Romanian Residence Permit for Company Owners and Investors
One-year permit, monthly income thresholds of €700 and €500 – and no golden visa
A non-EU shareholder of a Romanian company can apply for a temporary residence permit for commercial activities. The permit is issued for up to one year and is renewable; the applicant must show income of at least €700 per month as a shareholder, or €500 per month as an associate (EU Immigration Portal, checked 8 September 2026). Permits of up to three years exist, but only after an investment above €500,000 or the creation of more than 50 jobs in Romania.
Romania For Business SRL prepares these applications alongside the company registration itself, in the same engagement – the immigration file relies on the ONRC and ANAF documents produced at registration, so the two are not sequenced as separate projects. This page sets out the thresholds, the deadlines and the four situations where the route does not work at all.
Romania has no golden visa. The bill was withdrawn on 9 December 2025.
A group of PNL senators tabled the “Golden Visa Romania” bill in October 2025: a renewable five-year residence permit for an investment of at least €400,000. On 9 December 2025 senator Aurel Varga requested its withdrawal on behalf of the initiators, after the Supreme Council of National Defence (CSAT) called the scheme a risk to national security and an obstacle to Schengen accession, the Visa Waiver programme and OECD accession. The initiators said they intend to return with a revised text; as of 8 September 2026 no such text has been tabled. Any provider currently selling a “Romanian golden visa” is selling a bill that does not exist.
What Exists Instead of a Golden Visa
Romanian residence for business owners runs through the company, not through a passive investment. The sequence is fixed: the company is registered first, the long-stay visa is applied for at a Romanian consulate, and the residence permit is issued in Romania by the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI).
- The SRL is registered at the Trade Register (ONRC) and with ANAF for tax; a foreign shareholder may hold 100% of the share capital.
- The long-stay visa is applied for at a Romanian consulate in the country of residence, on the ground of commercial activities.
- The residence permit file goes in at an IGI territorial office at least 30 days before the right of stay granted by the visa expires (IGI, checked 8 September 2026).
- The permit is renewed annually, or issued for up to three years once the €500,000 investment or 50-job threshold below is met.
The permit follows the business: if the company stops trading or monthly income drops under €700, the annual renewal fails. This is a permit for an operating company, not a residence product that survives a dormant SRL.
Income Thresholds That Decide the Application
The figure the file stands or falls on is monthly income, and it differs by role: €700 for a shareholder against €500 for an associate on the same commercial-activities ground.
| Ground of stay | Financial requirement | Permit issued for |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial activities – shareholder | at least €700 per month | up to 1 year, renewable |
| Commercial activities – associate | at least €500 per month | up to 1 year, renewable |
| Economic activities (self-employed) | at least the average gross monthly salary | up to 1 year, renewable |
| Commercial activities – large investor | investment above €500,000 or more than 50 jobs created | successive periods of up to 3 years |
Source: EU Immigration Portal, self-employed worker in Romania, checked 8 September 2026. The average gross monthly salary is set annually by the state social insurance budget law and changes each year – the figure applicable to your file is confirmed at the time of filing, not from this page.
When the Permit Runs Three Years Instead of One
Two thresholds move a commercial-activities permit from annual renewal to successive periods of up to three years: an investment above €500,000, or more than 50 jobs created in Romania. Both are assessed on what the company has actually done, not on what it declares it will do.
For most incoming founders the honest expectation is the one-year permit renewed annually. A company incorporated with the statutory minimum share capital and two or three staff is nowhere near either threshold, and presenting a business plan that promises 50 jobs does not substitute for the jobs.
Deadlines: the 30-Day Rule Behind Avoidable Refusals
Applications are submitted in person at the IGI territorial office at least 30 days before the right of stay granted by the visa expires. Missing that window is not a formality – the application is filed against a right of stay that must still be running.
A first permit is decided within 30 days of filing, and that deadline may be extended by 15 days where additional checks are required. An application as the family member of a Romanian citizen takes up to 90 days, and the independent residence permit issued in the situations set out by IGI carries 6 months of validity rather than a year.
Source: General Inspectorate for Immigration, residence permit section, checked 8 September 2026.
From Annual Permit to EU Long-Term Residence
EU long-term resident status requires five years of continuous legal stay in Romania. Absences are capped: no more than six months in any single year and no more than ten months in total across the five years. The status is documented by a permit renewable every five years, and it carries mobility rights in other EU member states that a national permit does not.
This is where the annual permit route pays off, and where it fails for people who intended to keep living elsewhere. Five renewals with income above the threshold and physical presence in Romania are the price of the status.
Citizenship: Eight Years, or Five If Married to a Romanian
Naturalisation under Law 21/1991 requires at least eight years of legal residence in Romania, reduced to five years of marriage for spouses of Romanian citizens. Applicants must prove Romanian language ability at B1 level and social and cultural integration. Romania permits dual citizenship, so an applicant is not required to renounce an existing nationality.
Citizenship by descent runs on an entirely different basis – it is a restoration procedure for people with Romanian ancestors, with no residence requirement, and it has nothing to do with the business route described on this page.
Who This Route Does Not Work For
Four situations where the commercial-activities permit is the wrong instrument. Each of them surfaces at the IGI filing 30 days before the visa expires – that is, after the consular appointment and the company registration have already been paid for:
- Passive investors: buying property or bonds in Romania creates no ground of stay, and since the €400,000 bill was withdrawn on 9 December 2025 there is no route based on capital alone.
- Founders who do not intend to live in Romania: EU long-term residence caps absence at six months in any year and ten months across the five years.
- Companies without income: a dormant SRL cannot document €700 or €500 a month, and the annual renewal is refused on that basis alone.
- EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: they do not need this permit at all – a registration certificate covers stays over 90 days.
What We Do – and What We Do Not Do
Romania For Business SRL registers the company, prepares the corporate and financial documents the immigration file relies on, and coordinates the filing with IGI alongside a Romanian immigration lawyer.
What we do not do: we do not issue permits, do not influence IGI decisions, and do not offer residence by investment, because no such scheme exists in Romanian law as of 8 September 2026. Decisions on visas and permits are taken by the Romanian authorities. Nothing on this page is legal advice on an individual case.
Sources checked 8 September 2026: General Inspectorate for Immigration (igi.mai.gov.ro), EU Immigration Portal (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu), Law 21/1991 on Romanian citizenship, Senate proceedings on the withdrawn Golden Visa bill.