As of January 2022, so-called digital nomads will be able to obtain residence permits more quickly and swiftly than foreigners who do not have this status. A digital nomad is defined by the new law as (i) the employee of a foreign IT services company (an “IT Company”), or (ii) the owner of an IT Company not registered in Romania (but which has already been registered in a foreign state for at least 3 years).
Law no. 22/2022 introduces a new sub-type of visa for stays in Romania: the long stay visa for other purposes. Digital nomads must also provide proof of income at 3 times the level of the gross average Romanian salary.
Temporary residence permits issued to digital nomads will include the designation “digital nomad”.
One disadvantage of the new regulation is that it fails to harmonize the new provisions with the fiscal regulations, with the result that after 183 days spent in Romania within a period of 12 consecutive months digital nomads could be deemed as having fiscal residence in Romania.
However, there is an advantage for foreign IT specialists, and namely that it reduces the bureaucracy involved in obtaining work permits in Romania.
Source: Law no. 22/2022 on the amendment and supplementation of GEO no. 194/2002 on foreigners in Romania, in the form published on 14 January 2022