Romania · Tax regime
Romania Schengen Membership and Eurozone Status
Full Schengen member since 1 January 2025 (air and sea from 31 March 2024, land from 1 January 2025 per the JHA Council decision of 12 December 2024). NOT in the eurozone and no target date — Romania fails every convergence criterion per the ECB's 2026 Convergence Report.
Romania and Bulgaria joined Schengen together on 1 January 2025 after 13 years of being blocked, first by the Netherlands and then by Austria. But they diverged sharply on the euro: Bulgaria adopted it on 1 January 2026 and Romania fails every criterion with no target date. That divergence is now the main structural difference between the two.
Qualifying routes
Air and sea internal border controls lifted 31 March 2024; land border controls lifted 1 January 2025
NOT adopted. Not participating in ERM II. No target date.
The facts
- Total landed cost
- n/a
- Physical presence
- n/a
- Permanent residency
- n/a
- Citizenship
- n/a
- Language test
- n/a
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Romania fails ALL euro convergence criteria per the ECB's 2026 Convergence Report of 24 June 2026: inflation considerably above the 2.7% reference, deficit above 3% with an Excessive Deficit Procedure running since 2020 and a correction deadline extended to 2030, debt projected above reference in 2026, long-term rates at 6.7% against a 5.1% reference, no ERM II participation, and legal convergence not fully compatible. The ECB noted 'limited progress' since 2024.
- Prior political targets of 2029 have slipped; realistic adoption is the 2030s. Leu exposure is a permanent planning assumption.