Romanian citizenship by descent: who is eligible in 2026

Who is eligible: three generations under law

Law 21/1991 identifies several grounds. The main one for most applicants is Article 11: the right to restore citizenship is granted to persons who lost it involuntarily, and their descendants up to and including the third generation. In practice, this covers three categories: **1. First generation**—the former Romanian citizen themselves, who lost citizenship as a result of territorial annexation (1940–1944), deportations, or Soviet policy. **2. Second generation**—children of such a citizen, regardless of whether the citizen is alive. **3. Third generation**—grandchildren. This is where most modern applicants from Moldova and Ukraine fall. Important point: the right is transmitted only in direct line. Brothers, sisters, nephews—do not count. Only the descending chain: grandfather/grandmother → parent → you.

Bessarabia, Bukovina, Transylvania—historical context

Most applicants from the CIS are connected to three regions. **Bessarabia** (modern Moldova and part of Odesa region in Ukraine) was part of Romania from 1918 to 1940. The Soviet Union annexed it under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Residents born there before June 28, 1940, were considered Romanian citizens. **Northern Bukovina** (Chernivtsi region of Ukraine)—Romanian from 1918 to 1940. The same story: Soviet annexation, loss of citizenship against the will of the people. **Northern Transylvania** was part of Romania, was transferred to Hungary in 1940 under the Second Vienna Arbitration, and returned in 1945. For applicants from this region, there are nuances in dates and document chains., 70–80% of clients I work with on Romanian citizenship are Moldovans or Ukrainians with roots in Chernivtsi. The applicant base is colossal.

Application conditions: what needs to be proven

ANC verifies three things. **First—proof of ancestor's Romanian citizenship.** This means: the ancestor was born or lived in Romanian territory before the moment of annexation. This is confirmed by birth records, archival certificates, population censuses. **Second—family relationship.** An unbroken chain of documents from you to your ancestor-citizen. Each link is a birth certificate, marriage certificate (if surname changed), death certificate if needed. **Third—absence of grounds for refusal.** Convictions for serious crimes, threat to national security—standard checks. For most applicants, this is not an issue. Additionally: you do not need to know Romanian to submit an application. The oath when obtaining citizenship is taken in Romanian—you can learn it in advance; it is not difficult.

Document package: what to collect

The document list is standard, but the devil is in the details. **For the ancestor-citizen:** - birth record (or church record if the archive was destroyed) - document confirming residence in Romanian territory before annexation—archival certificate, passport, property document **Chain of kinship (each link):** - birth certificates - marriage certificates—especially important if surname changed - death certificates (for deceased ancestors in the chain) **Your personal documents:** - valid passport - certificate of no criminal record - application form from ANC All documents issued outside Romania must be apostilled and translated into Romanian by a certified translator. The main problem is archival gaps. Records burned, were lost, were destroyed. In such cases, we work with church records, regional archives in Chișinău, Chernivtsi, Bucharest.

ANC procedure: how it works

ANC—Autoritatea Națională pentru Cetățenie—is the only authority that accepts applications for citizenship restoration. You can submit in two ways: - **In person in Bucharest**—appointment with ANC, direct submission of documents - **Through Romanian consulate** in your country of residence—relevant for residents of Moldova, Ukraine, Russia After submission, ANC checks the completeness of the package. If anything is missing—they send a notice requesting it. It is important to respond quickly: delays extend the timeline. Then the case goes for review. The official timeline is 6 months from acceptance of the complete package, but realistically the process takes 2–4 years accounting for backlogs. The result is a Romanian Government Decree—a list of persons granted citizenship restoration. After this, you must take an oath—in person, either in Romania or at a consulate. Only after the oath is citizenship considered acquired.

Real timelines: 2–4 years and what affects them

2–4 years is a estimate. Sometimes faster, sometimes longer. What accelerates the process: - complete and correctly prepared package from the start - all documents apostilled and translated without errors - no requests for missing documents What delays the process: - incomplete package → ANC request → waiting for document submission - errors in translations or apostilles - complex archival requests—especially in Moldova and Ukraine - general ANC workload: the queue of applications is large In my practice, the fastest case took 22 months, the longest took 5 years due to court challenge of an archival denial. The average across our cases is about 3 years.

Oath and passport receipt

After the Decree is issued—personal appearance to take the oath. The oath text is in Romanian, short, and provided in advance. The oath is administered: - at ANC in Bucharest - at Romanian consulates abroad After the oath, you receive a Certificate of Citizenship (Certificat de cetățenie). With it, you can already apply for a Romanian identity card (buletin) and passport. The passport is issued separately—through the passport office. Timeline: 1–2 months. For the entire process from oath to passport in hand: 2–3 months. Dual citizenship: Romania does not require renunciation of your previous citizenship. You remain a citizen of your country.

Cost: what really costs money

Official ANC fees are minimal—around 70–150 €. This is not an expense item to worry about. Real costs look different: **Archival requests and certificates:** 200–800 € depending on regions and number of documents. Moldovan archives—approximately 50–150 €, Ukrainian—about the same. If church records are needed—you pay separately for archival work. **Apostilles:** on average 20–50 € per document. For a full package of 10–15 documents—200–500 €. **Translations:** 30–80 € per page from a certified translator. Full package—400–1,200 €. **Notarial certifications:** 100–300 € total. **Legal support:** if working with a consultant—1,500–4,000 € depending on case complexity. **Total realistically:** 2,500 to 7,000 € accounting for all expenses. For an EU passport—not much.

Moldovans: submission specifics

Moldova is the largest source of applicants for Romanian citizenship. By various estimates, more than one million Moldovan citizens already hold a Romanian passport. For Moldovans, the typical chain is as follows: grandfather/grandmother were born in Bessarabia before June 28, 1940 → held Romanian citizenship → their descendants have the right to restoration. Applications can be submitted through the Romanian Consulate in Chișinău. The oath is administered there as well - travel to Bucharest is not required. The difficulty for Moldovans often lies not in the right - which is evident - but in the documents. Soviet birth certificates are sometimes issued under a different name (the Romanian name was transliterated into Cyrillic), and dates and spellings may differ. This is solvable but requires time and archival work.

Ukrainians with Bukovinian roots

Chernivtsi Region (Northern Bukovina) was Romanian from 1918 to 1940. Residents born there before June 28, 1940 were Romanian citizens. The situation is complicated for Ukrainians: submitting through the Romanian Consulate in Ukraine is currently difficult due to the current situation. Many travel to submit in person in Bucharest or through consulates in third countries. Archives on Bukovina are partly located in Chernivtsi (State Archive of Chernivtsi Region) and partly in Bucharest (Foreign Ministry Archive). Sometimes work with both is necessary. Another nuance: German-language documents. Part of Bukovina was historically German-speaking - the Austrian period. Birth certificates in German or Romanian-German are encountered. The translator must be certified to work with historical documents.

How to verify if you have grounds

The first step is to establish where your ancestor from the direct line originated and when. Verification algorithm:

Identify the region: Bessarabia (present-day Moldova + south of Odesa Region), Northern Bukovina (Chernivtsi Region), Northern Transylvania (part of present-day Romania, formerly Hungarian)

Establish your ancestor's birth date: for Bessarabia and Bukovina - before June 28, 1940. For Transylvania - separate chronology.

Confirm that your ancestor was born or permanently resident there before annexation - this is the sign of Romanian citizenship.

Build the chain: ancestor → parent (if you are a grandchild) → you. Each link must be confirmed by documents. If your ancestor was born in the right region at the right time - there is a high probability the grounds exist. After that, it is a matter of documents.

Reasons for refusal and how to avoid them

The ANC (National Archive Council) rarely refuses, but it happens. Main reasons: **Incomplete document package.** The most common issue. Solution - careful verification of completeness before submission. **Breaks in the chain of kinship.** If there is no document connecting two generations, ANC cannot confirm the right. Alternative sources must be sought: church records, archival court decisions, notarized family documents. **Name and date discrepancies.** Classic case: one name in the Soviet birth certificate, different spelling in the Romanian archive. Solved by an archival certificate of identity. **Criminal convictions.** For serious crimes - automatic refusal. Administrative violations do not affect it. **Missed deadlines for responding to ANC requests.** If they send a request for missing documents and you do not respond in time - the case is closed. You must monitor mail and respond quickly.

Tax consequences of Romanian citizenship

Citizenship and tax residency are different things. Obtaining a Romanian passport itself does not make you a tax resident of Romania. You become a tax resident of Romania if: - you spend more than 183 days per year there, or - you have your center of life interests there (family, business, real estate) If you simply obtained a passport and live in another country - Romanian taxes do not apply to you. However, an EU passport opens access to tax regimes in other EU countries. This is more interesting. Portuguese NHR, Italian flat rate, Cypriot non-dom scheme - all of this requires separate planning. One more point: if you are a citizen of Russia or Ukraine, your country may have its own rules on the obligation to declare foreign citizenship. In Russia, for example, you must notify the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Clarify the current procedure.