Message from the Minister of Internal Affairs

Cojocariu Eugen, 14.04.2026, 09:37

The Romanian Minister of Internal Affairs, Cătălin Predoiu, sent a message on the Day of the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI), emphasizing that IGI performs a series of essential functions for the fulfilment of the Ministry’s missions and for the Romanian state. “These functions, which relate to the entry and residence of foreigners in Romania, visa procedures, asylum, return and relocation procedures, and Schengen codes and procedures, have a direct impact on maintaining control over public safety and national security, but also over some activities in the national economy, where entrepreneurs and companies registered in our country employ foreign nationals”  said Predoiu.

He drew attention to digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI) and called for an internal reflection process within IGI on which operations can be digitalized or processed with artificial intelligence over the next three years. It is important to digitalize and integrate AI into some bureaucratic procedures, because we need to increase the speed at which we process documents and information, as citizens and companies still wait too long for some procedures and because we cannot otherwise address the personnel shortage, the minister said.

Cătălin Predoiu mentioned that migration has long ceased to be just an administrative issue, but has become a matter of public order, the functioning of the labour market, social stability and the credibility of the state. In recent years, Romania is no longer just a transit country. It is increasingly a destination country for work, studies, investments and life. At the end of 2025, nearly 300,000 foreign citizens held a valid right of residence in the IGI records. This fact says something important about the transformations that the Romanian society and economy are undergoing, the minister added.

He asked IGI representatives to increase the level of attention and efficiency in the administration of the public custody centres. These are important, as is IGI as a whole, for the implementation of the National Plan for the implementation of European Pact on Migration and Asylum, Predoiu added.