Romania · Citizenship by descent
Romanian Citizenship by Descent and Restoration (Articles 10 and 11, Law 21/1991)
Open, but severely tightened. Law 14/2025, in force from 14 March 2025, reintroduced a B1 Romanian language requirement for both Article 10 and Article 11. That requirement had been eliminated in 2009, so this marks the first time since then that Article 11 restoration carries a language test. A grace period lets applicants file without the certificate at the submission stage. Originally set to expire on 15 March 2026, that grace period has now been extended by one year to 15 March 2027.
On paper this is still the widest EU descent route in Europe. It reaches back three generations, carries no domicile requirement, and lets you keep dual citizenship. In practice, though, it is no longer the fastest route in Europe, whatever the marketing says. Approvals fell from 88% in 2018 to 0.37% in 2023, with none recorded in 2024 against 50,350 applications. Anyone who qualifies should file before 15 March 2027 to use the language grace period, but should budget three years or more and accept genuine uncertainty on the outcome.
Qualifying routes
Up to the 3rd degree. This covers Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, Northern Transylvania and Cadrilater, territories that were Romanian from 1918-1940 and now sit in Moldova and Ukraine. No Romanian domicile is required, and applicants keep their foreign citizenship.
Up to the 2nd degree, covering children and grandchildren.
The facts
- Total landed cost
- Administrative fees, plus archival research, certified translation and, now, Romanian language tuition to B1 level.
- Route type
- By ancestry
- Timeline
- 2.5–4 years (The statutory Article 11(2) review period is 5 months. In practice, it runs 30-36 months and often longer. Law 14/2025 sets a 2-year maximum plus a 6-month extension, but administrative reality still does not match the statute.)
- Physical presence
- None. Applicants under Articles 10 and 11 do not need to establish Romanian residency.
- Family
- Each descendant qualifies in their own right, within the applicable degreeMinor children may be included
- Permanent residency
- Not applicable. This route leads directly to citizenship.
- Citizenship
- Direct, without any residence requirement.
- Language test
- B1 Romanian, required since Law 14/2025. Applicants can prove this with a CEFR certificate from a university, the Romanian Cultural Institute or the Romanian Language Institute, or with a legalised school record showing at least 3 years of study in Romanian. Exempt from the requirement: former Romanian citizens themselves, applicants aged 65 or over, and minors under 18.
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- An ancestor who held Romanian citizenship, or who lost it for reasons not their own faultwithin the applicable degree (2nd for Article 10, 3rd for Article 11)B1-level Romanian, subject to the grace period running to 15 March 2027 and the age exemptionsDocuments no more than 2 years old, apostilled and translated by an accredited translator
- The backlog is the real story here. Approval rates collapsed from 88% in 2018 to 0.37% in 2023, with none by the end of 2024 against 50,350 applications, and none recorded through March 2025. Whatever the statute says about a two-year deadline, files are not moving. Any advisor calling this the fastest route to EU citizenship is working from pre-2023 material.
- This part is time-critical. The B1 language grace period runs to 15 March 2027, extended from 15 March 2026. That is an extension of the transition, not an abolition of the requirement. One source says April 2026. We treat 15 March 2027 as correct, based on the more recent and specific reporting, but verify the date with ANC directly.
- Documents must be no more than 2 years old at submission, apostilled or legalised, and translated by an accredited translator. Stale certificates are now grounds for rejection, a real and under-appreciated trap.
- There is also a constitutional risk to weigh. The High Court of Cassation and Justice challenged the citizenship-law amendments at the Constitutional Court. The outcome was not established in our research. This is a material risk to the route's current rules.
- Pay close attention to the difference between Article 10 and Article 11. Article 10 covers only the second degree of descent. Article 11 extends to the third. Citing the wrong article can undo the whole claim.
- Neither IGI nor the citizenship authority allows automated access to their websites, so none of this section has been checked against the original online text. Verify it directly with ANC (cetatenie.just.ro) using a browser before advising a client.