Romanian Residence Permit. Conditions during COVID-19 in 2021
The most important matter regarding the pandemic situation is that good residence conditions have been implemented for all Romanian Residents. Including here all the foreigners that have a Romanian Residence Permit. Temporary or Permanent.
Romania is having an active Alert State since May 2020. This means we have special conditions that apply during this status. Starting with this period, all the Residence Permits are automatically extended for the whole period of the Alert State. This state is monthly extended with 30 days, so nobody can anticipate how long it will last.
That means your Romanian Residence Permit is still valid. Even if you didn’t have the possibility to travel to Romania to renew your Permit. Even if the validity period of your Residence Permit has been expired (i.e. the Permit reached its validity term), it is still valid by law.
This is an exception that has never been used in Romania and it is a great opportunity for all foreigners that are being in impossibility to travel due to this pandemic situation.
These measures help the residents of Romania for many reasons. First of all, you can minimise your travels, it’s not necessary to renew your Residence Permit if this is about to expire. After the Alert State of Romania ceases, you have 3 months of extra-validity for your Residence Permit. Meaning that you can apply for a new Residence Permit, when it will be safer for you to travel.
Second, the Romanian Government has implemented easier steps for company documents registrations. If you have a business Residence Permit for commercial activities, this means that you can take care of your company from abroad. Even online.
Also, for the countries that temporary suspended the free Visa travel (e.g. Japan) the people who has Romanian Residence Permit can enter the country without a Visa, this being the first benefit for having a Residence Permit in Romania.
Romanian Immigration Office has implemented online application for all foreigners. So the Residence Permit application can only be made by online appointment. This is as well a great change, this way we can avoid the long queues that usually form.
A very good help for everybody to stay safe and apply for Residence Permit in a much shorter time.
In a world where nothing is certain anymore, one thing it’s for sure: this pandemic situation has changed mindsets. In a way, it helped crowded institutions to use the online benefits for the Residents of Romania.