Debate on foreign workers in Romania

The Romanian Prime Minister’s Chancellery hosted public debates on the draft government ordinance on the registration and obligations of employers of foreign workers, and the authorisation and functioning of agencies placing foreigners on the Romanian labour market. We aim to simplify and reduce the average time for processing a visa application, which currently takes nine months or even a year, said Valentin Vătăjelu, Head of the Committee for the Admission and Regulation of the Foreigners’ Stay in Romania. We are coming up with solutions in the field of recruitment and placement of foreign labour so that all involved entrepreneurs comply with the same set of rules, show professionalism, and offer guarantees to the Romanian state and foreign workers. This is a necessity that stems from reality and from the state’s obligation to prevent exploitation, undeclared work, illegal migration and residence, and human trafficking, in accordance with constitutional, European and international requirements, he said.

The Romanian Prime Minister’s Chancellery hosted public debates on the draft government ordinance on the registration and obligations of employers of foreign workers, and the authorisation and functioning of agencies placing foreigners on the Romanian labour market. We aim to simplify and reduce the average time for processing a visa application, which currently takes nine months or even a year, said Valentin Vătăjelu, Head of the Committee for the Admission and Regulation of the Foreigners’ Stay in Romania. We are coming up with solutions in the field of recruitment and placement of foreign labour so that all involved entrepreneurs comply with the same set of rules, show professionalism, and offer guarantees to the Romanian state and foreign workers. This is a necessity that stems from reality and from the state’s obligation to prevent exploitation, undeclared work, illegal migration and residence, and human trafficking, in accordance with constitutional, European and international requirements, he said.

Participants analysed proposals on the creation of WorkinRomania.gov.ro — a single national platform through which the government will manage the foreign workers’ access to the Romanian labour market, ensuring communication between authorities — and on the introduction of the “List of Shortage Occupations” approved by the government and updated every six months based on official data and consultation with social partners. Employment services will be linked to this list. The proposal to establish a financial deposit as a mandatory preventive protection mechanism was also analysed, which guarantees the coverage of costs related to repatriation, support for workers at risk, and the enforcement of fines imposed on placement agencies that do not fulfil their obligations. Another proposal was to standardize contracts: service contract (agency-employer); tripartite agreement (agency-employer-worker), including in Romanian and in a language understood by the worker; employment contract (employer-worker). Debates also focused on the proposal to establish the ’employer pays’ principle, which prohibits the charging of commissions, fees, guarantees, or deposits from workers, in accordance with international standards.

The Employers’ Association of Labor Importers (PIFM) has pointed out that the draft ordinance introduces a series of restrictions that disproportionately affect small entrepreneurs and SMEs. Labor importers argue that the provision regarding the actual responsibilities of recruitment agencies should be corrected, as the draft unjustifiably introduces a form of extended liability for placement agencies, making them financially responsible for acts committed by third parties over whom they have no legal control. Agencies will be penalized for the conduct of foreign workers after employment, for violations committed by beneficiary employers, or even for administrative decisions made by the Romanian state, such as visa refusals or termination of residence rights, the Employers’ Association warns. A serious concern is the transfer of control and verification responsibilities from state institutions to private recruitment agencies.

From the Employers’ perspective, this measure should be eliminated, as agencies are contractual partners of employers, not control bodies. Monitoring compliance with labour legislation and the regime of foreign nationals is the exclusive responsibility of such institutions as the General Inspectorate for Immigration and Labor Inspection and cannot be transferred to entrepreneurs, according to PIFM. The Employers’ Association also has reservations about requiring recruitment agencies to carry out checks at the foreign workers’ workplace and place of accommodation. This creates conflicts of interest, exposes agencies to major legal and financial risks, and seriously affects their contractual relationship with employers. Limiting the employment of foreign workers based on the CAEN code, annual quota, seniority and the List of shortage occupations represents an additional restriction on access to labour force. At the same time, employers are concerned about the imposition of a 200,000 Euro financial deposit, which is considered unsustainable for most SMEs.

The National Trade Union Bloc (BNS) considers the draft addresses, to a large extent, the previously identified problems with regard to the situation of migrant workers and it includes essential measures, such as ensuring that migrant workers are fully informed, even in their country of origin, about working conditions and the level of wages, as well as the observance of their rights. Also, the draft entails the assumption of responsibility by recruitment companies for the situation of migrant workers arriving in Romania, the accountability of placement agencies for the entire recruitment process, as well as the registration of placement agencies and employers who recruit migrant workers, for more effective monitoring. The draft also regulates the ’employer pays’ principle for placement services, rather than the migrant worker, and streamlines the procedures for obtaining the necessary documents for foreign workers to start working in Romania, also by shortening recruitment periods.

The quota of newly admitted foreign workers on the Romanian labour market has increased from 5,500 in 2015-2016 to 100,000 per year in 2022-2025. A quota of 90,000 foreign workers has been set for 2026.