Moving to Romania
Romania country facts, largest cities, hub labels and reports.
Can I move to Romania?
Across 198 passports, 93 passports enter visa-free and 105 passports need a visa for Romania. Check your passport below.
- Visa-free
- 93
- Visa required
- 105
Entry.
Living & working.
Official requirements [53] · Visitor-entry rules
Residence rules and exceptions
| Citizenship / situation | Starting point |
|---|---|
| EU / EEA citizenship | Free movement; longer residence has conditions.[52] |
| Swiss citizenship | Separate Swiss arrangements, including residence documentation for longer stays.[52] |
| Other citizenship | Check work, study or family requirements.[53] |
| Existing status or family rights | A passport alone cannot establish your eligibility. Check the relevant authority’s guidance. |
These are national starting points, not an eligibility decision. Long-stay residence, work authorisation and in-country application rules differ by route; a visa-free visit never settles them. Check the route that matches your purpose and circumstances with the responsible authority.
Visa and entry rules
Sources checked through 5 Sept 2026.
Work and income
What is the unemployment rate in Romania?
The national unemployment rate was 6.1 % in 2025. Source: Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a)16
This is the Eurostat labour-force survey series used as the canonical national answer. Other published definitions exist and are shown in the table below.
What is the median gross salary in Romania?
The median gross salary was 953 EUR/month in 2022.
Half of employees earn less than this. Mean gross and national-accounts averages use different definitions and are shown in the table below. national-accounts average — shown in the table below.
What is the minimum wage in Romania?
The statutory minimum wage is 7.2 EUR/hour, gross (as of 2026-07). Source: Guvernul Romaniei / Agentia Nationala de Administrare Fiscala25
National statutory floor, gross, before tax and social contributions.
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median gross salary, monthly | 953 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2022 | Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly)17Official · national figure |
| National unemployment rate | 6.1 % | 31 Dec 2025 | Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a)16Official · national figure |
| Minimum gross hourly wage | 7.2 EUR/hour | 27 Aug 2026 | Guvernul Romaniei / Agentia Nationala de Administrare Fiscala25Official · national figure |
Public employment service in Romania
Official job-search, registration, counselling and training routes. Private recruitment agencies are not included.
National Agency for Employment — Public employment service
A national service does not prove that an office exists in every city. City pages show an office only after an exact address is linked to that city. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.
Taxes in Romania
National rates and comparable published scenarios. Personal tax depends on income, household and residence circumstances.
What does an average earner take home in Romania?
A single person on an average wage keeps about 13,233 EUR/year of about 22,620 EUR/year gross per year — 58.5% of pay.
Standardized Eurostat EARN_NT_NET (standardized scenario): single person, no children, earning the average wage. The same scenario is published for every covered country, so take-home shares compare directly.
| Component | Amount / year |
|---|---|
| Net wage earnings, kept | 13,233 |
| Employee social contributions | −7,917 |
| Income taxes | −1,470 |
| Gross wage earnings | 22,620 |
- Gross-to-net pay for a sample household: single person no children — 22,620 gross → 13,233 net a year (2025, EUR) · Annual net earnings (EARN_NT_NET), single person without children at 100% of average earnings
Benefits newcomers may qualify for in Romania
Public schemes where an official source defines an eligible migration or residence status. Amounts and conditions are kept in their native terms.
| Programme | Published amount | Source and application |
|---|---|---|
Acordarea indemnizatiei de somaj — Unemployment support | Amount set per household by formula | |
Eligibility and amount detailsArt. 16 of the official Romanian public-service record identifies these exact migrant profiles: ‘sunt cetăţeni străini sau apatrizi care au fost încadraţi în muncă sau au realizat venituri în România sau care au drept de muncă pe teritoriul României, conform legii’ (foreign citizens or stateless persons employed, generating income or having the right to work in Romania); and ‘au obţinut statutul de refugiat sau beneficiază de altă formă de protecţie internaţională ... sau se află în procedură de soluţionare a cererii de azil şi au acces pe piaţa muncii’ (refugee, international-protection or asylum-procedure profiles with labour-market access). No broader lawful-resident category is published. The official EURAXESS government portal states that the Romanian unemployment benefit starts from 75% of the gross minimum wage and is paid for 6 to 12 months. The payable amount varies with the statutory contribution and claim conditions; this row preserves the source formula and does not assert a single fixed national RON amount. | ||
Ajutorul de incluziune — componentă a venitului minim de incluziune (VMI) — Minimum-income support | Amount set per household by formula / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe current official Romanian Ministry fact sheet states that inclusion assistance is calculated from adjusted monthly net income using household-equivalence coefficients; it publishes an adjusted-income threshold of RON 393, RON 572 for a single person aged at least 65, and RON 998 for the child-family component. The payable household amount varies with household composition, income, age and the statutory VMI conditions; no representative household payment is asserted. The official Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity electronic fact sheet states that non-Romanian families and single persons are covered in three exact source categories: ‘sunt cetăţeni ai unui stat membru al Uniunii Europene, ai Spaţiului Economic European, ai Confederaţiei Elveţiene sau străini ... pe perioada în care au domiciliul ori, după caz, reşedinţa în România, în condiţiile legislaţiei române’; ‘sunt cetăţeni străini sau apatrizi cărora li s-a acordat o formă de protecţie în condiţiile legii’; and ‘sunt apatrizi care au domiciliul sau, după caz, reşedinţa în România, în condiţiile legii’. , foreign_national_or_stateless_person_granted_protection_in_romania_under_vmi_law and stateless_person_with_domicile_or_residence_in_romania_under_vmi_law, subject to the official hardship, adjusted-income, asset, household and other VMI conditions. | ||
Assistance to asylum seekers without material means of maintenance — Arrival and reception support | Amount varies | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe current IGI assistance page publishes RON 20 per person per day for food, RON 200 for clothing in winter or RON 135 in the hot season, and RON 12 per person per day for other expenses. It also publishes in-kind accommodation, hygiene and cleaning products, food-preparation goods, medical care and rental assistance when IGI-centre capacity is exceeded. The applicable amount varies by the source-defined means test, season, accommodation capacity and requested component; no single universal cash amount is asserted. The current General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI) assistance page states that asylum seekers benefit, on demand, when they do not dispose of material means for maintenance, from the listed food, clothing and other-expense assistance. The IGI rights page separately states that a person without means for survival can benefit upon request throughout the asylum procedure from material reception conditions. it does not broaden the source wording to foreign residents or every asylum seeker without the means condition. | ||
Material assistance for renting a house for asylum seekers — Housing support | In-kind support | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe official IGI page states that asylum seekers without material means may receive material assistance for renting a house when accommodation capacity in IGI centres is exceeded. No fixed national RON rent amount is published; the support is source-defined in-kind/material assistance and varies by the statutory case and available accommodation capacity. The current General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI) assistance page states that asylum seekers benefit, on demand, when they do not dispose of material means for maintenance, from the listed reception assistance. The same page expressly states that they may receive material assistance for renting a house when the accommodation capacity in the IGI centres is exceeded. This housing row publishes only asylum_seeker_in_romania_without_material_means_during_asylum_procedure and does not broaden the route to ordinary foreign residents or undocumented persons. | ||
State child allowance for foreign or stateless minors from the Ukraine conflict area — Family and child support | Amount varies / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe official Prefectura Alba report published in March 2026 records RON 292 per month for the standard child-allowance band covering children aged 2–18 and eligible students over 18, and RON 719 per month for children up to age 2, children up to age 3 with disability and children aged 3–18 with disability. The Constanta operational page confirms that the amount varies by age and disability status and is updated by Government decision; no single universal RON amount is asserted. The official Constanta DGAS page heading says: ‘ALOCAȚIE DE STAT PENTRU MINORII CETATENILOR STRAINI SAU APATRIZI CARE PROVIN DIN ZONA CONFLICTULUI ARMAT DIN UCRAINA’. It states: ‘Beneficiaza de alocatia de stat pentru copii daca permisul de sedere temporara are inscrisa o adresa’ and requires a copy of the valid temporary residence permit plus a declaration that the minor is maintained by the parent or representative. it does not broaden the source-specific Ukraine conflict-zone and permit/address conditions to generic foreign residents, generic family reunification or every temporary-protection profile. | ||
ImmigrationDB shows published rules; it does not decide personal eligibility. Confirm your status, contribution record and household circumstances with the responsible authority before applying. Sources checked through 12 Aug 2026.
Can migrants receive medical care in Romania?
Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Romania when the official insurance or residence conditions are met.
Language courses and integration in Romania
Government programmes, public integration services and exact provider records. The section expands only from fields present in the source; missing prices, refunds or contacts are not replaced with estimates.
Integration Programme for beneficiaries of international protection and other eligible foreigners — Integration course
General Inspectorate for Immigration
For refugees, persons with subsidiary protection, other eligible foreigners.
Piloting integration — regional integration-centre route — Welcome Program
General Inspectorate for Immigration
For beneficiaries of protection, other foreigners with a right of residence.
Romanian-language courses organised with the Ministry of Education and the General Inspectorate for Immigration — State Language Course
Ministry of Education and Research in collaboration with the General Inspectorate for Immigration
For foreigners in the social integration programme.
Social integration programme for foreigners with a right to stay in Romania — Newcomer Adaptation
General Inspectorate for Immigration / Ministry of Internal Affairs
For foreigners with a right of residence, EU/EEA/Swiss citizens.
Romanian language courses for international students at Babeș-Bolyai University — State Language Course
Babeș-Bolyai University
For international students.
Summer Courses in Romanian Language, Culture and Civilization 2026 — State Language Course
University of Bucharest
For international applicants, foreign learners.
Living and moving context for Romania
Romania had GDP per capita of US$20,080 and life expectancy of 76.5 years. There were 3.625 doctors per 1,000 people. The national unemployment rate was 6.1% in 2025. Average gross salary was €1,367 per month in 2024, while national median net income was €543 per month in 2024. The employer social-contribution rate was 2.25% in January 2026.
Romania cities by population
The largest published cities appear first. Population is taken from the reusable official city layer; hub labels come from the existing city taxonomy.
All published cities in Romania
Reports with this country
Accepted report pages with a row for this country.
Romania facts
Current source-backed observations, grouped the way the city pages are, with geographic scope and observation periods.
Population and profile
How many people live in Romania?
The published population was 19,051,804 people in 2024. Source: World Bank46
National, resident population scope. Foreign-resident and migration-background figures are separate metrics in the table below.
How many foreign residents live in Romania?
The foreign-resident population was 368,670 people in 2025. Source: Eurostat7
Residents without Romania citizenship. The migration-background population is a broader measure and appears in the table below.
Legal, tax and other context
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public healthcare access for foreign residents | Conditional | 3 Aug 2026 | Direcția de Sănătate Publică Bihor, Government of Romania3Official · national figure |
| Area | 238,400 km² | 31 Dec 2023 | World Bank47Official · national figure |
| Gross-to-net pay for a sample household | single person no children — 22,620 gross → 13,233 net a year (2025, EUR) | 31 Dec 2025 | Annual net earnings (EARN_NT_NET), single person without children at 100% of average earnings2Official · country household scenario |
| Population by year | 19,043,098 people (2022) | 1 Jan 2022 | Population on 1 January by age and sex (DEMO_PJAN)41Official · country annual series |
| Religious affiliation of residents | Reformat — 2.6 % (2021) | 31 Dec 2021 | UNdata Table 28 — Population by religion, sex and urban/rural residence43Official · country religion category |
| Salary by profession | Clerical support workers — 787 EUR/month (2022) | 31 Dec 2022 | Mean monthly earnings by sex, occupation and size class of the enterprise (2022)28Official · country occupation |
| Doctors per 1,000 residents | 3.63 per 1,000 | Not stated | Physicians (per 1,000 people), World Development Indicators40Official · national figure |
| Household electricity price | 0.289 EUR/kWh | 31 Dec 2025 | Eurostat8Official · national figure |
| Employer social contribution rate | 2.25 % | Jan 2026 | Romanian employer-side CAM rate is 2.25% of the statutory wage base under art. 220^3(1); scoped employer liability, not employee contribution.42Official · national figure |
| People employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing | 1,476,400 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in mining and quarrying | 50,400 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in manufacturing | 1,399,800 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning | 83,300 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in water supply, sewerage and waste management | 101,400 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in construction | 826,700 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in wholesale and retail trade; motor vehicle and motorcycle repair | 1,374,500 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in transportation and storage | 624,600 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in accommodation and food services | 205,400 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in information and communication | 207,000 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in finance and insurance | 88,800 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in real estate | 45,700 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in professional, scientific and technical services | 199,300 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in administrative and support services | 208,600 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in public administration, defence and compulsory social security | 415,900 people | 2025 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
Typical city (median): about 1.0%
Unemployment rate (%)
Common questions
Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.
What is the unemployment rate in Romania?
The national unemployment rate was 6.1 % in 2025. Source: Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a).
How many people live in Romania?
The published population was 19,051,804 people in 2024. Source: World Bank.
What is the median gross salary in Romania?
The median gross salary was 953 EUR/month in 2022. Source: Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly).
What is the minimum wage in Romania?
The statutory minimum wage is 7.2 EUR/hour, gross (as of 2026-07). Source: Guvernul Romaniei / Agentia Nationala de Administrare Fiscala.
Cite this page
Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.
APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, September 14). Moving to Romania: salary, cost of living, jobs, safety [ImmigrationDB compilation; snapshot approved-static-c751ebb1b4085a62; version approved-static-c751ebb1b4085a62]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/countries/romania/ Retrieved 2026-09-14. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_moving-to-romania-salary-cost-of-living-jobs-safety_4d24ef784635,
author = {ImmigrationDB},
title = {Moving to Romania: salary, cost of living, jobs, safety},
publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-09-14},
version = {approved-static-c751ebb1b4085a62},
snapshot = {approved-static-c751ebb1b4085a62},
url = {https://immigrationdb.com/countries/romania/},
note = {Retrieved 2026-09-14. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}Markdown citation
[Moving to Romania: salary, cost of living, jobs, safety](https://immigrationdb.com/countries/romania/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; snapshot approved-static-c751ebb1b4085a62; version approved-static-c751ebb1b4085a62; retrieved 2026-09-14; built 2026-09-14.This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.
Sources
Every number above comes from one of these records. Open the original source for its geographic scope and publication date.
- ANAF (Codul Fiscal) anaf.ro · checked 2026-06-13
- Annual net earnings (EARN_NT_NET), single person without children at 100% of average earnings ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-30
- Direcția de Sănătate Publică Bihor, Government of Romania dspbihor.gov.ro · checked 2026-08-02
- ec.europa.eu ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-12
- EF EPI ef.com · checked 2026-08-03
- European Medicines Agency ema.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-20
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-07
Show 43 more sources
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
- Eurostat — Distribution of income by household composition (ilc_di04) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat — National accounts aggregates (nama_10_a10) and employment (nama_10_a10_e) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat crim_off_cat (ICCS0101, NR) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-05
- Eurostat demo_pjan ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-05
- Eurostat earn_mw_cur ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-06
- Eurostat hbs_exp_t121 ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-06
- Eurostat ilc_di03 ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-06
- GDP per capita (current US$), World Development Indicators api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- Globalization and World Cities (GaWC), Loughborough University gawc.lboro.ac.uk · checked 2026-08-03
- Guvernul Romaniei / Agentia Nationala de Administrare Fiscala static.anaf.ro · checked 2026-08-27
- Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) data.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-13
- Life expectancy at birth, total (years), World Development Indicators api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- Mean monthly earnings by sex, occupation and size class of the enterprise (2022) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-30
- migrationfit.com migrationfit.com · checked 2026-06-14
- MIPEX mirovni-institut.si · checked 2026-08-03
- National Agency for Fiscal Administration, Romania static.anaf.ro · checked 2026-08-03
- National Institute of Statistics of Romania (INSSE) statistici.insse.ro · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- Physicians (per 1,000 people) data.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-13
- Physicians (per 1,000 people), World Development Indicators api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- Population on 1 January by age and sex (DEMO_PJAN) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-29
- Romanian employer-side CAM rate is 2.25% of the statutory wage base under art. 220^3(1); scoped employer liability, not employee contribution. static.anaf.ro · checked 2026-07-15
- UNdata Table 28 — Population by religion, sex and urban/rural residence UNdata Table 28 · data.un.org · checked 2026-07-30
- WHO GHO RS_196/RS_198 ghoapi.azureedge.net · checked 2026-09-05
- WHO GHO RS_196/RS_198 ghoapi.azureedge.net · checked 2026-09-05
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank Open Data api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-07
- World Bank Open Data api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-07
- World Bank SP.POP.TOTL api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-09-05
- Romanian General Inspectorate for Immigration — admission of EU/EEA/Swiss citizens
Official Romania starting point for EU/EEA/Swiss residence; national guidance only, not a personal eligibility decision.
- Romanian General Inspectorate for Immigration — residence permit
Official Romania national residence and immigration guidance; not a personal eligibility decision.