Where the law stands
Government Emergency Ordinance (GEO/OUG) 32/2026 on foreigners' access to the Romanian labour market was published in Monitorul Oficial Part I no. 335 on 27 April 2026 and took effect the same day. It repealed the work-permit chapter of OG 25/2014 and amended GEO 194/2002 on foreigners. It also replaced the old employment permit (aviz de angajare) with a single application (cerere unică), filed only through WorkinRomania. The platform is run technically by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It went live on 6 August 2026 and became fully operational on 8 August 2026.
The key rules are unchanged:
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D/AM1 covers highly qualified workers, people taking up teaching, research or artistic activities, professional athletes, and full-time workers from Moldova, Ukraine and Serbia. A registered employer files the application directly. No shortage-list restriction applies.
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D/AM2 covers permanent, seasonal and cross-border workers. The occupation must appear on the Shortage Occupations List. The application is filed by an ANOFM-licensed placement agency, or directly by an authorised employer.
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Authorised-employer status requires at least 24 months of uninterrupted activity, an average of at least 50 employees in the previous year, a clean compliance record, and a guarantee of EUR 1,000 per worker. ANOFM must decide within 15 working days.
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Processing: the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI) must decide on a single application within 30 days. The long-stay visa fee is EUR 300.
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Annual quota: Government Decision 1169/2025 sets 90,000 newly admitted non-EU workers for 2026, down from 100,000 in 2025.
Why WorkinRomania is blocked
On 6 August 2026 the Ministry of Labour published Order 1073/2026, which approved a shortage list of 289 occupations. An employers' association of labour importers challenged it as too restrictive. In case no. 5633/2/2026, the Bucharest Court of Appeal suspended the order in September 2026, until the case is decided on the merits.
On 15 September, IGI announced that, at the ministry's request, it had temporarily deactivated three flows: employer registration, employer authorisation and D/AM2 single applications. IGI stressed that this was a legal measure, not a technical malfunction. All other platform functions remain available. The ministry said it would appeal the suspension. As of 29 October, no appeal hearing or merits date has been publicly confirmed.
There is a second problem. Companies that belong to international groups have struggled to complete registration even where it was possible. The likely cause is the requirement to submit criminal-record certificates for the legal representatives of foreign corporate shareholders.
Workers already in Romania are affected too. IGI has said that residence-extension applications that cannot currently be sent through the platform will be analysed individually once the flows reopen. That analysis will take into account the employer's objective inability to register. Foreigners using the regularisation route under art. 52 of GEO 32/2026 face a deadline of 31 December 2026.
The draft amendment to Order 987/2026: what it would change
Order 987/2026 (Monitorul Oficial no. 603, 23 July 2026) sets the methodology for building and updating the shortage list. The Ministry of Labour's draft amending order, supported by explanatory note no. 2619/DGPPMOFP of 26 October 2026, proposes three main changes.
Lower inclusion thresholds (art. 6 and art. 11). An occupation would qualify with at least 5 full-time contracts with foreigners active in REGES-ONLINE, plus at least 5 employment permits issued in 2025. The current threshold is 10. Semi-annual updates would also require 5 contracts. These thresholds apply nationally per occupation, not per employer. The explanatory note cites a national labour research institute (INCSMPS) analysis: a threshold of 5 would cover 96.93% of vacancies in COR major groups 3–9.
A 10-day review clock (art. 14). Requests to add occupations, whether from social partners or from employers registered on the platform, would be analysed within 10 calendar days instead of 30. ANOFM would be consulted within 1 working day and would have 3 working days to respond. A small number of positions requested could not, by itself, justify rejection.
Clear limits. The 10 days cover the technical analysis only. They do not guarantee that an updated list will be adopted or published within that time. Only requests registered after the order enters into force would benefit. No new fees or reporting duties would be imposed on employers.
Status: the draft was put into public consultation on 26 October 2026, with comments accepted until 30 October. It is not in force. The list it would update (Order 1073/2026) is itself suspended, so adopting the amendment would not automatically reopen D/AM2 filing.
What HR directors should do now
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Classify every role. Decide whether each hire falls under D/AM1 or D/AM2. D/AM1 hires can proceed now if your company is already registered.
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Fix registration blockers. If you belong to an international group, start obtaining apostilled and translated criminal records for the foreign legal representatives of corporate shareholders.
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Consider intra-group posting. After recent amendments to GEO 194/2002, a D/DT posting visa can be requested directly at a Romanian consulate, without a prior WorkinRomania application. The posting employer must be established in the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, and the worker must hold a residence permit there.
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Have D/AM2 files ready. Prepare firm job offers (role, duties, salary, hours, duration, location, accommodation), vacancy declarations to ANOFM and placement-agency contracts. File the day the flows reopen.
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Protect current workers. Keep a dated record of every failed filing attempt. Watch the 90-day job-search window for workers whose contracts have ended, and the 31 December 2026 regularisation deadline.
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Prepare occupation requests. If an occupation you need is missing from the list, gather REGES-ONLINE and vacancy data now. Under the draft, a well-evidenced request would get an answer within 10 days.
Also on the horizon
The law approving GEO 32/2026 (PL-x 427/2026) is still before the Chamber of Deputies. Amendments under discussion include simpler checks for shareholders holding less than 10%. The labour committee's report also includes a proposal letting employers withhold 5% of a foreign worker's net monthly pay as a guarantee. The proposal has drawn public criticism. Nothing is final until the law is voted and published in Monitorul Oficial.
Frequently asked questions
Can I hire a non-EU worker in Romania right now?
Yes, if the worker qualifies for a D/AM1 visa and your company is registered on WorkinRomania. Hiring that needs a D/AM2 visa (shortage occupations) has been suspended on the platform since 15 September 2026, pending litigation over Order 1073/2026.
Why is WorkinRomania blocked?
The Bucharest Court of Appeal suspended Order 1073/2026, which approved the 289-occupation shortage list. At the Ministry of Labour's request, IGI then disabled employer registration, employer authorisation and D/AM2 applications. IGI says this is a legal measure, not a technical fault.
Has the shortage-list threshold been cut from 10 to 5?
Not yet. The change is in a draft order amending Order 987/2026, put into public consultation on 26 October 2026. It becomes binding only once signed and published in Monitorul Oficial.
How long does a GEO 32/2026 single application take?
GEO 32/2026 gives IGI 30 days to decide on a single application. Authorised-employer status is decided by ANOFM within 15 working days. The long-stay work visa fee is EUR 300.
Is there a quota for non-EU workers in 2026?
Yes. Government Decision 1169/2025 sets a quota of 90,000 newly admitted non-EU workers for 2026.
What can multinationals do while registration is blocked?
Where the conditions are met, they can post group employees who hold an EU, EEA or Swiss residence permit on a D/DT visa. This visa is requested at the consulate, without a WorkinRomania single application. Meanwhile, they should collect the criminal records required for registration.
Need a route that works today?
Rilvan's Immigration & Relocation team has handled foreign-worker files from Bucharest since 1992. We check eligibility, prepare D/AM1, D/DT and D/AM2 files, and manage the move for your people once they are approved.
