Romanian Citizenship by Descent

Romanian Citizenship: end of an era

As of May 2024, the rules have been changed completely. Please read this blog post. The webpage will be updated in May. https://www.romaniandocuments.net/post/romanian-citizenship-by-descent-end-of-an-era

01

Who can apply for Romanian Citizenship by Descent?

You can apply for Romanian Citizenship by Descent if you:

Have a parent who was a Romanian citizen at any point in their lifetime; or
Have a grandparent (any of four) who was a Romanian citizen at any point in their lifetime.

You are a Romanian citizen if either of your parents was a Romanian citizen at the time of your birth.

Can I apply through a great-grandparent?

You may be entitled to Romanian citizenship by descent through a great-grandparent, only if you fit within one of these categories:

A. Your great-grandparent was born in Romania [at the time of their birth] and is still alive;

B. Your great-grandparent emigrated from present-day Romania on or after 1949;

C. Your great-grandparent was born between 1918 and 1940 or 1941-1945 in Bessarabia or Northern Bukovina and lost citizenship by simply remaining there when they were annexed by the USSR;

D. Your great-grandparent was born between 1918 and 1940 in North-Western Transylvania and lost citizenship by simply remaining there when it was annexed by Hungary, but emigrated before 1945, when it was returned to Romania.

Please note that we cannot, currently, take cases falling within option C above!

02

What types of citizenship by descent exist?

There are essentially two types of Romanian citizenship by descent:

A. Direct, when you are considered to already be a citizen.

B. By application, when you are entitled to citizenship, but do not yet have it.

03

Who can qualify for Direct citizenship?

We may find that you are already a citizen, in the following cases:

A. Your Romanian-born ancestor is alive [regardless of generation];

B. Your Romanian-born ancestor is emigrated from present-day Romania on or after 1949.

If this ancestor is not your parent, then all intermediate generations must be alive;

C. If you are the last Romanian born person yourself;

D. If your birth was registered in Romanian civil status registers, even if born abroad [= through the consulate].

04

Who qualifies for Romanian citizenship by application?

If you are not found to be a citizen under the criteria above, then you can apply for citizenship, if you:

Have a parent who was a Romanian citizen at any point in their lifetime; or
Have a grandparent (any of four) who was a Romanian citizen at any point in their lifetime.

Can I apply through a great-grandparent?

You may be entitled to Romanian citizenship by descent through a great-grandparent, only if you fit within one of these categories:

A. Your great-grandparent was born in Romania [at the time of their birth] and is still alive;

B. Your great-grandparent emigrated from present-day Romania on or after 1949;

C. Your great-grandparent was born between 1918 and 1940 or 1941-1945 in Bessarabia or Northern Bukovina and lost citizenship by simply remaining there when they were annexed by the USSR;

Please note that we cannot, currently, take cases falling within option C above!

05

What services do we offer when taking on a case?

When we receive your case, we undertake the following services

A. Preliminary services:

1. E-mail consult. We clarify the plan of action, your goals, the time frame, and each step of the journey.

2. Advice for any necessary Power of Attorney.

3. Advice for any required documents from you.

This is always free!

B. Preparing Romanian documents:

4. Translation and legalization of your foreign documents. You will be using these whichever path you need to take for your citizenship by descent.

5. Romanian birth record or your ancestor. We work with other Romanian specialized legal providers to obtain the birth records of your ancestor, which is essential to any application. This is a new service. It is not possible for you to do so alone under normal circumstances.

6. Determining your chance of Direct citizenship. If you fall within one of the situations described at point 03 above, or in a few other special cases, you may have a chance at Direct citizenship. We determine your chance and if it is reasonably good, propose this path ahead of any other, so that you may access a Romanian passport faster.

7. If you are found to be a citizen already, we register your civil status records in Romania and you get a passport.

8. If your only path to citizenship is by application, then we help you prepare the application file and submit it through the nearest Romanian Consulate.

C. The result:

9. If you are already a citizen, the moment we have finished registering your vital records in Romania, we arrange your appointment for a Romanian passport.

10. If you need to apply for citizenship, once the application file is complete, we get you an appointment at the nearest Romanian Consulate, advise you, and your application for citizenship can be submitted. After a longer period, you will be invited to take the Oath, and then will receive your citizenship papers, including a passport, directly through the consulate.

Apply Now!

If you are interested in our services, do not hesitate to make a free inquiry now, by contacting us.