Studying in Romania: an overview

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Your initial move once you decide to study in Romania is to register yourself with the university/ institution where you intend to follow you studies, and where apparently you have been accepted to do so.
As soon as you get registered, you must immediately initiate the process so as to issue a long-stay visa the way it is meant to be for study purposes alone, a procedure which is well-concluded with the Consular Authorities of the country.

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The long-stay visa

Issuing a long-stay visa is a necessary step for all students (post-graduate, Master’s, Ph.D. candidates) regardless of whether the university institution is a public or a private one. Please note that in many cases bilateral agreements of the sort are in place between Romania and the country of the students’ origin, which need to be taken into consideration.

The necessary documents in order to get such a Visa issued read as follows:

• Written (tangible) evidence of the sort provided for by the Ministry of National Education that prove the applicant’s acceptance by a university program, which in any case needs to be a full-time one
• Evidence with regards to payment of the necessary tuition fees
• Evidence with regards to sustainable means of financial support for a single student, which is estimated according to Romania’s way of living, sufficing to the needs of at least year’s stay
• Clear penal record
• Health insurance for the period of time meant to be residing in the country
• Necessary statement of parental consent in case the applicant is a minor
In case of an exchange study program:
• Evidence provided for by the Ministry of National Education supporting such acceptance
• Evidence of participation in the aforementioned Program where someone has been accepted
• Evidence with regards to sustainable means of financial support for the student who has benefited from the exchange Program, as provided for by the organization that certifies the exchange program
• Health insurance for the period of time meant to be residing in the country
• Evidence with regards to housing/ accommodation, as provided for by the organization that certifies the exchange program
• Necessary statement of parental consent in case the applicant is a minor

As soon as all the aforementioned are in place, there are a couple of things that still need to be properly arranged in order for the Student Visa to be issued:

• A fee of 120, 00€ paid at the Romanian consular authorities in your country of origin, where you have also submitted your request for the issuance of the visa
• Your application as such shall be forwarded to the competent General Inspectorate for Immigration which necessarily needs to issue a favorable opinion within a period of 30 days’ time, while it could also ask for an extension of 15 days more
• Once your application gets the much-expected favorable opinion the National Visa Center shall issue the long-stay visa for a period of 90 days
Necessary quick notes to be taken into consideration:
• The student exchange programs are only meant for students between the age of 7 to 19
• If someone is the beneficiary of a Scholarship offered by the Romanian State as such, there is no need for him/ her to further prove tuition fee and/ or sufficient financial means to support his/ her living.
• Foreigners, yet of Romanian origin need not further prove financial means of support

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The residence permit-issue and how it is connected to your studies

It can be issued after having entered Romania. You shall be able to obtain it from the General Inspectorate for Immigration and, in particular, the competent to that end units operating within your country of origin. Such a permit shall be issued as soon as you submit all necessary documents as indicated below and, whatever the case, 30 days in advance from the expiration date as it has been provided for thanks to the Visa regime. There’s also the option of online application, at https://portaligi.mai.gov.ro/portaligi/

Let’s have a look at the following instances and the documents to be presented in each and every one of them:

Requirements in case of a post-graduate, master’s and PhD student

1. Application form to be filled in

2. Official documentation allowing for travel purposes, e.g. passport or anything alike serving as official travel document

3. Letter/ note confirming acceptance by the University/ Institution where you have been attending your studies

4. Certificate/ Official Note of the sort serving as evidence of your enrollment in your Program issued by the competent University/ Institution at hand

5. Evidence with regards to sustainable means of financial support for a period of at least 6 more months, having as threshold the minimum gross salary of Romania

6. Evidence with regards of proper –registered- accommodation

7. Health certificate

8. Evidence with regards to payment of study fees

Necessary quick notes to be taken into consideration:

• If someone is the beneficiary of a Scholarship offered by the Romanian State as such, there is no need for him/ her to pay taxes

• A 6-month extension may as well be provided to someone even after his/ her graduation on condition that university issues need to be further arranged, as it is so often the issue with the authentication of relevant paperwork

• An annual extension may as well be provided for a foreigner who needs to conclude his/ her studies, but no more time than that can be further provided

Requirements in case of a student exchange program

1. Application form to be filled in

2. Official documentation allowing for travel purposes, e.g. passport or anything alike serving as official travel document

3. Letter/ note confirming acceptance by the University/ Institution where you have been attending your studies

4. Evidence with regards to actual participation in the student exchange program at hand

5. Evidence with regards to the actual establishment and proper operation of the University/ Institution at hand as a credible School

6. Certificate issued by the competent authority that oversees and organizes the exchange procedure

7. Evidence with regards of proper –registered- accommodation

8. Health certificate

9. Evidence with regards to payment of study fees

Exceptions confirming the rule: foreigners operating under a different regime

• If someone is the beneficiary of a Scholarship offered by the Romanian State as such, there is no need for him/ her to pay such consular fees, or for any reason whatsoever to get qa residence permit, or even to prove in any way financial means allowing him/ her to sustain his/ her living conditions

• If someone is of Romanian origin, even remotely or by way of Romanian citizenship, once more he/ she is not obliged to prove in any way financial means allowing him/ her to sustain his/ her living conditions

Please pay attention to the below two instances that may occur and could cause misunderstandings if not something more:

• If you are a student you need to keep in mind that if you reach the age of 26, then you will definitely need yourself a social health insurance plan in order to be able and extend your right of temporary residence as such (Law no.95 / 2006 on healthcare reform)

• If you do not manage to graduate within the specific time period for which a residence permit has been granted, you should ask for an extension which might as well be granted to you in order to complete your Program, but which cannot be of more than a year long

Residence permit deadlines

In light of the aforementioned the following instances have to be presented in order for you to get an idea of how strict and contained things are in terms of residence permits and their time limitation:

If a residence permit is to be renewed, this has to happen at least 30 days in advance before the expiry date of the on-going one

Once the application for the renewal is submitted, the extension shall be issued in 30 days’ time; if, for some specifically explained reason, a further extension is needed, this shall not be longer than 15 days’ time

If it is perceived that the application submitted is incomplete or the supporting documentation inadequate, the competent authority is eligible to ask for additional information which has to be provided within 30 days’ time. Once the additional information is submitted, there shall be a suspension in time until a relevant decision has been reached. If the application and the supporting documentation are still considered incomplete or inadequate, the application as such shall get rejected

In case of extension regarding residence permits for students, they are able to apply for further time which shall be equal to the remaining time for studies as such, in case of students participating in a certain exchange program the maximum time one can get cannot be more than a year’s time

Last but not least, please bear in mind that an extension of nine further months shall be granted in case of a student who has already completed his/ her studies and he/ she is now in search of an employment opportunity.

Please, also, bear in mind that in all the aforementioned temporary residence cases a work-permit could be provided for, which, however, stands just for part-time work and only for maximum of 4 hours per day

Mobility without the visa requirement

If you already are in possession of a valid visa e.g. for study purposes and in any case of a long-stay one, then you are eligible to remain on Romanian soil for up to 360 days’ time long as:

You duly participate in your education program , regardless of the fact and whether if it is within the framework of the EU or as a result of bilateral agreements in each and every single instance

The competent department of the competent authority, i.e. the General Inspectorate for Immigration, gets duly notified by the educational institution as such with regards to a student’s participation in a relevant study program

Please do take into consideration the fact that such a notification as the one mentioned just above has to be supported by the following documents:

• Copy of a valid passport or relevant validated travel documentation

• Copy of a residence permit or a long-stay one depending each time on the case at hand

• Solid evidence regarding the Study Program and whether it takes place within the framework of EU programs or, in any case, within the framework of certain bilateral agreements and arrangements, such as – and definitely – a letter of acceptance as issued by the Educational Institution at hand, as well as tangible evidence with regards to the itinerary, the schedule and the specifics of time and duration of the educational program at hand; usually such information form part and parcel of the admittance papers provided accordingly by the Institutions when sought for by their students

• Solid evidence that the student has proper medical/ health insurance for as long as he shall be remaining in Romania

• Evidence of sufficient financial means able to support a student’s lifestyle for at least six months’ time, and the amount in question per month shall be such that equals to a Romanian minimum salary per month

• Proof of proper residence e.g. a lease agreement

All of the aforementioned detailed documents have to be submitted to the competent General Inspectorate for Immigration which shall go through each and every one of them reserving its right NOT to provide any such clearance and residence permit if one of the following instances has taken place:

• Proven Illegal crossing of borders

• Proof of violations regarding employment provisions for foreigners

• Evidence of severe health issues suffered by the applicant, in which case even a revocation can be imposed by the competent Romanian authorities

• The foreigner no longer fulfils eligibility criteria for being able to remain further in Romania, i.e. his/ her right of residence as established by a visa is no longer valid

• The foreigner as such has been declared in the course of events and while already in the country “persona non grata”, i.e. undesirable

• The validity and eligibility of the aforementioned necessary documents has become due, while,

• A necessary notification for extension has not been submitted 30 days prior to expiry

In all of the above cases the relevant objection which is to be raised by the competent Romanian institution shall be taking place within 5 days’ time and shall be communicated to the institution sending the exchange student in Romania

CHANGE IN STUDIES

The foreign student who has already been admitted to the Romanian higher education system may as well change his/her Program and no further arrangement is necessary in terms of residence permit as long as the duration of studies remains the same

However if due to a change of studies, the time one needs in order to complete it gets extended, it is necessary for the interested party to reinitiate the process and get the required long-stay visa which is a sine-qua-non requirement for someone to establish his/ her residence right in Romania

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