Romania residency & tax 2026: 10% flat tax, how to apply & cost

How residency in Romania works

Romania is an EU and Schengen member with the bloc's joint-lowest flat income tax. Immigration is handled by the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI), and tax by ANAF (the National Agency for Fiscal Administration). EU/EEA and Swiss citizens can live there freely and simply register their residence; everyone else applies for a long-stay national visa (a 'D' visa) first, enters Romania, and then applies to IGI for a residence permit. Tax residency is separate from immigration status — you can become a Romanian tax resident by domicile, by having your centre of vital interests there, or by spending more than 183 days in any 12-month period.

Routes to residency

For EU/EEA/Swiss citizens, there is no visa: you register with IGI and receive a registration certificate, then permanent residence after five years. For non-EU citizens, the main routes are the digital-nomad visa (for remote workers with foreign-source income), plus employment, self-employment/business, study and family-reunification visas. Romania has no golden visa and no citizenship-by-investment programme — residency comes through work, remote income, family or study, not passive investment.

How to apply, step by step

1. Pick your route — EU citizens register directly; non-EU citizens choose a long-stay (D) visa category such as the digital-nomad, employment or self-employment visa.
2. Assemble your file: proof of income or funds, proof of accommodation in Romania, private health insurance, an apostilled criminal-record certificate and a medical certificate.
3. Apply for the long-stay (D) visa at the Romanian consulate covering your country of residence, and pay the visa fee.
4. Enter Romania on the D visa, which typically permits an initial stay of up to 90 days.
5. Apply to IGI for a residence permit at least 30 days before the visa's stay expires, and collect your permit card.
6. Register with ANAF and obtain your tax identification, and get your CNP (personal numeric code) for day-to-day life.
7. Maintain and renew the permit; after five years of continuous legal residence apply for permanent residence, and consider citizenship after eight years (five if married to a Romanian citizen).

What you'll need

• A valid passport, plus passport photos.
• Proof of income or funds — the digital-nomad visa requires roughly RON 26,730/month (about €5,100, i.e. three times the average gross wage) averaged over the prior six months; the figure is reset periodically, so confirm the current amount.
• Proof of accommodation in Romania (a rental contract or property title).
• Private health insurance covering your stay.
• An apostilled criminal-record certificate from your country of residence, translated into Romanian.
• A medical certificate confirming you pose no public-health risk.
• For tax: registration with ANAF and, in practice, a CNP (personal numeric code).

Thresholds and fees change — the digital-nomad visa fee rose in 2026 — so confirm current figures with the consulate and IGI before you file.

Cost & timeline

How your income is taxed

Romania taxes residents on worldwide income at a flat 10% — no progressive brackets, the same rate whether you earn a modest or a large salary. That flat rate is the country's big draw. But two things temper it. First, social contributions are heavy: employees pay CAS (pension) at 25% and CASS (health) at 10% of gross, and the self-employed (PFA) owe CAS and CASS on income bands tied to the minimum wage. Second, from 1 January 2026 dividends are taxed at 16% (up from 10%), whether paid by Romanian or foreign companies.

So the real effective burden depends heavily on how you're paid — salary, self-employment or dividends. Plan your position deliberately: read how to establish tax residency abroad, and model the contribution side, not just the headline 10%, before you move.

The upside — why people choose Romania

• A flat 10% income tax — the joint-lowest in the EU, tied with Bulgaria.
• Full EU and Schengen membership, with free movement across the bloc.
• A low cost of living relative to Western Europe, especially outside Bucharest.
• Fast, cheap fibre internet — among the best in Europe — and a genuine digital-nomad visa.
• A realistic five-year path to permanent residence, and eight-year path to an EU passport.

Common challenges to plan for

• The 10% headline is misleading on its own — CAS (25%) and CASS (10%) contributions can dominate the total burden.
• Dividends rose to 16% in 2026, narrowing the gap with higher-tax EU peers for company owners.
• Worldwide taxation applies to residents; treaty relief needs a residence certificate and paperwork.
• Bureaucracy can be slow and Romanian-language-heavy — a CNP and ANAF registration are near-essential.
• No golden visa or citizenship-by-investment — residency requires work, remote income, family or study.
• Citizenship takes eight years (five if married to a Romanian) and requires Romanian-language ability.

Who it suits

Best for EU citizens who want a low-tax EU base, and for non-EU remote workers who qualify for the digital-nomad visa and value cheap living, fast internet and Schengen access. It's a strong fit for salaried and freelance earners who can live with the social-contribution load — less so for those relying mainly on dividends after the 2026 increase, or anyone hoping to buy residency through investment.

How Expectat helps

Romania's 10% flat tax looks simple until you meet CAS, CASS, the 16% dividend rate and the ANAF/CNP paperwork. We can map the right visa for your income, sequence the consulate-then-IGI steps, and model your true effective rate across salary, self-employment and dividends before you commit. Book a strategy call and we'll plan it with you.

Where it fits in a borderless plan

Romania is a strong low-tax EU base flag; where you hold capital may be another. Pair it with a deliberate capital structure, a Bitcoin self-custody plan, and the practical side — see our Romania digital-nomad visa and Romanian passport guides, and browse all country guides and articles.