Amendments regarding the access of foreigners on the Romanian labour market
The Senate has adopted several amendments to Emergency Ordinance no. 32/2026 regarding the access of foreigners on the Romanian labour market. The normative act mainly regulates the conditions for registration and authorization, the rights and obligations of employers who employ foreigners on the territory of Romania, the authorization procedure for agencies placing foreigners on the Romanian labour market, as well as the suspension, withdrawal, or cancellation of such authorizations. The normative act also provides the conditions for the operation, supervision, and control of the activity of these placement agencies.
The Senate has adopted several amendments to Emergency Ordinance no. 32/2026 regarding the access of foreigners on the Romanian labour market. The normative act mainly regulates the conditions for registration and authorization, the rights and obligations of employers who employ foreigners on the territory of Romania, the authorization procedure for agencies placing foreigners on the Romanian labour market, as well as the suspension, withdrawal, or cancellation of such authorizations. The normative act also provides the conditions for the operation, supervision, and control of the activity of these placement agencies.
The ordinance introduces an obligation for employers and placement agencies to register and be authorized through the electronic platform ‘WorkinRomania.gov.ro’. The conditions for authorization will differ depending on the type of applicant, the occupation and qualification of the foreign worker, as well as the recruitment and employment method.
The normative act provides for new types of long-stay visas for employment: the D/AM1 visa for highly qualified workers and other special categories provided for by law; and the D/AM2 visa for permanent, seasonal, and cross-border workers who work in areas included in the list of shortage occupations. The ordinance introduces the single application for requesting long-stay visas for employment through the ‘WorkinRomania.gov.ro’ platform, simultaneously eliminating employment and posting permits.
The list of shortage occupations will be developed and updated biannually or whenever necessary based on the established methodology, reflecting the needs identified both at national and county level by the National Employment Agency. The information provided by the Labour Inspectorate, the General Inspectorate for Immigration, and the advisory opinion of the Economic and Social Council will be taken into account. Consultations with social partners are also foreseen.
By way of exception, an employer may sign individual employment contracts with a number of foreigners that exceeds the average number of employees registered in the previous year if: a) they demonstrate financial viability by uploading on the electronic platform proof of holding a credit line, a bank letter of credit, or the availability of uncommitted funds worth at least 500,000 Euros (or the equivalent in lei at the official exchange rate of the National Bank of Romania on the day of submission); b) at least 50% of the employees with whom they have concluded full-time individual employment contracts registered in REGES-ON LINE at the time of submitting the firm job offer are Romanian citizens. The financial viability must be certain, clear, due, and payable, and completely free of any commercial encumbrances or pledges in favour of third parties, as the newly introduced articles stipulate.
The senators introduced exceptions to the obligation of the Foreigner Placement Agency to bear the expenses incurred by a foreigner’s return to their country of origin. These include cases in which the agency presented the foreigner with at least two compliant job offers within 90 days and the foreigner unjustifiably refused them, the refusal being recorded in writing and notified to the National Employment Agency and the General Inspectorate for Immigration. Another exception applies when the foreigner’s individual employment contract has terminated by law as a result of the expiration of its fixed duration. At the same time, in the case of contraventions, fines will be applied for each foreign worker placed. The Senate is the first chamber to be notified, and the Chamber of Deputies is the decision-making body.
