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 14 March 2025, reintroduced a B1 Romanian language requirement for both Article 10 and Article 11 — a requirement that had been eliminated in 2009. This is the first time since 2009 that Article 11 restoration carries a language test. A grace period allows filing without the certificate at submission stage, originally to 15 March 2026 and extended by one year to 15 March 2027.
On paper this is still the widest EU descent route — three generations, no domicile requirement, dual citizenship retained. In practice 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 outcome.
Qualifying routes
Up to the 3rd degree. Covers Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, Northern Transylvania and Cadrilater — territories that were Romanian 1918-1940, now in Moldova and Ukraine. No Romanian domicile required; foreign citizenship retained.
Up to the 2nd degree (children and grandchildren)
The facts
- Total landed cost
- Administrative fees plus archival research, certified translation and — now — Romanian language tuition to B1
- Timeline
- 30–48 months — The statutory Article 11(2) review period is 5 months. The actual figure is 30-36 months and often longer. Law 14/2025 imposes a 2-year maximum plus a 6-month extension, but the administrative reality does not currently match the statute.
- Physical presence
- None — applicants under Articles 10 and 11 need not establish Romanian residency
- Family
- each descendant qualifies in their own right within the applicable degreeminor children may be included
- Permanent residency
- n/a — direct citizenship
- Citizenship
- Direct, without residence
- Language test
- B1 Romanian since Law 14/2025 — by CEFR certificate from a university, the Romanian Cultural Institute or the Romanian Language Institute, or a legalised school record showing at least 3 years of study in Romanian. Exempt: former Romanian citizens themselves, applicants aged 65 or over, and minors under 18.
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- ancestor who was a Romanian citizen or lost citizenship for reasons not imputable to themwithin the applicable degree (2nd for Article 10, 3rd for Article 11)B1 Romanian, subject to the grace period to 15 March 2027 and the age exemptionsdocuments no more than 2 years old, apostilled and accredited-translated
- THE BACKLOG IS THE REAL STORY. 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.
- TIME-CRITICAL: the B1 language grace period runs to 15 March 2027 (extended from 15 March 2026). This is an extension of the transition, not an abolition of the requirement. One source says April 2026 — we treat 15 March 2027 as correct on the more recent and specific reporting, but verify 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.
- CONSTITUTIONAL RISK: 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.
- Note the Article 10 versus Article 11 distinction: Article 10 reaches only the second degree, Article 11 the third. Getting the wrong article kills the claim.
- Neither IGI nor the citizenship authority permits automated access to their pages, so nothing in this section is confirmed against primary online text. Verify with ANC (cetatenie.just.ro) via a browser before advising.