Romanian Citizenship by Ancestry: Reclaiming EU Status Through Descent in 2026

Romanian citizenship by ancestry in 2026: who qualifies, how to apply, and what has changed

Letzte Aktualisierung Mai 2026

Romanian citizenship is EU citizenship. Obtaining it through ancestry opens the door to living, working, and studying across any EU or EEA member state without a work permit. For families with roots in Romania or its former territories, the ancestry route remains one of the most practical paths to EU status, though recent legal changes have narrowed eligibility and added new requirements.

If you are also considering Staatsbürgerschaft or Aufenthaltsgenehmigungen in Armenia as part of a broader relocation strategy, our team can help you compare options across jurisdictions.

Who qualifies: Article 10 vs Article 11 under Law 14/2025

Romania’s citizenship-by-descent framework is found in Law 21/1991, most recently amended by Law 14/2025 (published in Monitorul Oficial nr. 218, 12 March 2025, effective 15 March 2025). There are two distinct tracks, and understanding which applies to you is the first step.

Artikel 10 covers former Romanian citizens and their descendants up to the 2nd degree (children and grandchildren). This route is available to anyone whose parent or grandparent held Romanian citizenship, regardless of which part of Romania they lived in.

Artikel 11 covers former citizens from territories that Romania lost involuntarily (Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and parts of the Hertza region) and their descendants up to the 3rd degree (great-grandchildren). This route was created as a form of moral redress for families whose ancestors lost citizenship through no fault of their own due to border changes. Critically, the 3rd-degree eligibility under Article 11 was confirmed by the cross-check of Law 14/2025’s text and remains in force.

A common misconception is that Law 14/2025 eliminated great-grandchild eligibility entirely. In fact, the 2nd-degree cap applies to Article 10 claims. Article 11, which addresses descendants from former Romanian territories, continues to permit applications from great-grandchildren, though evidentiary requirements are stricter and processing takes longer.

The B1 Romanian language requirement

One of the most significant changes introduced by Law 14/2025 is the B1-level Romanian language requirement for ancestry and reacquisition applicants. Under the new Article 15¹, applicants must demonstrate functional Romanian proficiency by one of two methods: presenting a B1 certificate from the Institutul Limbii Romane or another accredited institution, or providing documentation of at least three years of education conducted in Romanian.

There are two statutory exemptions from this requirement: applicants who are 65 years of age or older at the time of filing, and former Romanian citizens who are personally reapplying (not descendants). Minors are not separately exempt in the statute, but in practice, children acquired through their parent’s reacquisition file are not required to demonstrate language proficiency independently.

An important transitional rule: applicants whose files were pending before Law 14/2025 took effect are presumed to meet the language requirement and do not need to submit a certificate. For post-March 2025 filers, OUG 16/2026 extended the deadline for submitting the B1 certificate to approximately March 2027, providing additional time to prepare.

Erforderliche Unterlagen

Preparing a complete file is the single most important factor in avoiding delays or rejection. The ANC requires a continuous documentary chain from you back to your Romanian ancestor. Below is the standard document list; specific cases may require additional evidence.

• Valid passport (apostilled copy plus certified Romanian translation)
• Applicant’s long-form birth certificate (recent issuance, apostilled, certified Romanian translation)
• Marriage and divorce certificates, if applicable (apostilled, certified Romanian translation)
• Romanian ancestor’s civil-status documents: birth certificate, marriage certificate, proof of former Romanian citizenship
• Complete generational chain: birth and marriage certificates for each link between you and your ancestor (apostilled, certified Romanian translation). Name-change certificates where names differ across documents
• Criminal records certificate from your country of residence and any country where you lived more than one year in the last five years (apostilled, certified Romanian translation, issued within 3 to 6 months)
• INTERPOL clearance certificate from Peru INTERPOL office in Romania (obtained in person)
• B1 Romanian language certificate from Institutul Limbii Romane or accredited institution, or transcript showing 3 or more years of Romanian-language education
• Passfotos
• ANC application forms

Apostille and translation workflow: Romania is a Hague Convention signatory. The standard process for foreign documents is: obtain the original or certified copy, apply the Hague Apostille in the issuing country, then have a certified translation into Romanian prepared by a sworn translator, followed by notarization by a Romanian notary. For Article 11 cases involving ancestors from Bessarabia or Northern Bukovina, archival records from Moldova or Ukraine may be obtained through their respective state archives.

Schritt für Schritt Bewerbungsprozess

The process from initial assessment to passport typically takes two to five years depending on the article, document complexity, and current ANC backlogs.

Processing times and the ANC backlog

The ANC’s backlog is the defining challenge for Romanian citizenship applicants. As of mid-2025, an estimated 180,000 to 195,000 files were pending. In a Senate committee hearing in June 2024, the figure cited was over 180,000 unresolved cases, most submitted after 2021. Reports from early 2025 indicated that none of the approximately 50,350 applications submitted during 2024 had been approved, suggesting either a policy pause or a severe processing bottleneck.

Applicants should plan for a total timeline of roughly three to five years from initial document collection to receiving a Romanian passport. Filing a complete, error-free dossier from the start is the best way to minimize delays.

Regierungsgebühren

The only confirmed mandatory government fee for Article 10 and Article 11 reacquisition is 91.50 lei (approximately USD 20, VAT included) for the biometric citizenship card. This is paid in advance through CEC Bank or the ANC’s designated IBAN. The ANC’s official documentation lists this as the sole fee for the reacquisition process. For consular applications submitted abroad, the fee structure may differ slightly, with reports indicating approximately USD 21 for the citizenship card.

Note that applicants will incur additional costs outside the government fee structure: apostille fees per document, certified translation and notarization fees, travel to Bucharest or a Romanian consulate, and, for Article 11 cases, archival search fees in Moldova or Ukraine. If you engage legal representation, professional fees will be the largest expense.

The biometric citizenship card

Since 1 September 2024, Romania issues a biometric electronic citizenship card to individuals who are granted or reacquire citizenship, replacing the former paper certificate. The card stores biometric data (facial image and two fingerprints) on a high-security chip and is issued by the General Directorate for Passports within approximately 60 days of the oath ceremony. The technical specifications were established by Government Decision 1033/2024.

In the interim period between the oath and card issuance, a provisional certificate valid for up to 60 days is provided. The biometric card is designed to reduce identity fraud, streamline administrative interactions, and align Romania with EU standards for secure identity documents.

Doppelte Staatsbürgerschaft

Romania expressly permits dual and multiple citizenship. There is no requirement under Romanian law to renounce any existing nationality when reacquiring Romanian citizenship through Article 10 or Article 11. However, applicants should verify whether their current country of citizenship imposes any restrictions on holding a second nationality, as some countries do prohibit or limit dual citizenship from their side.

EU benefits after obtaining Romanian citizenship

As a Romanian citizen, you gain full EU citizenship rights, including free movement and residence across all EU and EEA member states without a work permit, the right to work in any EU country without additional authorization, access to EU-rate university tuition, voting rights in local and European Parliament elections in your country of residence, and consular protection from any EU member state’s embassy or consulate worldwide.

These benefits apply equally to those who acquire citizenship by ancestry and those born as Romanian citizens. There are no travel or rights restrictions for naturalized or reacquisition citizens.

Alternative paths to Romanian citizenship

If you do not qualify through ancestry, Romania offers several alternative naturalization routes, though all require extended legal residence in the country.

Standard-Einbürgerung requires eight consecutive years of legal residence, B1 Romanian language proficiency, knowledge of Romanian culture and the Constitution, a legal source of income, a clean criminal record, and being at least 18 years old. Marriage to a Romanian citizen reduces the residence requirement to five years. EU, EEA, or Swiss citizens may qualify after three years of residence. Flüchtlinge with demonstrated social integration may also qualify after three years.

Notably, Law 14/2025 eliminated the former investment pathway, which previously allowed individuals who invested at least EUR 1 million to access a reduced four-year residency requirement. There is currently no investment-to-citizenship fast-track in Romanian law.

For those exploring investment-linked residency in other jurisdictions, see our guide to Wohnsitz durch Investition or Unternehmensregistrierung in Armenien.

Häufige Gründe für eine Ablehnung

Understanding the most common rejection reasons can help you prepare a stronger file. The ANC rejects applications for incomplete documentation (missing apostilles, expired criminal records, documents without certified translation), failure to prove the Romanian ancestry chain (name or date discrepancies across generational documents, insufficient evidence of the ancestor’s citizenship), criminal record issues, insufficient Romanian language proficiency at the oath stage, and filing under the wrong legal article.

If a critical document in the generational chain is missing entirely and cannot be reconstructed through archival research, the application is generally non-viable. Given fraud concerns in recent years, the ANC applies heightened scrutiny to all files, making thorough preparation essential.

Häufig gestellte Fragen

Romanian citizenship by ancestry remains a powerful route to EU status, but the 2025 legal changes demand careful preparation: confirm your eligibility under the correct article, begin language preparation early, and ensure your documentary chain is complete and properly legalized. For guidance on structuring your application alongside broader Staatsbürgerschaft, Visum und Steuerplanung strategies, contact our team.