Currently, the procedure and requirements for obtaining and regaining Romanian citizenship is regulated by Law no. 21/1991 on Romanian Citizenship (hereinafter referred to as “Law no. 21/1991”). Law no. 21/1991 sets the general framework, establishing that Romanian citizenship can be obtained by birth (ius sanguinis being the applicable principle of nationality law), by adoption, or upon request in specific regulated cases.
While obtaining Romanian citizenship by birth or adoption do not raise many practical challenges, obtaining Romanian citizenship upon request is a highly bureaucratic procedure.
Summarizing the key situations in which citizenship can be obtained by request under Romanian law, the following relevant provisions of Law no. 21/1991 must be observed:
- art 8, which is applicable for those applicants who have been residing in Romania for a specific minimum period of time;
- art 81, which applies to applicants who had a major contribution to the protection and promotion of Romanian culture, civilization, and spirituality;
- art 82, which refers to applicants who have had a significant contribution in promoting Romania’s image through outstanding performance in sport;
- art 10, which envisages those applicants who seek to obtain citizenship through descent from up to their 2nd degree ascendant (an ascendant who lost his/her citizenship for imputable reasons);
- art 11, which concerns those applicants who seek to obtain citizenship through descent from up to their 3rd degree ascendant (an ascendant who lost his/her citizenship for non-imputable reasons).
According to the official statistical data, the most frequent applications for citizenship are based either on art. 10 or art. 11 mentioned above, situations in which the applicants generally do not reside in Romania.
In the context of the volatile world of international security where there is a high level of illegal immigration, as well as in light of the envisaged accession of Romania to the USA Visa Waiver Program, Romanian law-makers considered it necessary that additional measures guaranteeing the integrity of Romanian citizenship had to be adopted, and thus implemented new provisions under Government Emergency Ordinance no. 100/2024 (hereinafter referred to as “GEO no. 100/2024”).
One of the main amendments brought by GEO no. 100/2024 is that a citizenship application can no longer be submitted through a proxy-holder (be it a lawyer or other type of agent). Thus, although it was previously possible for the applicant to submit a citizenship request through a proxy-holder in specific cases, art. 13 of the updated Law no. 21/1991 provides that a citizenship application can only be submitted in person, either at the National Citizenship Authority, or, for those individuals living abroad, at designated Romanian consulates/embassies.
Another significant amendment refers to the term within which the oath can be taken before the relevant Romanian authorities. Once the Decision of the President of the National Citizenship Authority approving the granting of citizenship is issued, the oath can be taken by the applicant within 1 year (as opposed to the previous term of 6 months). The oath is the last step before formally obtaining Romanian citizenship.
In addition, special attention must be paid to the administrative formalities with which the applicants must comply before taking the oath, as they must have biometrically-confirmed data recorded before receiving Romanian citizenship. Thus, in addition to the personal data that was previously collected according to art. 20 of Law no. 21/1991, the fingerprints and facial image of applicants must also be recorded by authorized persons of the National Citizenship Authority or of the relevant Romanian consulate/embassy at the moment the request for citizenship is submitted.
Also, in terms of simplifying the bureaucratic process, GEO no. 100/2024 implemented the issuance of a citizenship certificate and of a citizenship card, which were not yet regulated by domestic legislation. Thus, the updated provisions of Law no. 21/1991 provide that, after taking the oath, the applicant receives a certificate of Romanian citizenship, with a validity of up to 60 days.
Within 60 days as of the date of taking the oath, the citizenship card must be customized and issued by the Romanian authorities. The citizenship card will include high-security storage in which the biometric data and personal data of the holder are stored.
In a nutshell, GEO no. 100/2024 seeks to strengthen the formalities required to obtain Romanian citizenship in order to implement measures and verifiable processes to ensure that all applicants for citizenship have a biometrically-confirmed identity and that risks and vulnerabilities to Romania’s security are avoided as much as possible.
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