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Pathway

Romania Skilled Worker Residence Card

Romania Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

Romania's EU Blue Card lets highly qualified workers who are not EU, EEA, or Swiss citizens live there for a full-time job with an eligible Romanian employer. You need the required qualifications or experience and pay at least equal to Romania's current average gross earnings benchmark.

Job offer required?
Yes; highly qualified full-time work for at least six months
Qualifications
Recognized higher education or accepted professional experience, plus any required Romanian professional license
Salary
At least the national average gross earnings benchmark: RON 9,192 monthly from March 30, 2026

Summary

Romania’s EU Blue Card lets a qualifying highly skilled worker live and work in the country. The employer starts the D/AM1 application through WorkinRomania. The contract, qualifications, and pay must meet the Blue Card rules. This differs from ordinary worker recruitment, so the employer should establish the correct procedure before filing.

The new-case sequence begins with the employer’s D/AM1 filing
  1. Confirm the applicable filing channel Check platform availability and whether an existing case falls under transitional rules.
  2. Employer submits the qualifying employment case Provide the contract, recruitment, qualification, and personal evidence.
  3. Complete consular and post-arrival stages Follow the visa instructions, then apply for the Blue Card after arrival.

Check current WorkinRomania access before relying on the timetable. A qualifying job and employer process are essential.

Could this pathway work for you?

Eligibility

EEA means the EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

The employer must offer highly qualified, full-time employment lasting at least six months. Under the D/AM1 rules, the employer generally must show that it tried to fill the vacancy with a Romanian, EU/EEA/Swiss citizen, or Romanian long-term resident, unless a legal exemption applies.

The worker must meet the following core conditions:

Foreign diplomas may need formal recognition by the Romanian education authority. Experience-based qualification is technical and occupation-specific; an employer should not assume that a résumé can always replace a degree.

The salary threshold is not the Romanian minimum wage. It is the higher “average gross earnings” reference. CNPP states that the 2026 benchmark became RON 9,192 on 30 March 2026. The contract must maintain at least the benchmark that the IGI applies to the case.

There is also a mobility route for someone who already holds an EU Blue Card from another participating country. After 12 months of legal residence in the first member state—or after six months in a second member state—the holder may enter Romania for highly qualified work and apply for a Romanian Blue Card within one month, subject to a qualifying Romanian contract and documents. Short-term business mobility for up to 90 days in 180 is governed by separate rules.

More about this route

For a new application from abroad, the employer submits a single D/AM1 application through WorkinRomania.gov.ro. The worker then completes the consular visa process and applies for the Blue Card after arrival. Older work-authorization cases may follow transitional rules.

On September 15, 2026, IGI temporarily disabled employer-registration, employer-authorization, and D/AM2 application functions following a court ruling. Other functions remain available. A new employer should confirm that it can complete the steps needed for a D/AM1 case before setting a start date.

The employment contract must be full time and either indefinite or fixed for at least six months. The salary must be at least the Romanian average gross earnings figure used by the authorities. From 30 March 2026, the official social-insurance-budget benchmark is RON 9,192 gross per month. The employer should verify the operative benchmark again when filing because annual legislation can replace it.

The Blue Card is generally issued for the employment-contract period plus three months, with a maximum validity of three years. It provides more favorable EU mobility and long-term-residence rules than an ordinary Romanian work permit, but it remains tied to highly qualified employment and is not open work authorization from the first day.

What This Route Allows

The holder may live in Romania and perform the highly qualified job stated in the approved employment arrangement. The card can cover the contract term plus three months, up to three years, and can be renewed if the employment and all other conditions continue.

Family reunification is available. A first Romanian Blue Card applicant can begin the family process without waiting to hold a one-year card, and a Blue Card sponsor may apply for a spouse, qualifying minor children, and certain dependent relatives under Romania’s family-reunification rules. Each family member needs the required birth, marriage, and other family records, visa where applicable, insurance, housing, and residence card. The family permit is separate from the worker’s card.

After 12 months of legal Romanian employment as a highly qualified worker, a Romanian Blue Card holder has greater flexibility under the work-authorization rules, including exemptions from certain employer filing requirements. Changes must still be reported and the new role must continue to meet Blue Card conditions.

EU mobility is one of the card’s main advantages. The holder can perform limited permitted business activity in other member states and, after the required period, move to another participating member state to seek a new Blue Card under that country’s procedure. The Romanian card does not itself authorize indefinite work in the other country.

For long-term residence, qualifying periods as a Blue Card holder and certain other statuses in different EU/EEA/Swiss countries can be combined. Romania generally requires five qualifying years across those countries, including the last two continuous years as a Blue Card holder in Romania, with absence, resources, insurance, housing, Romanian-language, and public-order conditions.

What This Route Is Not

This is not a job-search visa. A concrete highly qualified Romanian job and employer process normally come first. It is not suitable for self-employment, independent consulting, or a low-paid role that does not meet the competence and salary tests.

It is not a general permit to work for any Romanian employer immediately. The first card rests on the approved employer and job. Employer changes, unemployment, and new contracts are regulated. If the employment ends, the card may remain valid only for the legally protected unemployment or transition period; the holder should notify the IGI promptly rather than assuming the printed expiry date guarantees status.

It is not automatic EU permanent residence or citizenship. Cross-border mobility requires a new host-country process, long-term residence has its own five-year and integration conditions, and Romanian citizenship generally requires Romanian long-term/permanent residence plus the separate residence, language, civic-knowledge, and conduct rules.

It is also not the same as an ordinary Romanian work permit. A position that cannot satisfy the Blue Card qualification or salary standard may still fit another employment category, but it will not receive Blue Card mobility benefits.

Next Steps

  1. Ask the employer to confirm the highly qualified D/AM1 category, its WorkinRomania access, and any transitional rules for an existing case.
  2. Check that the contract is full time, lasts at least six months, and meets the current salary threshold. Verify the RON 9,192 monthly benchmark with IGI.
  3. Match your degree or accepted experience to the role. Start recognition or professional licensing early if needed.
  4. Give the employer the required qualification, passport, criminal-record, and insurance documents for the single application. The employer also supplies the registered contract and recruitment evidence.
  5. Follow the consulate's instructions to complete the D/AM1 visa process after the employer's filing.
  6. After arrival, apply for the Blue Card within the applicable filing deadline before your legal stay expires. The one-month deadline applies to Blue Card mobility cases from another member state.
  7. If bringing family, prepare the separate family applications and birth, marriage, and other family records alongside your own case.
  8. Confirm the current procedure before changing employer or if employment ends. Keep salary, contract, address, and insurance records current.
  9. Track residence and absences if you plan to use EU mobility or apply for long-term residence.

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