On Friday, August 13, our colleague, Ioana Dobre, Consultancy Manager at BIA HR has organized the webinar Hiring Non-EU Citizens. If you have plans to hire non-EU citizens to cover staff shortages, find out what are the stages of hiring foreign nationals from countries outside the European Union and what documents you need to prepare in order to have the new foreign colleagues in your team.
Non-EU citizens can be employed in Romania for a fixed or indefinite period, full time, and the work permit will be valid for one year and will be extended every year 30 days before the expiration.
The good news is that the Romanian Government approved on Wednesday, August 11, the supplementation of the number of newly admitted foreign workers on the Romanian labor market in 2021 by another 25,000. According to a communiqué of the Ministry of Labor, they are added to the number of 25,000 workers initially approved, by GD no. 1133/2020, at the end of last year.
“The hiring process of a foreign citizen involves three time-consuming stages because the Romanian legislation favors the employment of Romanians. And the unemployment rate in Romania (3.06% in May of this year, according to the latest ANOFM data) is the main reason that influences the decisions of the authorities “, says Ioana Dobre, BIA HR Consultancy Manager.
The three stages of local employment of non-EU citizens are:
- Getting a work permit for a permanent worker;
- Getting a long-stay visa type D / AM for employment;
- Getting a single residence permit for employment purposes.
1. Documents required for the work permit for employment of Non-EU citizens
- The Reasoned request.
- Proof of the employer’s legal authority.
- Certificate of registration from the Trade Register Office.
- Certificate of ascertainment issued by the Trade Register Office stating that no mentions of bankruptcy have been registered.
- Fiscal attestation certificate issued by the financial administration in whose territorial area the employer has its registered office;
- Certificate issued by the Employment Agency of the territorial area where the employer has its registered office regarding the available labor force for the vacant job communicated by the employer.
- Job description
- Employer’s organization chart – Specify both jobs occupied by workers and the number of vacancies in the organization chart, underlining the vacancy you want to hire a Non-UE citizen.
- Proof of publication of the job advertisement in the newspaper
- The employment offer;
- Copy of the minutes drawn up following the selection made for the vacancy which must show that the foreigner in question meets the conditions of professional training and experience in the activity, provided by the relevant legislation for employment;
- The CV of the foreign citizen – this document must also contain the foreigner’s declaration that he is medically fit for work and has a minimum knowledge of Romanian or an international language.
- Two photos of the 3X4 format.
- Letters of recommendation from former employers – if it’s necessary.
- Criminal record of the foreign citizen (from the country of residence);
- Criminal record of the employer.
- Copy of the foreigner’s passport
“Only the process of collecting these documents and preparing the work permit file can take up to 30 days,” says Ioana Dobre.
All documents issued in foreign languages will be translated and legalized in order to be submitted to the General Inspectorate for Immigration.
The legal deadline for issuing the work permit is 30 calendar days from the date of physical submission of the file and may be extended by a further 15 days if the authorities consider that further investigations are necessary.
“In reality, we face other problems. Since the beginning of the pandemic, all documents have been submitted online. So, after collecting all the documents you have to scan them, upload them to the IGI system. Subsequently, you will receive from IGI a settlement term established according to the total number of requests in the respective period, and at that term, you have to go with the physical file to submit it. The appointment can be in a few days or it can be in a few weeks from the time you upload the file until you physically submit it. So you need about two and a half months to get a work permit, from the moment of the decision to hire a Non-UE citizen “, mentions Ioana Dobre, Consultancy Manager, BIA HR.
When you get the work permit for permanent workers, you must also pay a fee of 100 euros, at the NBR exchange rate on the day of payment.
Remember! From the moment the work permit is issued by the IGI, the foreign citizen has a term of 60 days to get the visa from the Romanian Consulate in his country of residence.
2. Documents required for long-stay visas for the employment of non-EU citizens:
- Application for a long-stay visa for work purposes – printed, signed, and completed accordingly.
- Passport valid for at least 3 months, longer than the length of stay granted by the visa.
- Two 3X4 color photos – recently taken;
- Plane ticket or reservation for a flight to Romania;
- Medical insurance whose validity exceeds the period of validity of the visa, concluded abroad and valid on the territory of Romania, having a coverage of at least 30,000 euros.
- Proof of accommodation conditions (from Romania).
- Work permit issued by the General Inspectorate for Immigration on the name of the company for the employment of the Non-UE citizen.
Very important: The Non-UE citizen must be informed that this document must be returned in original to the employer.
- Proof of financial resources at the level of the minimum gross salary guaranteed in payment for the entire period specified in the visa – account statement with recent date.
- Criminal record of the foreign citizen issued by the authorities of the state of residence or domicile.
The fee charged by the Romanian Consulates for issuing long-stay visas is 120 euros/visa. The fee is paid by the foreigner at the Consulate.
The legal term for issuing the long-stay visa for work purposes – 10 calendar days from the date of submitting the visa file to the Romanian Consulate abroad.
The visa is valid for 90 days, but being a long-stay visa, it is extended on the Romanian territory by getting a residence permit.
Documents required for single residence permit for work :
- Application form;
- Valid passport (original and copy), including the page on which the last entry stamp is applied.
- Proof of legal ownership of the living space – original and copy.
- Individual employment contract – original and copy.
- Print screen and Revisal extract.
- Work permit.
- Medical certificate – which certifies that the foreign citizen is clinically healthy and does not endanger public health.
- Residence permit fees – 259 lei fee and 120 euro fee paid at the NBR exchange rate.
The application for a single residence permit is made online, but the foreign citizen must go to the Immigration Inspectorate to submit the physical file, but also to be photographed and fingerprinted.
The legal deadline for issuing the residence permit is 30 days from the date of submission of the file and can be extended by another 15 days if IGI representatives consider that further investigations are necessary.
The residence permit is valid for one year and can be extended 30 days before the expiration date (it is conditioned by the validity of the individual employment contract, concluded by the foreigner with the Romanian employment company).
The employer must keep at least during the employment period a copy of the residence permit showing the legality of his stay on the Romanian territory.
Employer’s duties in the context of local employment of Non-EU Citizens
- The employer is obliged to keep the original notice of employment for the entire period of employment (unless the person is exempted from the procedure for getting the work permit).
- The employer has the obligation to keep for the entire period of employment a copy of the residence permit from which it should result that the foreign citizen has a legal residence on the Romanian territory.
- The employer has the obligation to notify the General Inspectorate for Immigration regarding the end or suspension of the legal relationship with the foreigner, within 30 days from the occurrence of the event.
The process of hiring non-EU foreign nationals is quite time-consuming and laborious, it involves knowledge of the steps as well as the procedures for working with the authorities. The BIA HR team is close to you and can take over the management of this hiring process for you so that you can dedicate time to other human resources activities. Request a personalized offer here.
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