Visa, Residence Permit and Residency in Romania for Israelis: A Map of the Routes Under the Law

A recurring question among Israeli buyers: if we have a home in Romania, can we also live there? Legally these are two separate worlds. The right to live there rests on a ground set out in the aliens law, whereas the property serves at most as evidence of an address.

Here we go step by step, from the first flight to permanent status, and see how the passport in your pocket and the reason for the move determine the route. Romanian legislation in this area was amended several times during 2026, and the file itself is submitted to the consulate and to IGI, usually with the help of an immigration lawyer licensed in Romania.

1What is the difference between a visit, a visa, a permit and residence?

These are four different levels, and each opens different rights. The table brings them together before we go into the details:

2How many days may an Israeli spend in Romania without a visa?

Ninety days, within any rolling window of 180. Israeli citizens are exempt from a visa for the Schengen area, and Romania joined the Schengen rules in two stages: at air and sea ports on 31 March 2024, and at land crossings, when checks there were abolished, on 1 January 2025. The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs makes clear that every day in Romania is counted on the same counter as the days in the other Schengen countries.

For short trips, a tour of neighbourhoods or a signing before a notary, this allowance is sufficient. For living there it is not. Frequent flyers need to know two more systems:

• Since 10 April 2026 the European registration system EES has been fully operational, digitally recording every border crossing. Anyone who exceeds the allowance will be detected automatically.
• In the future Israelis will also need an online travel authorisation, ETIAS, costing 20 euros. The official website states that the system has not yet been launched and is not accepting applications, and that the launch date will be published months in advance. The authorisation will not extend the allowance of days and will not confer a right of residence.

3Is there a European passport in the family? Check that first

A holder of a passport of one of the Union countries, Romania included, may be in Romania for three months without meeting any requirement. To stay beyond that, IGI requires one of the following: employment, studies at a recognised institution, or means of self-support together with health insurance. Registration is done at the branch for the county in which you live. The certificate is issued on the day of application, valid for up to five years, and the CNP is printed on it. A spouse or partner with Israeli citizenship only receives a residence card within 90 days, and a person who is a Romanian citizen is exempt from any permit.

The practical meaning: before collecting documents for a visa, it is worth finding out whether anyone in the family is entitled to European citizenship. From here on, matters concern a person who has only an Israeli passport, to whom Emergency Ordinance 194/2002, the Romanian aliens law, applies.

4On what basis is a D visa granted?

On the basis of a ground listed in the law, and without one the application will not be accepted. Article 24 of the ordinance defines a long-stay visa for a period of 90 days, and lists the grounds: employment, posting of workers (detașare), commercial activity, economic or professional activity, studies, family reunification, scientific research, religious activity and "other purposes". The consulate must decide within 60 days at the latest (article 31). According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from 27 April 2026 an application through the e-Visa portal costs 300 euros.

A few notes on the table. In the employment route, the process is driven by the employer, and the pilot phase of the digital platform closed on 7 August 2026. In the business route, the law is aimed at a business that creates jobs, not at a private residence. In the family route, IGI responds within three months, and from the moment of approval the family members have 60 days to apply to the consulate.

5You have landed with a visa: what is submitted to IGI and when?

The visa covers only 90 days, and during them you apply to IGI to extend the right to stay. What is obtained at the end is the residence permit (permis de ședere). Articles 50 and 51 of the ordinance set the framework:

IGI publishes the fees as about 120 euros, payable in lei, plus 265 lei for the card itself. The list was last updated in August 2025, before the D visa fee increased, so it is better to confirm the amount with the branch. Note: a person who arrived as a tourist cannot, as a rule, switch to this route from within Romania. The permit continues a right opened by a D visa, and only for the same ground. There are exceptions for family members of Romanian citizens.

6Which health insurance will be accepted at each stage?

The question of which private policy will meet the requirement for the first permit is not regulated in detail, so it is worth clarifying it in advance with the branch or with a lawyer.

7CNP, NIF and tax residence: what you get and what you do not

The Romanian personal identification number, CNP, is assigned by IGI to everyone who has received a residence permit or long-term residence, and is printed on the document (article 144^1). Since April 2026 it also appears on work visas. A person who has only bought a property and has no status is identified to the authorities by a tax number, NIF, and not by a CNP.

A permit and a CNP are purely a matter of immigration. Tax residence is examined in each country under its own rules, and a person who meets the tests in both countries will turn to the tax treaty between Israel and Romania, which will decide.

8When can long-term residence be requested?

After five years without interruption, provided that all the requirements of article 71 of the ordinance are met together. IGI sets them out as follows:

IGI is supposed to respond within six months, with the possibility of adding another three months. The status is granted for five years, and for ten years in the case of a family member of a Romanian citizen, and it allows work without a separate permit. An absence of a continuous year or more may lead to its revocation. It is important to remember that this is not citizenship: there is no Romanian passport and no right to vote.

The ordinance also contains two exceptions that arouse interest among Israelis, and both require an opinion. The first, article 71(2), allows some of the conditions to be waived for "foreigners of Romanian origin". The second, article 71(4), exempts from the five-year requirement and the means requirement a person who has invested at least one million euros, or created more than one hundred full-time jobs. The definition of "Romanian origin" and the qualifying types of investment are not set out in the law.

9Does a home in Romania confer status?

No, and a golden visa programme does not exist. A bill named L463/2025, entitled the Golden Visa programme and requiring an investment of at least 400,000 euros, was tabled in the Senate on 14 October 2025. According to the Senate records, the Supreme Council of National Defence opposed it on 19 November 2025, and on 8 December 2025 it was withdrawn. No alternative bill was identified during 2026.

What the property does do: it proves an address in the immigration file, and in the family route it also helps to show suitable housing. No stage of the process is shortened because of it.

10A working checklist for those planning to move

1. First check eligibility for European citizenship, because it may make the whole route unnecessary.
2. If there is none, define the ground: which of the categories in the ordinance you fit.
3. Collect the certificates in Israel: criminal record, birth, marriage and tax documents, usually also with an apostille and a notarised translation into Romanian.
4. Secure an address: a registered lease agreement, or a property registered in your name.
5. Take out a medical policy covering at least 30,000 euros for all the days of the visa.
6. Complete the application on e-Visa, and attend the Romanian consulate in Ramat Gan, at Paz Tower 2, 2 Shoham Street, 8th floor.
7. After entering Romania, and before the 90 days of the visa have passed, attend IGI in person with the permit application.
8. Set an annual reminder for renewal, at least a month before expiry, and keep a record of every departure from the country.
9. Start learning Romanian in the first year, because without it you will not reach long-term residence.

11Before committing: how we combine status and property

For a family considering a move, we recommend starting with the status and leaving the home for the next stage. We build one timetable for both files, prepare a list of documents from Israel, and connect the family with an immigration lawyer licensed in Romania who files with the consulate and with IGI. On the property side, we make sure that the lease or purchase agreement will meet what the immigration file requires.

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The information in this guide is general in nature and does not constitute legal or tax advice on any specific transaction. Every transaction is assessed on its own facts.