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I am thinking of going to Romania in a couple of months, and would like to stay for a longer time than the 90 day short-stay period. Normally, you would apply for a long-stay visa before you arrive in the country you're moving to.

However, over a beer in a pub in Germany someone told me a better approach is to enter the country with a 90-day permit, and then apply for a long-term visa or residency permit from inside the country. "Romanians," this guy said slightly drunkenly, "are friendly and are really happy to have people, especially comparatively well-off Westerners, come into the country. You should go to the office with a Romanian friend, smile, and you'll get a permit." (He then went on to imply some bribery might help things too.)

Illegal options aside, what is the best approach for getting some kind of visa or permit for long-term stay in Romania?

  1. Apply for a long-term visa before entering the country (* see comments below)
  2. Apply for a short-term (90-day) permit, and apply for something else inside the country
  3. Another option?

(I am an Australian citizen; long-stay visas are typically tricky for me since I work remotely over the net for an Australian company - I often don't seem to meet the employment requirements for a visa, for example, since I'm employed by a company from another country. I've been refused a visa once before despite having enough money, a full-time employment contract, no history of breaking visa conditions, and a good character record and of course no criminal record. Off the record, I was told there was no good reason why, it was just not matching the categories perfectly. I've been using the working holiday visa program, but Romania doesn't have one for Australians.)

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  • Saying that, hop into the Travel Chat, if hippietrail is around he may have some suggestions, being Australian as well.
    – Mark Mayo
    Jun 27, 2013 at 10:54
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    @MarkMayo That's a shame. Moving is travel, and a common way of traveling. The FAQ does say questions about visas are permitted, so even if the purpose of a visa is to move (irrelevant), why is a question about the right way to get a specific visa / permit off topic? Still, I'll keep an eye on travel chat; thanks for the suggestion.
    – David
    Jun 28, 2013 at 9:32
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    I voted to reopen because this question isn't specific to immigration, it applies to any stay that's longer than 90 days. Getting a permanent resident status would be immigration, but any limited-length visa fits within travel.
    – Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'
    Jun 28, 2013 at 22:06
  • @MarkMayo sometimes it is usfeul to think about something before releasing the bomb
    – Maître Peseur
    Jun 29, 2013 at 23:28

1 Answer 1

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I am a romanian citizen living in Germany for five years. I kept contact with my friends in Romania and I travel there every year.

The Australian citizens do not require a visa to enter Romania for a period up to 90 days. Therefore, if I were you, I would travel to Romania and apply for long stay visa from inside the country (conditions and required documents).

4-5 years ago bribing was a possibility. Nowadays the chances of getting caught are considerably higher. I advise you to abandon that option.

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