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Romanian Citizenship by descent

 

Updated guide as of 1 September 2024.

01

Who can benefit from Romanian citizenship services?

 

You can benefit from our Romanian citizenship services from our office if:
 

  • You have been born in Romania and emigrated or were adopted out of Romania at any point in time; or
     

  • Have a parent who was a Romanian citizen at any point in their lifetime and is aliveor
     

  • Have a parent or grandparent (any one suffices) who was a Romanian citizen at any point in their lifetime, is not alive, provided they departed present-day Romania on or after 1949or
     

  • Have a parent or grandparent who lost citizenship in 1940 in North-Western Transylvania, when it was annexed by Hungary, and who did not return to Romania, provided that all their life path and name changes are perfectly documented [we can undertake this research at your risk for a fee]. This includes victims of the Holocaust from North-Western Transylvania, provided their life path and name changes are perfectly documented; or
     

  • Have a parent or grandparent who emigrated from Romania towards Turkiye, provided that they were born in present-day Romania, i.e. in Tulcea or Constanta counties, and not in Bulgaria (!) and provided that you have perfect documentation showing their original Romanian names [we can undertake a research for their birth records at your risk for a fee]; or
     

  • Have a parent or grandparent who was "repatriated" by the German authorities in the 1940s, as being of ethnic-German kin ("Volksdeutsch"), provided they were born in present-day Romania and that we find their case file in the EinwanderungsZentralStelle archive in Germany [we can undertake this research at your risk for a fee]; or
     

  • Have a parent or grandparent who emigrated to mandate Palestine, i.e. before 1948provided that we find their record in the Naturalization files of Mandate Palestine [we can undertake this research at your risk for a fee]; or
     

  • Have a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent who was born in one of the following localities presently in Serbia: Gaiul Mare, Krivabara, Surian, Pardany and Modos / Jasa Tomic; or
     

  • Have a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent who was born between 1918 and 1940 in Northern Bukovina or the Bugeac (i.e. present-day Ukraine), provided that they then left directly to a foreign country (or remained in Ukraine), and did not move further East inside the USSR.
     

Important:

The list above only shows what type of cases we currently take. It is not exhaustive of the theoretical possibilities to apply for citizenship by descent. However, we do not take any other cases than the above.

Can I apply if my ancestor was born in present-day Republic of Moldova or Bulgaria?

You may be entitled to apply, but we do not provide services for such cases, nor assistance or alternative ideas.

Can I apply through a great-grandparent?

You may be entitled to apply even outside of the cases mentioned above, however, we do not take or advise on any other cases than the list above.

If my parent applies through a grandparent, can I then apply through my parent?

If you are over 18 and you would otherwise qualify only through a great-grandparent, in other words if your great-grandparent was the last person born in Romania, and you do not meet the criteria in the list above, then we will not take your case. Having a parent who applies and obtains citizenship first is not helpful in any way for their adult children.

What about minors (persons under 18)?

If you can benefit from citizenship services according to the list above, and you have children under 18, they can be included in your application and should be included, because they risk losing their entitlement once they become adults! We will gladly take your case as long as you yourself fit into one of the cases in the list 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.

OR

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

03

Who can qualify for Direct citizenship?

 

You have a good chance of being already a citizen, in the following cases:

  • You have been born in Romania and emigrated or were adopted out of Romania at any point in time; or
     

  • Have a parent who was a Romanian citizen at any point in their lifetime and is aliveor
     

  • Have a parent or grandparent (any one suffices) who was a Romanian citizen at any point in their lifetime, is not alive, provided they departed present-day Romania on or after 1949or
     

  • If your birth was registered in Romanian civil status registers, even if born abroad [i.e. through the consulate, very rare cases].

If you are found to be a Romanian citizen already, you do NOT need to speak Romanian!

Please note it is not possible to say from the start whether you are a citizen or not. Most of the time, preliminary checks have to be done before it can be determined whether you are a citizen, or you must apply.

04

What about citizenship by application?

 

If you are not found to be a citizen under the criteria at point 3, i.e. by direct citizenship, then you can benefit from our assistance with the application for Romanian citizenship by descent, if you fit into one of the categories at point 1 above.

The application for citizenship is strictly personal, i.e. we cannot represent you, however we can prepare the file for you (translations, copies etc.), make the preliminary request in the econsulat.ro system, and offer advice. You will, however, need to learn at least basic Romanian (unless you were born in Romania), by the time you meet a consular official.

It is 99% percent likely that you are NOT already a citizen, i.e. that you will have to learn Romanian, if you fall within one of these cases:

  • Have a parent or grandparent who lost citizenship in 1940 in North-Western Transylvania, when it was annexed by Hungary, and who did not return to Romania, provided that all their life path and name changes are perfectly documented [we can undertake this research at your risk for a fee]. This includes victims of the Holocaust from North-Western Transylvania, provided their life path and name changes are perfectly documented; or
     

  • Have a parent or grandparent who emigrated from Romania towards Turkiye, provided that they were born in present-day Romania, i.e. in Tulcea or Constanta counties, and not in Bulgaria (!) and provided that you have perfect documentation showing their original Romanian names [we can undertake a research for their birth records at your risk for a fee]; or
     

  • Have a parent or grandparent who was "repatriated" by the German authorities in the 1940s, as being of ethnic-German kin ("Volksdeutsch"), provided they were born in present-day Romania and that we find their case file in the EinwanderungsZentralStelle archive in Germany [we can undertake this research at your risk for a fee]; or
     

  • Have a parent or grandparent who emigrated to mandate Palestine, i.e. before 1948provided that we find their record in the Naturalization files of Mandate Palestine [we can undertake this research at your risk for a fee]; or
     

  • Have a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent who was born in one of the following localities presently in Serbia: Gaiul Mare, Krivabara, Surian, Pardany and Modos / Jasa Tomic; or
     

  • Have a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent who was born between 1918 and 1940 in Northern Bukovina or the Bugeac (i.e. present-day Ukraine), provided that they then left directly to a foreign country (or remained in Ukraine), and did not move further East inside the USSR.

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.

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