We often tend to find any resemblance of the animal kingdom to Homo Sapiens to be hilarious: a parrot reproducing human words; a dog in a tuxedo; a cat on a skateboard. Yet even more striking is the resemblance of Homo Sapiens to the animal kingdom: a man with a snail-like home on his back – a so-called ‘nomad’.
Winston Churchill once said, shortly after the 1941 bombing of the House of Lords: ‘We shape our houses and then the houses shape us’. However, Dunkirk or the Iron Curtain both belong to an era in which the concept of home evoked staidness and persistence unaffected by time. The Covid-19 Pandemic has brought to light another perspective on the concept of home, showing its persistence unaffected by space, too: the house – a versatile, wandering, nomadic concept.
As a consequence, the pandemic has also led to a clear paradigm shift in the way people around the world work, with physical location becoming less and less relevant and employees carrying their job in their suitcase. This deviation from the ordinary course of employment relations is – at least for the moment – a real benefit for both employee and employer. It was also the pandemic that gave developing countries a new opportunity to develop their national economies.
Ranked 3rd in the Digital Nomad Index for the attractiveness of working remotely, Romania has joined a growing list of countries offering so-called digital nomad visas for foreigners working remotely. This is due to the entry into force of Law no. 22 of 14 January 2022, which amends and supplements GEO no. 194/2002 on the regime for foreigners in Romania.
With an average broadband internet speed of 188 mb/s, an internet cost of EUR 7.50 and a rent of around EUR 323, Romania has long been regarded as one of the best places to work remotely in the Central and Eastern European region. However, the field of “digital nomads” has so far been poorly regulated in this country. It is precisely for this reason that the entry into force of Law no. 22/2022 has been long awaited by foreign employees temporarily on Romanian territory. In the following, we will try to detail the most important and relevant provisions of the law.
To begin with, we shall start the present discussion by looking at the legal definition of a digital nomad:
“digital nomad – a foreigner who is employed in a company registered outside Romania and who provides services using information and communication technology or who owns a company registered outside Romania in which he/she provides services using information and communication technology and can carry out the activity of an employee or activity within the company remotely using information and communication technology.”
This means that legal regulation covers both foreigners employed abroad and foreigners owning companies registered abroad – as long as they carry out their activity using information and communication technology on the territory of Romania.
The great benefit that Law no. 22/2022 brings along with its entry into force is the possibility for digital nomads to apply for and, upon fulfilment of the conditions laid down by law, to obtain a long-stay visa, when they choose to remain in Romania while earning income from activities carried out remotely. In this way, foreigners can enjoy the protection offered by the Constitution, the laws of the country and the international treaties to which Romania is a party. Foreigners residing or domiciled in Romania can also benefit from social protection measures provided by the state, under the same conditions as do Romanian citizens.
A long-stay visa is granted by Romania’s diplomatic missions and consular offices in the country where a digital nomad resides or is domiciled. In order to obtain a visa, they have to fulfil the following cumulative conditions:
- to have means of subsistence from their work amounting to at least three times the average gross monthly earnings in Romania for each of the last six months preceding submission of a visa application and for the entire period covered by the visa;
- to carry out the activities from which they earn their income remotely using information and communication technology.
In order to obtain a visa, digital nomads who fulfil the above conditions will be required to submit a number of documents:
1. An employment contract concluded with the company registered abroad/proof of at least 3 years of management of a company registered abroad – in the original and accompanied by an authenticated translation into Romanian.
2. A document issued by the company with which the foreigner has concluded an employment contract/which the foreigner owns, indicating its identification and contact details (including its main object of activity and, if applicable, the foreigner’s participation in the company, as well as information on its legal representatives) – in the original and accompanied by an authenticated translation into Romanian.
3. A letter of intent detailing the purpose of the foreigner’s stay in Romania and the activities that he/she intends to carry out in Romania – in the original and accompanied by an authenticated translation into Romanian.
4. An aapostilled or super legalised document issued by a specialized institution of the public administration from the place of residence for tax purposes, certifying that the employed foreigner/the company owned by the foreigner has paid the taxes, duties and other compulsory contributions up to date and is not registered as having committed tax evasion or tax fraud – in the original and accompanied by an authenticated translation into Romanian.
5. Reservation of a valid travel ticket or driving licence together with proof of itinerary in the case of drivers.
6. Proof of medical insurance for the entire duration of validity of the visa, valid in Romania and covering at least EUR 30 000.
7. Proof of means of subsistence from their work amounting to at least three times the average gross monthly earnings in Romania.
8. Proof of accommodation.
9. A criminal record certificate or other document with the same legal value, apostilled or super legalised, certifying that there are no criminal records – accompanied by an authenticated translation into Romanian.
10. Other supporting documents that the competent Romanian authorities require in addition to those provided above.
For an extension of a long-stay visa, digital nomads must continue to meet the conditions mentioned above for the period for which the extension is requested and present an income certificate issued by the competent tax authority.
As a result, digital nomads will henceforth be included in the category of foreigners eligible for a long-stay visa, on the essential condition that their gross monthly income is at least three times higher than the average monthly income of Romanian nationals. This means that future digital nomads will need to earn around EUR 3 300 a month from remote work in Romania to be eligible for this type of visa.
Although the minimum income requirement is more difficult to meet than in other Central and Eastern European countries (for example, Croatia, which launched its digital nomad visa in January 2021, requires digital nomads to earn at least 16 900 kuna per month – about EUR 2 240), the long list of advantages Romania offers to digital nomads ranks it as one of the most attractive European locations for the growing number of digital nomads around the world.
In conclusion, the new legislative amendment concerning a long-stay visa will allow citizens of other countries interested in jobs that do not depend on time and space to work in Romania, thus allowing travellers to visit the country while working, and enabling the country to develop both its national economy and its tourism.
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The bnt Gilescu Văleanu & Partners team remains available for any necessary support.