A Golden Visa in Romania? Residence options for foreign investors and entrepreneurs

For an entrepreneur or investor from outside the European Union who wants to develop a project in Romania, one question naturally comes up: can investing in a Romanian company also lead to a residence permit?

The answer is yes, in certain situations and subject to the conditions set by law.

But there is an important distinction to make from the start:

Romania does not currently have a distinct “Golden Visa” program in force under which simply making a passive investment automatically grants access to a residence permit.

Instead, Romanian law provides mechanisms through which a genuine business project, an investment, and the person's role in the company can be tied to obtaining a temporary right of residence.

For entrepreneurs, two of these mechanisms are particularly relevant.

1. The entrepreneur building a business in Romania: an investment of at least EUR 100,000

The first option is aimed at foreign nationals who want to take a direct part in developing a Romanian company as a shareholder, with management or administrative responsibilities.

This is the procedure for the long-stay visa for commercial activities (D/AC), governed by Art. 43 of Government Emergency Ordinance (OUG) No. 194/2002 on the regime of foreigners in Romania.

For a limited liability company (SRL), the legal framework requires an investment project that includes:

• an investment of at least EUR 100,000, as a contribution of capital or technology;
• at least 10 new jobs, to be created within no more than 12 months of obtaining the residence permit.

For a joint-stock company (SA), the thresholds are different: at least EUR 150,000 and at least 15 new jobs. Art. 43 of OUG No. 194/2002 expressly sets these conditions, as well as the obligation to submit a business plan.

Having EUR 100,000 is not enough

The procedure is built around a genuine business project.

The business plan must present the company, the proposed activity, the investment, the stages in which it will be carried out, the jobs to be created, and the projected financial performance.

Before the consular procedure, a specialist technical opinion on the business plan is required, issued by the Romanian Agency for Investments and Foreign Trade (ARICE).

The General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI) confirms that a person who wants to carry out commercial activities must be a shareholder with management or administrative responsibilities and must obtain the ARICE specialist technical opinion before applying for the long-stay visa.

In other words, the EUR 100,000 is not the price of a residence permit.

The investment must be part of a business structure that can be explained, documented, and implemented in Romania.

After obtaining the visa and entering Romania, the applicant goes through the procedure for obtaining the residence permit. To keep the right of residence, the company's activity must remain consistent with the business project and with the conditions set by law.

2. The director of a company: a capital contribution or technology transfer of at least EUR 50,000

There is a second procedure, distinct from the one for an entrepreneur who is a shareholder in the company.

It concerns the person appointed as director (administrator) of a Romanian commercial company and is governed by Art. 49 of OUG No. 194/2002, under the long-stay visa for other purposes (D/AS).

In this situation, the law sets several cumulative conditions.

The applicant must hold the position of director and, on the date of the application, may not be a shareholder of that company or of any other Romanian legal entity, and must not have held such a position in the past two years.

In addition, the company must not already have another foreign national who has obtained a right of residence for the same purpose.

The company must also have made a capital contribution or technology transfer of at least EUR 50,000. These conditions are expressly set out in Art. 49 of OUG No. 194/2002 and are presented in the same form by the General Inspectorate for Immigration.

It is a different procedure from the EUR 100,000 investment

The two options should not be confused.

In the first, the applicant is the entrepreneur who takes part in the company as a shareholder and develops a business project based on a business plan.

In the second, the applicant is the director, and the law specifically requires that they not be a shareholder in a Romanian legal entity, under the conditions and for the period set by law.

Likewise, for the director procedure, Art. 49 sets the EUR 50,000 threshold in the form of a capital contribution or technology transfer, not the EUR 100,000 + 10 jobs condition that applies to a D/AC project for a shareholder of an SRL.

Here too, obtaining the visa is only the first step. After entering Romania comes the procedure for the temporary right of residence and the residence permit, and the legal conditions must continue to be met for subsequent extensions.

3. Is this Romania's “Golden Visa”?

No.

The two procedures described above are not a Romanian Golden Visa program.

The term “Golden Visa” is used internationally for various residence-by-investment programs, in which an eligible investment can serve as the basis for granting a right of residence.

In some of these programs, the investment can be largely passive, with no obligation for the investor to actually build and operate a business in that country.

How does it work in other countries?

Greece officially uses the name “Golden Visa” for its regime for investors and for issuing residence permits for investment.

Portugal maintains the Autorização de Residência para Investimento (ARI) regime, through which third-country nationals can obtain a temporary residence permit by making eligible investments, under the conditions of Portuguese law.

Hungary currently has a distinct regime for guest investors. At the time of writing, eligible investments include the purchase of units in a real estate investment fund worth at least EUR 250,000 or, alternatively, certain donations of at least EUR 1,000,000.

Some countries have also abandoned such mechanisms. Spain, for example, abolished the investor visas and residence permits known as the “Golden Visa” as of April 3, 2025.

What about Romania?

Interestingly, in 2025 Romania did have a legislative proposal titled:

“Legislative proposal on granting the right of residence in Romania to foreign investors: the «Golden Visa» Program” (L463/2025).

The bill proposed setting up a distinct system based on passive investments of at least EUR 400,000, including in government securities, certain real estate, investment funds, or shares of certain listed companies, with an initial five-year residence permit.

This proposal, however, never became law.

On December 8, 2025, the initiators requested the withdrawal of the bill, and the Senate plenary approved its withdrawal from the legislative process. In the Senate's official records, the status of the initiative is “Withdrawn by the initiator.”

Therefore, as of September 2026:

Romania does not have in force a distinct Golden Visa program based on the EUR 400,000 passive investment proposed in 2025.

The EUR 100,000 and EUR 50,000 mechanisms described in this article are something else.

They are existing procedures under immigration law and are tied to commercial activity, a company's structure, the applicant's role in the company, and meeting specific legal conditions.

In other words:

4. What does the applicant actually get?

Another important distinction is between the long-stay visa and the residence permit.

The visa allows entry into Romania for the purpose for which it was granted.

After entering Romania, the applicant must go through the procedure before the General Inspectorate for Immigration to obtain and later, where applicable, extend the temporary right of residence.

For commercial activities, IGI specifies that the temporary right of residence is, as a rule, extended successively for periods of one year at a time, provided the legal conditions continue to be met.

Therefore, neither the EUR 100,000 investment nor the EUR 50,000 contribution or technology transfer automatically leads to a long-term right of residence.

The long-term right of residence is a separate legal status. As a general rule, it requires a legal and continuous right of residence in Romania for the five years preceding the application, as well as meeting the other conditions set by law.

5. Which of the two options might be the right fit?

The answer depends first of all on the role the person wants to have in the Romanian company.

If the goal is to take a direct part in the company as a shareholder and to develop your own business in Romania, the procedure for commercial activities may be the relevant one.

If the person will run the company solely as its director, without personally holding shares in a Romanian legal entity, and the other conditions of Art. 49 of OUG No. 194/2002 are met, the procedure for directors may become relevant.

That is why the choice of immigration mechanism should not be made separately from the company's structure.

It must be established from the outset who will own the company, who will act as director, what activity will be carried out, how the investment will be made, and what obligations must be met afterward.

6. How does BOSFORA approach a project like this?

At BOSFORA, a project like this does not start with the question:

“Which residence permit do you want?”

It starts with:

“What do you want to build in Romania?”

Depending on the answer, we review the company's structure, the position of the investor or director, the planned investment, and the right legal and immigration path.

For D/AC projects, the business plan, the investment, the corporate structure, the ARICE opinion, and the immigration procedure must work together. This is also the logic behind the materials BOSFORA prepares for its dedicated investment service.

For a director, we separately review the conditions specific to that procedure, the company's structure, and how the capital contribution or technology transfer requirement is met.

The goal is not just obtaining the first document. It is building a path that can hold up legally even after the residence permit is obtained.

Frequently asked questions

Does Romania have a Golden Visa in 2026?

No. Romania does not currently have a distinct Golden Visa program in force. A legislative proposal to introduce such a program was registered in 2025, but it was withdrawn from the legislative process on December 8, 2025.

Can I get a residence permit in Romania if I invest EUR 100,000?

Not automatically. For a shareholder of an SRL, the procedure for commercial activities requires, among other things, a business plan, an ARICE opinion, an investment of at least EUR 100,000 as a contribution of capital or technology, and the creation of at least 10 new jobs within the legal deadline.

Is a EUR 50,000 contribution enough for a director's permit?

No. The EUR 50,000 threshold is only one of the conditions. The applicant must meet all the requirements that apply to directors, including those concerning the position of director, not holding shares in a Romanian legal entity under the conditions of Art. 49, and the situation of other foreign nationals in the company.

Can I simply buy a property and get a “Golden Visa” in Romania?

Not under a Romanian Golden Visa program in force at the time this article was published. The 2025 bill would have allowed, among other things, real estate investments of at least EUR 400,000, but the bill was withdrawn and never became law.

This material is for informational purposes only and does not replace the legal, tax, or administrative analysis of a specific situation. Eligibility and the granting of the right of residence are subject to legal conditions and approval by the competent authorities.