I am a non-EU citizen, a German resident with a long-term EC residence permit (Daueraufenthalt-EU).
With my German residence permit, I can stay in Romania for 90 days in any 180-day period, as Romania recognizes it as equivalent to a national visa (Decision 565/2014/EU). I have almost maxed out my 90 day stay and would like to be able to return to Romania without waiting 90 days for the current period to reset.
I had a conversation with the border police, and they suggested that I get a short stay Romanian national visa (type C, private visit). Thus, according to them:
- I can stay 90 days in Romania on a national visa
- Leave Romania
- Re-enter using my German residence permit
This way the total length of stay may exceed 90 days in a 180-day period, but the stay on a national visa will not be considered in the calculation of days to stay on a residence permit and vice versa.
I was skeptical, but the border police officers insisted on the possibility of a combination of these stays. Moreover, on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the section on stays, there is the following sentence:
"Periods of stay authorised under a residence permit or a national long-stay visa are not taken into account when calculating the period of stay."
This, to be honest, may refer only to the Romanian residence permit.
My question: Сan I really combine periods of stay on a national Romanian short-term C visa and a German residence permit, potentially staying in Romania for up to 180 days in a 180-day period? Otherwise, can you please point me to the legal act that prohibits such a stay.