Romania Digital Nomad Visa: Requirements, Income and How to Apply

The Romania digital nomad visa is a long-stay visa for people who work remotely for a company registered outside Romania, or who run their own foreign company that’s at least three years old. You need income of at least three times Romania’s average gross salary, roughly €5,160 to €5,550 a month depending on which published average applies, in each of the six months before you apply. The visa lasts 90 days, then you apply for a residence permit marked “nomad digital”, first for six months and then for longer. If you stay in Romania no more than 183 days in any 12 months, your salary isn’t taxed there. And the permit can count toward long-term residence after five years.

At a glance

Minimum income	Three times Romania’s average gross salary for each of the last six months. Aim for about €5,550 a month
First permit	A 90-day visa, then a 6-month residence permit
Renewable?	Yes, while you still meet the conditions
Apply from inside Romania?	No. You need the long-stay visa from a consulate first
Leads to permanent residency?	Yes, long-term residence after 5 years, with conditions
Leads to citizenship?	Not directly
Special tax regime	No Romanian tax or social contributions on your salary if you spend no more than 183 days in Romania in any 12 months
Freelancers and business owners?	Business owners only, through a foreign company at least 3 years old. No freelancer category

What can and can’t you do on the Romania digital nomad visa?

You can:

• Live in Romania, renewing your permit while you meet the conditions
• Work remotely for a company registered outside Romania, or run your own foreign company
• Pay no Romanian income tax or social contributions on your salary, as long as you spend no more than 183 days in Romania in any 12 months
• Build toward long-term residence, if you live there for five years
• Travel in the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180

You can’t:

• Apply as a freelancer without a company, or through a company less than three years old
• Bring your family on the digital nomad permit itself
• Apply from inside Romania without the long-stay visa
• Keep the tax exemption and build toward long-term residence at the same time, because one needs short stays and the other needs you to live there

Who can apply for the Romania digital nomad visa?

Romania added digital nomads to its main law on foreigners in January 2022. It’s open to citizens of countries outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, which includes the US and the UK, who work remotely using information and communication technology and either:

• Are employed under an employment contract with a company registered outside Romania, or
• Own a company registered outside Romania and run it remotely. You must have had the company for at least three years when you apply for the visa.

There’s no category for freelancers. If you work for clients on your own account, you can only apply through a company you own, and a newly formed one won’t qualify. Owners of US LLCs or UK limited companies can qualify if the company is at least three years old. The tax break below only covers salary, not dividends, and how you pay yourself has tax consequences in more than one country, so get professional advice before you rely on it.

Your tax affairs have to be in order. You need an official certificate from the tax authority where you or your company are tax resident, confirming that taxes and contributions are paid up and there’s no record of tax evasion or fraud.

What’s the minimum income for the Romania digital nomad visa?

You need income from your remote work of at least three times Romania’s average gross monthly salary for each of the six months before you apply, and for the whole period of the visa.

The law doesn’t say which published average applies, and neither the immigration authority nor the consulates publish a lei figure. Two figures are in use. The 2026 social insurance budget law sets the year’s average at 9,192 lei, which puts the bar at 27,576 lei, about €5,160. The National Institute of Statistics publishes a monthly average, and the latest, for August 2026, is higher:

	Average gross salary	Your threshold a month
In lei	9,497 lei	28,491 lei
In euros, at late October 2026 rates	About €1,776	About €5,330
In US dollars	About $1,980	About $5,940

The monthly average has been as high as 9,902 lei in the last six months, which would put the bar at 29,706 lei, about €5,550. Aim for at least €5,550 a month to clear every version of the figure, and recheck close to your application date, because the salary data and the exchange rate both change.

You’ll need to show the same level each time you extend your permit. From the second extension on, you also need an income certificate from the tax authority.

Not earning €5,550 a month yet? The Portable Income Launchpad is a six-week program for experienced professionals turning their expertise into remote income that meets a visa threshold like this one.

What health insurance do you need?

You need medical insurance for the whole period of the visa, with at least €30,000 of cover. It has to cover emergency treatment, emergency hospital care, repatriation for medical reasons and death, and since April 2026 it must be valid across all EU member states, not just Romania.

Can you bring your family?

Not on the digital nomad permit. The digital nomad rules don’t mention family members, so your spouse and children have to come through Romania’s general family reunification route.

That has a catch. To sponsor your family, you need a residence permit valid for one year. Your first digital nomad permit is only six months, so your family can’t apply on the strength of it. Later extensions can run for up to a year, so your family can apply once you hold a permit valid for a full year.

How long does the permit last, and can you renew it?

The long-stay visa is valid for 90 days. Before it runs out, you apply in person to the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI) for a residence permit, at least 30 days before your visa expires. The permit is marked “nomad digital”.

By law, your first permit lasts six months. After that, you can extend it again if you still meet the income requirement for the period you’re asking for, bringing an income certificate from the tax authority. Later extensions are for up to a year at a time, and there’s no overall limit on how many times you can extend. Apply at least 30 days before each permit expires. Filing late is an offense you can be fined for, so don’t leave it to the last month.

Romania has been a full member of the Schengen area since January 2025, so you can travel in other Schengen countries for up to 90 days in any 180.

How are you taxed in Romania on this visa?

Romania changed its tax code in 2023 for digital nomads. If you’re present in Romania for no more than 183 days in any 12 consecutive months, the salary from your remote work:

• isn’t taxable in Romania, and
• doesn’t count toward Romanian social insurance or health contributions

The exemption only covers salary and income treated as salary. It doesn’t cover other income, such as rent or capital gains.

If you stay longer than 183 days in any 12 months, you lose the exemption, and under Romanian law you become tax resident from the day you arrived, unless a tax treaty with your home country says otherwise. Get advice from a Romanian tax adviser before you plan a longer stay.

US citizens still file US tax returns wherever they live. UK residents should check whether they’re still UK tax resident under the UK’s residence rules. This is general information, not tax advice. Talk to a tax adviser who knows both Romania and your home country before you move.

Does the Romania digital nomad visa lead to permanent residency or citizenship?

It can lead to long-term residence, which is Romania’s equivalent of permanent residence. The law doesn’t exclude digital nomads, so time on the permit counts. You need:

• Five years of continuous temporary residence, with no more than six months away at a time and ten months in total
• Income of at least Romania’s minimum gross wage for at least 12 months
• Romanian state health insurance
• A legal right to your home
• Romanian at least at a satisfactory level

There’s a trade-off. The tax exemption only works if you spend no more than 183 days a year in Romania, but long-term residence needs you to live there almost all the time for five years. You can have one or the other, not both.

Citizenship comes later still, with its own residence and Romanian language requirements.

How do you apply for the Romania digital nomad visa?

From the US or the UK

1. Gather your documents. Most need an authenticated Romanian translation, and official documents need an apostille. You’ll need:
   • your employment contract with the foreign company, or proof that you’ve run your foreign company for at least three years
   • a document from the company with its details, field of work, your role and its legal representatives
   • a letter of intent explaining why you’re coming to Romania and what you’ll do there
   • a tax certificate showing your or your company’s taxes are paid up
   • proof of income for each of the last six months
   • health insurance with at least €30,000 of cover, valid across the EU
   • proof of accommodation in Romania
   • a travel booking
   • a criminal record certificate from your country of origin, and from the country where you live and earn your income if that’s different. In the US, that’s an FBI Identity History Summary, and in the UK, an ACRO police certificate
2. Apply for the long-stay visa through Romania’s e-Visa portal, then submit your documents at the Romanian embassy or consulate. The fee is €300. Romanian consulates can ask for extra documents.
3. Wait for a decision. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says long-stay visa applications are processed within 30 days. The visa needs a review by the immigration authority first.
4. Travel to Romania on your 90-day visa.
5. Apply for your residence permit in person at your local IGI office, at least 30 days before the visa expires. You’ll need proof that you still meet the income requirement, health insurance covering the risks normally covered for Romanian citizens, a medical certificate and proof of your right to your home.

Can you apply from inside Romania?

No. You need the long-stay visa from a Romanian consulate first. Once you’re in Romania on that visa, the residence permit and all your extensions are handled by IGI.

Why do applications get refused?

Based on the rules, these are the things that can sink an application:

• Income below three times the average gross salary in any of the last six months
• A company that’s less than three years old, or freelancing without a company
• A missing or out-of-date tax certificate
• Health insurance below €30,000, or not valid across the EU
• Missing apostilles, or translations that aren’t authenticated
• At extension, income that has dropped below the threshold

What applicants report

One UK applicant who went through the process themselves described it on Reddit in mid-2026. The first two points match the official rules. The third is their own experience.

• It isn’t all online. You start the application on Romania’s e-Visa portal, but then you go to the consulate in person. For this applicant, applying from the UK, that included an interview.
• The visa is only half of it. Once you’re in Romania, you apply for the residence permit in person at your local immigration office, which they called another lengthy process.
• Expect it to be hard work. Even with a family connection to Romania and some knowledge of its bureaucracy, they found it very difficult, and they’d recommend using a lawyer.

Who this visa suits

Honestly, I struggle to see the appeal for most remote workers. Romania’s income bar is the highest of any EU digital nomad visa on this site, at about €5,550 a month to be safe. Freelancers can’t use it, business owners need a company that’s at least three years old, your family can’t join you on your first permit, and the process runs through two bureaucratic stages, a consulate visa and then an in-person residence permit.

The tax break sounds better than it is. Your salary is only exempt if you spend no more than 183 days in any 12 months in Romania, and in that case you’d normally be paying tax in another country anyway.

It does lead to long-term residence after five years, but Spain, Portugal and Italy all get you to permanent residency after five years with a much lower income bar. Unless you’re set on Romania and earn well above the threshold, I’d look at those first. If you do go ahead, the process is bureaucratic enough that a Romanian lawyer is worth the money.

What I’d check first: whether your income clears €5,550 a month for each of the last six months, and, if you own a company, whether it’s at least three years old.

How does the Romania digital nomad visa compare with other countries?

Country	Minimum income (a month)	First permit	Apply from inside the country?	Leads to permanent residency?
Romania	About €5,550, to be safe	90-day visa, then a 6-month permit	No	Yes, after 5 years
Bulgaria	About €2,584	1 year, renewable once (2 years max)	No	No
Cyprus	€3,500, after tax	1 year, renewable to 3 years	Yes (you must)	No
Malta	€3,500	1 year, renewable to 4 years	Yes, online	No
Estonia	About €3,960	Up to 1 year, then a second visa of up to 6 months	Yes	No
Croatia	€3,622.50	Up to 18 months, no renewal	Yes, if visa-free	Not on its own
Italy	About €2,066	1 year, renewable	No	Yes, after 5 years
Spain	About €2,849	Up to 3 years in Spain, or a 1-year visa then up to 3 years	Yes	Yes, after 5 years
Portugal	€3,680	4-month visa, then 2-year permit (renewals 3 years)	No	Yes, after 5 years
Greece	€3,500, after tax	1-year visa, then a 2-year permit	No, since February 2026	Yes, after 5 years on the permit

Romania has the highest income bar on this list. It does lead to long-term residence after five years, but so do several countries with a lower bar. For the full side-by-side comparison, see our digital nomad visas page.

FAQ

How much income do I need for Romania’s digital nomad visa?

Three times Romania’s average gross monthly salary, for each of the last six months. Depending on which published average applies, that’s roughly €5,160 to €5,550 a month on recent figures. Aim for about €5,550 to be safe, because the published averages and the exchange rate change.

Can freelancers apply?

Not as freelancers. You need to be employed by a foreign company, or to own a foreign company you’ve had for at least three years.

How long can I stay?

The visa lasts 90 days. Your first residence permit lasts six months. After that, you can extend it for up to a year at a time while you meet the conditions.

Do digital nomads pay tax in Romania?

Not on their salary, if they spend no more than 183 days in Romania in any 12 months. Stay longer and you lose the exemption and become tax resident under Romanian law.

Is it difficult for US citizens to move to Romania on this visa?

The paperwork is manageable, but the income bar is high. You need roughly €5,160 to €5,550 a month (about $5,750 to $6,200), an apostilled FBI check and a tax certificate, translations into Romanian, and a long-stay visa from a Romanian consulate before you travel.

Can I bring my family?

Not on the digital nomad permit. Your family has to use Romania’s family reunification route, which needs you to hold a permit valid for a year first.

Does it lead to permanent residence?

Yes. After five years of continuous residence, you can apply for long-term residence, if you also meet the income, health insurance, housing and Romanian language conditions.

If you don’t qualify: alternatives and similar visas

If you’re a freelancer, your company is new or the threshold is out of reach, compare your options on our digital nomad visas page, or start with:

• Bulgaria’s digital nomad visa, with a much lower threshold and a freelancer category
• Spain’s digital nomad visa, with a lower threshold, a freelancer route and a path to permanent residency
• Croatia’s digital nomad visa, which doesn’t tax your remote work income

Sources

• Government Emergency Ordinance 194/2002 on foreigners, consolidated text (law text, in Romanian, published by the General Inspectorate for Immigration)
• Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Visa processing fees (official)
• Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Long-stay visa (symbol D) (official)
• National Institute of Statistics: Average monthly earnings (official, in Romanian)
• General Inspectorate for Immigration: Residence for other purposes (official, in Romanian)
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Romania, individual residence (professional services firm)
• Law 69/2023 amending the Fiscal Code (law text, in Romanian)
• PwC Romania: Tax facilities for digital nomads, Law 69/2023 (professional services firm)

Educational information, not legal, immigration or tax advice. Rules change, so check the official sources before you apply.