New rules on access for foreign workers
The government has recently adopted an emergency ordinance on the foreign workers’ access to the Romanian labour market. The document aims to curb illegal migration, protect foreign workers and protect the Romanian workers’ interests. The new regulations facilitate access for Romanian entrepreneurs to workforce from third countries, simplify procedures and reduce approval deadlines in cases where labour is needed on the Romanian market, the Government says.
The government has recently adopted an emergency ordinance on the foreign workers’ access to the Romanian labour market. The document aims to curb illegal migration, protect foreign workers and protect the Romanian workers’ interests. The new regulations facilitate access for Romanian entrepreneurs to workforce from third countries, simplify procedures and reduce approval deadlines in cases where labour is needed on the Romanian market, the Government says.
The most important provisions include the creation of a single national platform (WorkinRomania.gov.ro) through which the government will manage the foreign workers’ access to the Romanian labour market. The platform will be managed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Also, a list of shortage occupations will be introduced, approved by government decision and updated every semester, based on data released by the National Agency for Employment, the National Institute for Statistics and after consultation with social partners.
A financial deposit will be established as a mandatory preventive protection mechanism that guarantees the coverage of costs related to repatriation, support for workers at risk and the payment of contravention fines applied to placement agencies that fail to meet legal obligations; the standardization of contracts and the establishment of the ’employer pays’ principle, which forbids to request commissions, fees, guarantees, or deposits from workers. The value of the guarantee for placement agencies will be 75,000 Euros for every 250 workers brought into the country. Employers who wish to employ foreign workers will have to register on the electronic platform. Thus, the risk of unfair competition and abuse on the labour market will be reduced.
It is also an important gain for Romanian citizens, because this mechanism explicitly places the recruitment of foreign workers in relation to the real needs of the economy and the protection of workforce. Except for certain highly qualified areas, employment procedures can only be initiated for occupations that are included in the list of shortage occupations. The outlining principle is that jobs must be filled, with priority, by workers available in the country, on the domestic market. The call for workforce from abroad is justified and controlled, the Government has announced.
The emergency ordinance is an important step forward to curb illegal immigration, because, sometimes, so-called workers were brought into the country, but they later ended up in other EU countries, and Romania paid significant amounts for their repatriation, the Government says. It is also an important gain for foreign workers who are thus much more protected from various forms of abuse. There have been situations when they were forced to pay illegal commissions, were subjected to forms of pressure, and did not receive their money, the aforementioned source adds.
On the other hand, the emergency ordinance on foreign employers introduces restrictive conditions and additional costs for recruiting non-EU workforce, the Employers’ Federation of Labour Force Importers claims. Representatives of the organization hope the shortcomings in the legislative process will be addressed in Parliament.
The ordinance significantly reconfigures the employers’ access to non- EU workforce. Employers will no longer be able to directly recruit workforce from third countries except under extremely restrictive conditions; in other situations, employment is conditioned by the intermediation of accredited recruitment agencies. The accreditation of agencies is to be carried out through the workinromania.gov.ro platform, that was not yet operational at the time the ordinance was published. Thus, access to non-EU workforce becomes significantly more limited, more expensive and bureaucratic, the aforementioned source says. The law also establishes additional barriers for start-ups and SMEs, practically forcing them to prioritize local workforce, although local labour is often insufficient or unavailable. The methodological rules for application and standardized documents have not yet been drafted and made available by the authorities, the Employers’ Association believes.
The only measure appreciated by the Employers’ Association is the introduction of an amnesty-based regulatory mechanism, applicable to foreign workers present in Romania, valid for 60 days, until June 26, 2026. This provision allows the regularization of the situation of workers in ongoing procedures, reducing the risk of immediate disruptions on the labour market, the aforementioned source says.
The Employers’ Association draws attention to the fact that, beyond legal norms, the operational reality remains difficult: consular staff is limited, document requirements are numerous and complex, and file processing times remain systematically long. Although the authorities have promised to reduce these deadlines, the implementation of these commitments is delayed. Representatives of the Employers’ Association express hope the authorities’ promises in this regard will be respected.
