About the Romania Digital Nomad Visa
Romania offers the Digital Nomad Visa (Viza D pentru activitate de muncă la distanță) for non-resident remote workers and self-employed professionals. The program lets eligible applicants live in Romania for 1 year, renewable for additional 1-year periods. while working remotely for clients or employers based outside the country.
Applicants typically need to demonstrate stable monthly income of at least EUR5,100 per month, valid health insurance, and a clean criminal record. It is renewable, allowing nomads to extend their stay.
Tax-wise, Romania treats digital nomad visa holders distinctly from local residents — see the Taxes section below for the full picture.
Figures verified against Romania's General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI), ANAF (tax authority), Law 22/2022 and Law 69/2023, and cross-checked with PwC Tax Summaries.
Romania's digital nomad visa: a local's honest take
Romania introduced its digital nomad visa in late 2021, and since then two things have changed the picture: Romania joined the Schengen Area fully in 2025, and the fiscal rules were clarified under Law 69/2023. The visa is now one of the more powerful options for non-EU citizens who want an Eastern European base with a flat 10% tax ceiling and unrestricted Schengen travel. But there's a catch nobody states plainly: the income requirement is steep — around €5,400 per month — for a country where €2,000 already buys an upper-middle-class life. I'm Romanian, based in Bucharest, so this guide is written from the inside.
Founder's perspective
What I'd tell a friend considering this visa
I live in Bucharest, so let me be straight with you about what the brochures won't say. First, the income requirement is the real filter. At roughly €5,400/month (three times the Romanian average gross salary), the bar is set high — ironically higher than what you'd actually need to live very well here. I know people in Bucharest living comfortably, eating out regularly, in a good central apartment, for €1,500-2,000 a month. So the visa isn't gatekept by cost of living; it's gatekept by a formula tied to the national average wage. If you clear the income bar, your money goes remarkably far once you're here. Second, Bucharest surprises people. The cliché of grey post-communist blocks is outdated. The city has one of the fastest residential internet networks in Europe (Romania consistently ranks top-tier on fixed broadband — a real legacy of the early-2000s fiber boom), a genuinely good café and restaurant scene, the Old Town, parks like Herăstrău, and a cost structure that feels almost unfair compared to Western Europe. Cluj-Napoca and Timișoara are the other two cities worth considering — Cluj especially has a strong tech community. Third, the bureaucracy is real but navigable. Romanian administrative processes reward patience and complete paperwork. The tip locals know: large private clinics like Regina Maria, Medicover, and MedLife in Bucharest have streamlined the medical certificate step for visa applicants — ask specifically for the documents needed for the immigration file and you'll skip a lot of back-and-forth. Bring more copies than you think you need, and expect at least one in-person visit to the immigration office (IGI) even when parts can be done online. Fourth, the language. You can absolutely live in Bucharest, Cluj, or Timișoara in English — the under-40 population speaks it widely, especially in tech and hospitality. Outside the cities it thins out, but for a nomad based in a major city, language is not a barrier the way it is in some neighbouring countries.
How the visa actually works
Step 1 — Long-stay visa for digital nomads (D/AD)
You apply through Romania's eVisa portal before travelling. The visa is for non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizens working remotely for a foreign employer or running a business incorporated outside Romania. You must show income of roughly €5,400/month (RON 26,730 — three times the national average gross salary) for each of the last six months. Processing typically takes 30-45 days. Visa fee is around €120.
Step 2 — Convert to a residence permit
Once your visa is approved you have 90 days to enter Romania, and you must apply for a temporary residence permit at the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI) at least 30 days before your 90-day entry stamp expires. The residence permit fees total roughly €120-170. The permit is valid for 12 months and renewable annually. This residence card is what gives you legal long-term status and Schengen travel.
What you actually need
Core requirements: proof of remote income of ~€5,400/month for the prior six months (employment contract with a foreign company, or proof of a business incorporated abroad); a clean criminal record certificate from your country of residence; travel/medical insurance with minimum €30,000 coverage; proof of accommodation in Romania; and the relevant application forms via the eVisa portal. You may not take local employment with a Romanian company or enter the local labour market — your income must remain foreign-sourced throughout. Dependents (spouse, minor children) can join via family reunification once you hold the qualifying permit.
The tax situation: 183 days is the line that matters
This is the part to understand before you book a flight. For the first 183 days of your stay within any 12-month period, you are generally exempt from Romanian income tax and social contributions on your foreign income (the exemption is codified under Law 69/2023), provided you work for a foreign company and not a local one. Cross 183 days and you technically become a Romanian tax resident — at which point you must register with ANAF (the tax authority) within 30 days. The upside: Romania uses a flat 10% personal income tax, one of the lowest in the EU, rather than progressive brackets. So even as a tax resident, the rate is gentle by European standards. Two things to note for 2026: dividend tax rose to 16% (from 8%), and social contributions (health/pension) may apply depending on your structure and income level. The interaction between the 183-day rule, your home country's tax treaty with Romania, and your contract type is where people make expensive mistakes — talk to a Romanian tax advisor before you cross the residency line. This is information, not tax advice.
Who this visa is genuinely good for (and who should look elsewhere)
Ideal for: higher-earning non-EU remote workers (comfortably above €5,400/month) who want a low-tax, full-Schengen European base with an exceptional cost-of-living-to-quality ratio; tech workers and founders who value top-tier internet and a real city tech scene (Bucharest, Cluj); and anyone who wants Eastern European affordability without sacrificing Schengen mobility now that Romania has joined. Not ideal for: anyone earning below the ~€5,400/month threshold (the income bar, not the cost of living, is the binding constraint — and it's high); those wanting to work for Romanian companies (prohibited on this visa); or nomads who only want a short 2-3 month stay (the visa-plus-permit process is built for people committing to a longer base). If the income bar is too high, compare Serbia's flat-tax entrepreneur route or Montenegro's lower-threshold DN visa instead.
Where to base yourself
Bucharest is the obvious choice — the capital, the biggest tech and startup scene, the most international community, the best café and restaurant culture, and excellent internet. Budget €1,200-1,800/month all-in for a comfortable single life including a central apartment. Cluj-Napoca is Romania's tech capital in the Transylvanian heart — smaller, younger, university-driven, with a strong IT community and a slightly lower cost base. Timișoara in the west is the third option — a beautiful, walkable city (a former European Capital of Culture) with growing remote-work infrastructure. All three have fast internet; Romania ranks among Europe's best for fixed broadband speed.
Honest reality check
Four practical notes. First: the €5,400/month income requirement is the single biggest hurdle — it's tied to the national average wage and updated annually, so verify the current RON figure before applying. Second: budget for at least one in-person visit to the IGI immigration office; not everything can be done online despite the eVisa portal. Third: the 183-day tax line is a hard threshold — track your days carefully if you want to preserve the exemption, and register with ANAF promptly if you cross it. Fourth: Romania is now full Schengen, which is a genuine advantage, but it also means your days here count toward EU presence in the usual way once you're a permit holder — plan your travel accordingly.
Primary sources
How this guide was researched
I'm a Romanian citizen based in Bucharest, so the on-the-ground sections reflect first-hand knowledge of the country, cities, and daily costs. For the legal and fiscal specifics, I cross-referenced the primary legislation (Law 22/2022 establishing the visa, Law 69/2023 on the tax treatment) with the General Inspectorate for Immigration, ANAF guidance, and PwC Tax Summaries for the 2026 rates. The income figure reflects the current three-times-average-wage formula (RON 26,730/month). Where figures change annually — particularly the income threshold — I note that and recommend verifying the live number before applying. Enomads earns no commission from Romanian relocation agencies; this is independent. If anything reads as out of date, email contact@enomads.eu and I'll re-verify.
Requirements & Eligibility
Income
Minimum income of 3× Romania's average gross salary per month. In 2025: approximately RON 25,500/month (~€5,100/month or ~USD $5,500/month) based on Romanian National Statistics Institute average salary data. Income must derive from remote work for non-Romanian employers/clients.
Documents needed
- Valid passport (6+ months validity)
- Completed visa application form
- Passport-size photographs
- Employment contract or service contracts with non-Romanian company (must be valid for at least 12 more months and specify remote work arrangement)
- Proof of income (payslips or bank statements confirming at least 3× average Romanian gross salary for last 3 months)
- Health insurance valid in Romania for full stay
- Clean criminal record certificate (apostilled, translated to Romanian)
- Proof of accommodation in Romania (rental contract, hotel booking, or property deed)
- Proof of IT/telecom means to work remotely.
How to Apply for the Romania DNV
Processing time: Approximately 30 days from application submission at Romanian consulate.
- 1Confirm eligibility (non-EU/EEA; remote worker for non-Romanian employer earning min 3× average Romanian gross salary; contract valid for at least 1 more year).
- 2Gather all required documents (apostilled, translated to Romanian where required).
- 3Apply at nearest Romanian consulate or embassy in home country.
- 4Pay visa fee (~€120).
- 5Wait approximately 30 days for decision.
- 6Enter Romania with visa.
- 7Optional: Apply for long-term residence permit in Romania if staying over 6 months.
Application fees: Consular visa fee: approximately €120 per person. Residence permit fee (if converting visa to permit in Romania): varies — approximately RON 250–500 (~€50–100).
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Visa Duration & Renewal
Initial duration: 1 year, renewable for additional 1-year periods.
Renewal: Yes — the Digital Nomad Visa (Viza D pentru activitate de muncă la distanță) can be renewed beyond the initial period.
Taxes for Digital Nomads in Romania
No income tax on foreign-sourced earnings if staying under 183 days/year. After 183 days, Romanian income tax at 10% flat rate applies. Romania has one of the lowest flat income tax rates in the EU. No social contributions required for non-residents. Romania has double taxation treaties with many countries.
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