OUG 32/2026 explained for employers

OUG 32/2026 (Government Emergency Ordinance no. 32 of 23 April 2026 on the access of foreign nationals to the Romanian labour market) was published in the Official Gazette (M. Of.) no. 335 of 27 April 2026 and entered into force on the same date. It is the biggest change in years to the rules for hiring workers from outside the European Union. This article explains, in plain language, what it means for a business owner in Romania.

In short: what has changed

• The aviz de angajare (work authorisation notice) is gone. This was the document issued by IGI (General Inspectorate for Immigration, the authority that manages immigration) giving an employer the right to hire a specific foreign national. Art. 55 OUG 32/2026 repeals Title I of OG 25/2014, the act that governed these notices.
• The cerere unică (single application) has been introduced: an electronic form filed in the WorkinRomania.gov.ro platform through which, in a single step, the work visa for the foreign national or the extension of their right of residence is requested.
• Work visas are of two types: D/AM1 (for highly skilled workers and special categories) and D/AM2 (for permanent, seasonal and cross-border workers, only in shortage occupations).
• For D/AM2, the rule is that the employer works through a foreign-worker placement agency authorised by ANOFM (National Employment Agency). The exception: the angajator autorizat (authorised employer), a large company with a financial guarantee.
• Employers have new obligations (salary paid into a bank account, bilingual contract, Romanian language courses, etc.) and new fines for non-compliance.

How the ordinance is structured

OUG 32/2026 has five titles. Title I (art. 1–44) is the entirely new part: registration and authorisation of employers, authorisation of placement agencies, the foreign national's obligations, offences. Title II (art. 45) amends OUG 194/2002 (the basic law on the status of foreign nationals: visas, residence, permits) in 72 points. Title III amends the Labour Code, Title IV amends Law 198/2008 on consular fees (the visa fee), and Title V (art. 48–55) contains the transitional provisions, i.e. the rules for files started under the old law.

Implementation timeline

1. 27 April 2026 – entry into force. Work authorisation applications filed or scheduled before this date are completed under the old law (art. 49).
2. 27 April – 7 August 2026 – transition period (art. 48): the platform was used only for employer registration, agency authorisation and testing of single applications.
3. 7 August 2026 – last day on which IGI accepted work authorisation applications for a change of employer under the old regime (art. 50).
4. 6–7 August 2026 – official launch of the WorkinRomania.gov.ro platform; from 8 August 2026 the single application procedure applies in full.
5. 10 September 2026 – the Bucharest Court of Appeal admits the application to suspend the enforcement of Order no. 1073/2026 (the List of shortage occupations), in case no. 5633/2/2026; following the decision, the WorkinRomania flows for D/AM2 visas were deactivated (see the update below).

The three roles: registered employer, authorised employer, agency

Conditions for your company to register

Under art. 5 para. (1) OUG 32/2026, the employer must cumulatively: have no outstanding debts to the state budget; have effectively carried out activity for at least one year in a field compatible with the shortage occupations (exception: D/AM1 categories); not have been sanctioned for undeclared work or for employing foreign nationals residing illegally in the last 6 months; have no convictions (the company, its directors, its shareholders) for intentional offences; and present no money-laundering risk. The checks are performed automatically, by interconnecting the platform with ANAF (tax authority), ONRC (Trade Register), the Labour Inspectorate and IGI. ANOFM communicates its answer within a maximum of 30 working days (art. 5 para. (6)).

There is also a numerical limit (art. 6 para. (6)): a legal entity may bring in, via D/AM2, at most a number of foreign nationals equal to its average number of employees in the previous year, according to the ONRC certificate of good standing (certificat constatator). Natural persons may employ at most 3 foreign nationals.

Employer obligations after registration (art. 7)

• Payment of the salary exclusively into the foreign national's bank account.
• Individual employment contract (CIM) in Romanian and in the language of the country of origin or in an international language the foreign national understands; the contract takes over the elements of the ofertă fermă (firm job offer).
• Occupational health and safety (SSM) training in a language the worker understands, plus protective equipment.
• Notification of IGI and of the agency within 5 working days if the foreign national is absent without justification for more than 3 consecutive working days or if the contract ends.
• Romanian language courses with integration elements, for at least 6 months from the start of work, at least 6 hours per week.
• If you provide accommodation, the rent may not exceed 25% of the net salary (art. 7 para. (2)).
• Keeping copies of the documents for at least 5 years after the end of the employment relationship.

What it means in practice for your company

If you need workers for trades on the Lista ocupațiilor deficitare (List of shortage occupations; 289 occupations approved by MMFTSS (Ministry of Labour) Order 1,073/2026), the usual path is: register the company in WorkinRomania.gov.ro, declare the job vacancy to ANOFM, sign a service contract with an authorised agency, upload a firm job offer to the platform, then the agency files the single application. The quota for 2026 is 90,000 workers (HG 1,169/2025, maintained by art. 53 OUG 32/2026).