Foreign citizens may enter Romania under the terms of Government Order No 194/2002 on the rules governing foreign nationals in Romania, as subsequently amended and supplemented, and of Emergency Order No 102/2005 on the free movement within Romania of citizens of EU Member States and of the European Economic Area as well as of citizens of the Swiss Confederation, as subsequently amended and supplemented.

Before coming to Romania, the Romanian border police recommends that you contact the Romanian diplomatic mission in your country in order to obtain additional information on Romanian legislation.

Citizens of Member States of the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland may enter Romania through all State border crossing points open to people, on presentation of a valid national identity document or a passport or document issued in accordance with Emergency Government Order No 102/2005 for EU citizens, without border guards placing an entry stamp on any of those documents.

Family members who are not EU citizens may enter the territory of Romania on the basis of a valid passport and entry visa, unless the visa requirement has been waived in accordance with the law.

A family member who is not an EU citizen but holds a valid document attesting to residence in another Member State as a family member of an EU citizen is exempted from the visa requirement. Border guards will not place an entry or exit stamp in the passport of persons falling under this category.

Freedom of movement within countries of the EU is a right afforded to citizens of the European Union, the EEA and Switzerland. There is a minimum border check consisting of a rapid and immediate verification of persons’ travel documents in order to establish identity.

Border guards may, randomly or on the basis of risk analyses, conduct more rigorous/additional checks on persons and their mode of transport, always in compliance with the legislation in force.

Neither Romanian citizens nor citizens of other countries may use an expired passport as a valid travel document to enter or exit the territory of Romania.

On returning to the territory of Romania, border guards may, in accordance with Article 29 of Law No 248/2005 on the rules governing the free movement of Romanian citizens abroad, allow Romanian citizens who identify themselves with a travel document issued by the Romanian authorities which has an expired validity period to enter Romania, only after they have carried out the appropriate checks on the holder’s identity and nationality in the relevant records. In that case, the duration of the checks carried out may not exceed 24 hours from the moment the person presents their ID at the border crossing point.

Moreover, if a person shows up at the border crossing point to enter Romania declaring that they are a Romanian citizen, but does not hold documents issued by Romanian authorities attesting to their identity, either valid or expired, the border guards will carry out the necessary checks as quickly as possible in order to establish that person’s identity and nationality.

For holders of a travel document issued by another country who meet the conditions of entry into Romanian territory, the border guards will, in accordance with the law, allow them to enter the country as a foreign national and direct them to the Directorate General for Passports in order to clarify the situation regarding Romanian citizenship.

Border guards must allow persons to enter the territory of Romania as soon as they have established their identity and the fact that they are Romanian citizens.