Frequently asked questions

The complete CADIMA package (recruitment, selection, documents, contracts, the cerere unică (single application), transport from the point of entry into Romania, assistance with the permit) costs approximately 1,500 EUR per worker, depending on the number of workers, occupation, country of origin and the complexity of the file, with an advance of approximately 500 EUR on signing the contract. For large volumes we prepare a customised offer. State fees are added separately (visa – 300 EUR), the plane ticket and employment costs (minimum wage of 4,325 lei gross from 1 July 2026, contributions, accommodation if you provide it). By law, the agency may not take any money from the worker (art. 23 GEO 32/2026).

The law sets maximum deadlines for the authorities: up to 30 working days for the company's registration with ANOFM (National Employment Agency), at most 30 days for the checks by IGI (General Inspectorate for Immigration – the authority that manages immigration) in the platform and at most 30 days for the visa from the appointment at the consulate. On top of these come selection, document preparation and the consulate appointment. In our experience, the total duration is usually 3–5 months, but it cannot be guaranteed.

Yes, if it meets the conditions in art. 5 GEO 32/2026: no outstanding debts to the state budget, at least one year of actual activity in a field compatible with the shortage occupations, no sanctions for undeclared work in the last 6 months and no convictions of the company or its administrators. Through the D/AM2 visa you may bring at most as many foreign nationals as the average number of employees in the previous year (natural persons: maximum 3). The checks are carried out automatically through the WorkinRomania.gov.ro platform.

Register your company in the WorkinRomania.gov.ro platform (with a qualified electronic signature), declare the vacant job with ANOFM (National Employment Agency) in an occupation from the shortage list, sign the service contract with CADIMA and upload the firm job offer (the listing with salary, working hours, accommodation, transport). Then you sign the bilingual employment contract and register it in REGES-ONLINE (electronic employee register). We take care of selection, the worker's documents, the cerere unică (single application) and coordination with the consulate.

D/AM2 is the long-stay visa for the employment of permanent, seasonal and cross-border workers, introduced by GEO 32/2026 in art. 27^2 GEO 194/2002. It is granted only for occupations in the Lista ocupațiilor deficitare (List of shortage occupations) (289 occupations, MMFTSS Order 1,073/2026), within the annual quota, on the basis of the cerere unică (single application) submitted by a placement agency authorised by ANOFM (National Employment Agency) or, by exception, by an authorised employer. It is the visa used for workers from Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, the Philippines, Vietnam and many other countries in Asia, Africa and other regions.

D/AM1 is the long-stay visa for the employment of highly qualified workers (salary at least equal to the average gross earnings, 9,192 lei in 2026) and of certain special categories: projects requested by ministries, teaching, scientific or artistic staff, professional athletes and citizens of the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Serbia with a full-time contract (art. 27^1 GEO 194/2002). The cerere unică (single application) is submitted exclusively by the employer, without an agency, and for highly qualified workers the ANOFM (National Employment Agency) certificate on available labour remains mandatory. It does not depend on the shortage list or on the quota.

Under art. 40 para. (8) GEO 32/2026, the costs of the visa, transport from the country of origin, domestic transport and accommodation are borne by the foreign national, unless the employer decides otherwise in the firm job offer. The law does not oblige you to pay them, but you must state clearly in the firm job offer what you cover. In practice, offers that include the ticket and accommodation attract better workers, faster.

A worker with a D/AM2 visa cannot initiate a change of employer in the first 6 months from the start of activity registered in REGES-ONLINE (electronic employee register), except in the case of a serious breach by the employer (art. 40 GEO 32/2026). Between 6 months and 2 years the worker can change employer only through the placement agency. If the worker leaves before 6 months, you can recover the costs of Romanian language courses, accommodation and transport (art. 40 para. (9)). If the worker is absent without justification for more than 3 working days, you must notify IGI (General Inspectorate for Immigration) and the agency within 5 working days.

For D/AM2 workers, the contract must be full-time with a salary at least at the level of the national minimum gross basic wage: 4,325 lei gross from 1 July 2026 (GD 146/2026). For highly qualified workers (D/AM1) the threshold is the average gross salary, 9,192 lei in 2026. The salary must be paid into the worker's bank account (art. 7 GEO 32/2026); banks can open the account on the basis of the visa or the residence permit.

For permanent workers the law does not oblige you, but the firm job offer must state clearly whether you provide accommodation (art. 6 para. (2) GEO 32/2026). If you provide it for a fee, the rent cannot exceed 25% of the net salary (art. 7 para. (2)). For seasonal workers accommodation is mandatory, free of charge or for a fee, proven by a notarised declaration (art. 27^2 para. (7) GEO 194/2002). At IGI (General Inspectorate for Immigration), the worker must in any case present proof of housing for the permis unic (single permit).

It is the Government's official electronic platform, hosted at hub.mai.gov.ro and technically administered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where employers register, placement agencies and authorised employers are authorised and the single applications for visas and extensions are submitted (art. 3 GEO 32/2026, GD 602/2026). It was officially launched on 6–7 August 2026, with full application of the cerere unică (single application) procedure from 8 August 2026. The Lista ocupațiilor deficitare (List of shortage occupations) and the registers of employers and agencies are also published here.

The main fines under art. 42 GEO 32/2026 and art. 134 GEO 194/2002: 5,000–10,000 lei per worker if you do not pay into a bank account, do not have a bilingual contract, do not carry out occupational health and safety training or Romanian language courses; 15,000–20,000 lei for hiring foreign nationals without registration in the platform; 15,000–30,000 lei for missing notifications to IGI (General Inspectorate for Immigration); 10,000–20,000 lei for each foreign national with illegal residence admitted to work, plus loss of access to public funds for up to 5 years; 6,000 lei for each contract concluded only in Romanian; 10,000–20,000 lei if the worker works in an occupation other than the COR code in the contract.

For D/AM2 workers only if the company becomes an authorised employer: at least 50 employees on average in the previous year, minimum 24 months of uninterrupted activity in the field, a financial guarantee of 1,000 EUR per foreign national deposited with the Treasury or through a bank letter, no labour fines in the last 2 years (art. 11–13 GEO 32/2026). ANOFM (National Employment Agency) responds within 15 working days, and the authorisation is requested for each firm job offer. Companies that do not meet these conditions must work with an authorised agency (art. 10). For D/AM1 no agency is needed.

They are the 289 trades (with COR code – the Romanian Classification of Occupations) approved by MMFTSS Order 1,073/2026, published in the Official Gazette no. 649 of 6 August 2026, for which workers can be brought in on a D/AM2 visa. The Lista ocupațiilor deficitare (List of shortage occupations) covers construction, manufacturing, HoReCa, logistics, agriculture, cleaning and the automotive industry and includes only occupations from COR major groups 3–9 (no managers or specialists with higher education). It is updated every six months, and employers can propose new occupations through the platform. The platform automatically rejects firm job offers with occupations outside the list.

Workers from Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, the Philippines, Vietnam and many other countries in Asia, Africa and other regions do not speak Romanian on arrival; many have a basic or intermediate level of English, especially those with experience in the Gulf or Malaysia, and we state the actual level for each candidate. The law obliges you to carry out occupational health and safety training in a language they understand and to organise Romanian language courses with integration elements, minimum 6 months, at least 6 hours per week (art. 7 GEO 32/2026). The employment contract and the placement contract are signed in Romanian and in the language of the country of origin or in English.

We start from the firm job offer and your requirements (occupation, experience, language), we pre-select candidates directly, our team travels to the country of origin or runs the selection online, using our own methods; only where we cannot cover the demand do we call, as a fallback, on authorised partners, we check identity documents, experience and criminal record, then organise video interviews in which you can take part and, where possible, practical trade tests. The law obliges the agency to verify that the worker has all the documents before arrival (art. 39 GEO 32/2026) and obliges the worker to provide accurate information about identity, qualifications and health (art. 40). We charge candidates nothing.

Yes, under the conditions of the law. A foreign national already in Romania with a right of residence for work purposes can change employer through a cerere unică (single application) for extension, without a new visa (art. 56 para. (9) GEO 194/2002), but only after 6 months from the start of activity with the previous employer and, up to 2 years, only through the agency in their placement contract. Those brought in under the old law (with an employment permit/aviz de angajare) change employer under the same rules from 8 August 2026 (art. 51 GEO 32/2026). A foreign national without a valid right of residence cannot be employed.

The quota for 2026 is 90,000 newly admitted workers (GD 1,169/2025, maintained by art. 53 GEO 32/2026) and applies only to D/AM2 visas. If it is exhausted, consulates no longer issue D/AM2 visas (art. 44 para. (6) GEO 194/2002) until it is increased by government decision or until the next year's quota. D/AM1 visas and changes of employer are not affected. As of 4 September 2026 the platform did not publish the uptake level, so check the situation on the date of submission.

The permis unic (single permit) is the document (card) issued by IGI (General Inspectorate for Immigration) after arrival, which attests both the foreign national's right of residence and right to work and on which the employer's registration code is entered. The application is submitted in person at IGI at least 30 days before the 90-day visa expires, with passport, employment contract, medical certificate, proof of housing, travel medical insurance (meeting the requirements of art. 27^2, point (1), letter a) of OUG 194/2002, republished) and the fees (art. 51 GEO 194/2002). It is valid for the duration of the contract, but at most 2 years (3 years for highly qualified workers, 180 days in 365 for seasonal workers).

Help the worker obtain the medical certificate and proof of housing and submit the permis unic (single permit) application to IGI (General Inspectorate for Immigration) on time; carry out occupational health and safety training in a language they understand and provide protective equipment; pay the salary into a bank account; organise Romanian language courses (6 months, minimum 6 hours per week); notify IGI and the agency within 5 working days of unjustified absences of more than 3 working days or of termination of the contract; make sure the worker works exactly in the occupation stated in the contract; and keep copies of the documents for 5 years after the contract ends (art. 7 GEO 32/2026). CADIMA reminds you of the deadlines and assists you at every step.

Our main markets are Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Ghana, Egypt and Morocco, but we also work with Malaysia, China, the countries of Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan), Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Senegal, Madagascar, Tunisia), Turkey, Serbia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Republic of Moldova. The list is not exhaustive: tell us the country, the number of workers and the trades, and our team will assess whether recruitment can be organised, depending on the legal possibilities.

Yes, through our partner companies. Since 2018 we have been working with service-provision and staff-leasing companies (authorised temporary work agencies): we recruit and bring in the staff, and the authorised partner concludes the service contract or the staff-provision contract with you. If you prefer not to hire directly, tell us and we will propose the right structure.