Everyone knows tales of Dracula. Only a few know that Dracula was a real person, even a historical figure who played a great role in shaping the history of Romania. Romania is a country of fairy tales, medieval castles, cities, and astonishing nature. It is home to home to the largest virgin forests in Europe, making the country even more attractive for people who enjoy the beauty of nature. Medieval castles, cities especially Transylvania have a lot to offer for history worms. Reasons for traveling to Romania are many, but unfortunately, we will not talk about that. Instead, we will focus on issues regarding visas for Romania. Anyone who desires to visit the country should consider things like Romania visa policy, requirements for Romania visa, how long is Romania visa processing time and most importantly how to get Romania visa.
Romania visa policy
As a member country of the EU country, Romania visa policy does not require visas from European countries. However, it is not exclusive to the Schengen countries. Other Romania visa free countries are Australia, Antiga and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Georgia, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Macao, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Taiwan, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela.
Note that if a national from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Montenegro, North, Macedonia, Serbia, Ukraine does not present his/her biometric passport, they will not be allowed to enter the country.
Nationals of other countries are obliged to fill Romania visa application to enter the country. As Romania does not recognize Palestine and Kosova as independent states, citizens of these countries should be invited by the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs. There are some exceptions for people who meet the following prerequisites:
- If the applicant has a Schengen visa issued by another member state of the Schengen area
- If the applicant is given a visa issued by Cyprus, Croatia, Bulgaria
- If the applicant is given a residence permit for the long term by a member country of the European union
- If the applicant is given a residence permit with a minimum validity of years by the United Kingdom or Ireland
- If you have a kinship (spouse, children who are not 21 yet)
- With Romanian, EU, European Economic Area, or a Swiss citizen
Visa types of Romania
We learned which countries are Romania visa free countries and we touched on some of the issues regarding Romania visa policy. For this part, we will look into things like Romania visa types, requirements for Romania visa, how to get Romania visa and how to apply for Romania visa.
We can categorize visas for Romania into 3 groups:
- Romania short-stay visas (Romania tourist visa, Private visit or visiting family, friend, Business/Trade/Congress, Sport/Cultural/Scientific, Study, Work)
- Romani long-stay visas (Employment, study, Family reunion, Self-employment, Au Pair Visa)
- Romani transit visa
Let’s have a close look at short-stay visas. Requirements for these visas are similar. There are only one or two additional documents that can be asked, depending on the type of visa. Generally, the followings are to be submitted:
- Romania visa application form – The application should be filled in and signed by the applicant either in English or Romanian
- A passport that should remain valid minimum for 3 months after leaving Romania. It should bear the signature of the applicant. It should have a validity of not more than 10 years and have minimum 2 pages that are not used
- Two photos – should meet the requirements of passport format and it should include the full face. The background should be white or light-colored. The size of the photo should be 3x4. Face coverage should not exceed 70-80% of the photo. The photo should cover your eyes clearly. The person must show no facial expression
- Duplicates of the main page of your passport and previous visas
- Duplicate of ID. Your ID should be valid after leaving Romania
- If the country you reside in and the citizenship of your countries are different, then you will need a copy of that visa or residence permit which should have a validity of a minimum of 3 months after departure from Romania
- Ticket booking – Dates of entry and leaving Schengen area should be shown
- The document that proves your accommodation for the travel – If you are going to stay in a hotel, it should be a hotel reservation. If you rent a house, a tenancy agreement should be presented. For those who own property in Monaco or France certificate of ownership should be submitted
- Letter of sponsorship. Contact details of the sponsor should be indicated. Details of the work condition of the applicant (including work position, salary, starting date, expected date of completion) and if the applicant is the owner of the company then ownership documents, licenses should be presented. If the applicant is a student, a letter from a university is required
- Financial prove that you have enough financial means during your stay in the country. For that, the applicant can present different verified methods
- Insurance for the travel – Minimum coverage of insurance should not be less than 30 000 euro
- In case a minor travel unaccompanied, he or she will need to present a letter that shows his/her parents or family guardians' consent. If a minor is accompanied by his/her family, then his birth certificate or travel authorization provided and signed by the holder(s)
These are the required documents for Romania tourist visa as well. Generally, Romania visa processing time for short-stay visas ranges from 3 to 10 days. You can apply online visa for Romania by using the official website, Here you can romania visa status check online as well.
Business/Trade Fair/Congress visa
These types of visas include business-related visits that do not exceed 90 days. Apart from the general requirements that we previously mentioned, few additional documents are requested:
- Documents that give detailed information about the purpose of the visit. These include detailed information on the business activity/organization that is taking place (addresses, timeline, reasons for participating, tickets, expenses, and the sponsor who cover the expenses)
Private visit or visiting family, friend visa
- Invitation letter from spouse, children, parents. It should be verified. For application scanned version is enough, but keep in mind that when you cross the border, the original of that document will be required
- Documents that show the relationship between the inviting person and the applicant
- Documents that gives information on the professional status of the inviter
- In the case that the applicant stays with the inviting person, then documents regarding the house are required
Sport/Cultural/Scientific visa
- Documents that give detailed information about the purpose of the visit. These include detailed information on the sport/cultural event that take places (accommodation, timeline, expenses, and the sponsor who cover the expenses)
- A letter from the event hosting association that specifies the schedule of the event, organizers, addresses, purpose of the event, etc
Study visa
- Acceptance letter that proves the applicant is enrolled in the course and shows details of course fees, payments
- Letter from sponsor (if the expenses of the applicant are covered by sponsor)
- Financial meanings which prove you have enough budget during your stay in the country. If the applicant posses any scholarship, it should be verified by the funding organization’s confirmation
Visa application steps and fees
To apply for Romania visa, the applicant should first refer online visa for Romania. All required documents for online application should be submitted offcial website of ministry of foreign affairs. Note that documents should be in these formats: jpeg, jpg, tif, png, bmp, txt, rtf or pdf. Their size should not exceed 2 Mb each. In the next stage, you have to submit the originals of the documents to the Romanian consulate/embassy in your country. The applicant can Romania visa status check online. You will be informed about the results of your application. In the next stage, Consul will appoint a meeting with a successful candidate.
When you present the visa application, a fee of 80 euros will be asked to be paid. The number goes down to 40 euros for children aged between 6 and 12. No fee will be required for children younger than 6. To boost tourism and some improvements had been made. Thanks to the agreement signed between the EU and Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Montenegro, Russia, Belarus, visa fee is down to 35 euros. For long-stay visa types, a fee worth 120 euros is required. The requested fee for an airport transit visa is 80 euros as well.
