire Form 015), and their worldwide income becomes subject to a flat 10% personal income tax, plus social contributions that can add roughly 25% (pension/CAS) and 10% (health/CASS) on top for certain income types.
- Under 183 Days
- Digital nomad visa holders who stay under 183 days in any 12-month period are explicitly exempt from Romanian income tax and social insurance contributions (pension/CAS and health/CASS) on salary/consulting income earned from their foreign employer or clients. Income from Romanian sources (e.g. local rental income) is not covered by this exemption.
- Double Taxation
- Romania has double taxation treaties with over 80 countries (including the US, UK, and most EU states), which can offset or credit tax already paid abroad — but treaty mechanics vary by country and situation.
- Tax Residency Trigger Days
- 183 days within any consecutive 12-month period is the primary day-count trigger. Romania can also treat someone as tax resident earlier if their 'center of vital interests' (home, family, business, bank accounts) is in Romania, or if they are domiciled there with a permanent home and intent to stay long-term.
- Self Employed Note
- Some sources mention a favorable 1% tax regime for self-employed/sole proprietor structures registered locally, distinct from the digital nomad visa's own exemption — this needs case-by-case verification with a local accountant.
Documents Required
- Valid passport (valid at least 3 months from application date)
- Completed eVisa application form
- Proof of income meeting the threshold: bank statements/payslips covering the prior 6 months
- Employment contract, freelance contracts, or company registration/ownership documents proving remote work for a foreign entity
- Letter of intent explaining purpose of stay (often required with certified Romanian translation)
- Proof of accommodation in Romania (lease, hotel booking, or host letter) — minimum several months
- Private health insurance valid in Romania for the full stay (travel insurance is not accepted; must be long-term residency-grade cover)
- Clean criminal record certificate from country of residence/citizenship
- Documents not in Romanian or English typically require certified translation, and some embassies require notarization/apostille
Income Requirement
- Rule
- Minimum monthly income of 3x Romania's average gross monthly salary, a figure that is recalculated annually as the average salary rises
- Proof Period
- Must show this income level for each of the 6 months prior to applying
- Current 2026 Figure
- RON 27,816
- Note On Variance
- Older guides (dating to the visa's 2022 launch) still circulate a much lower figure of around 18,500 RON (~€3,700/month) — this is outdated; the true threshold rises each year and by 2026 sits close to RON 27,000-28,000/month.
Application Process
- Route
- Apply either online via the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs eVisa portal (evisa.mae.ro) or in person at a Romanian embassy/consulate; some sources note in-person/consulate submission only, so it is worth confirming with the specific embassy
- Timing
- Submit no earlier than 90 days and generally no later than 2 weeks before intended travel
- Entry Window
- Must enter Romania within 90 days of visa issuance, then apply for the temporary residence permit
- Processing Time
- Commonly cited as 10-14 business days online, though some sources report 30-45 days or up to the statutory limit of 60 days depending on consulate load and documentation completeness
Fees
- Visa Application Fee
- €300
Recent reporting indicates this rose from an earlier €120 fee to €300 as of an April 2026 change; some guides still quote the older €120 figure, so confirm current fee with the embassy
- Residence Permit Card Fee
- RON 259
- Additional Consular Fee On Arrival
- €120
Charged when applying for the residence permit after arrival, in addition to the RON card fee
Duration And Renewal
- Family
- Family members generally cannot be brought on the digital nomad residence permit itself, per some sources
- Renewal Path
- Renewable by applying before expiry as long as income and other requirements continue to be met; several sources cap total stay at 24 months (1 year + 1 renewal), while one source states permits can be renewed repeatedly up to a 3-year maximum — confirm current cap before relying on multi-year plans
- Initial Period
- Sources vary: some describe an initial 6-month residence permit tied to the 183-day tax-residency checkpoint, others describe a 1-year initial permit
- Path To Longer Residency
- No direct path to permanent residency/citizenship through the DNV alone, but time on it can count toward eventually transitioning to another residence basis; general routes require 5 years for permanent residency and 8 years for citizenship, with dual citizenship allowed
- Second Extension Requirement
- If extending beyond the initial 6-month/183-day mark, applicants must submit an income certificate from ANAF (Romanian tax authority)
Eligibility Core Conditions
- Employed by a company registered outside Romania, or own/manage a company registered abroad (some sources specify the foreign company must have been operating at least 3 years)
- Work is performed entirely remotely using information and communication technology
- No criminal record in home country or Romania; never previously denied entry to Romania
- Cannot take local employment with a Romanian company or enter contracts with Romanian companies during at least the first 6 months
- Income must originate from outside Romania
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
This section has no cited sources.
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.