On this page
It is possible to immigrate to Romania from New Zealand and stay within the country without a visa for up to 90 days within 180 days. However, for longer traveling purposes, you must apply for a long-stay visa (D-type visa) and a temporary residence permit from the Romanian General Inspectorate for Immigration. You can extend your visit for work, study, family reunification, scientific research, or other purposes by obtaining the required visa. Our Romanian immigration lawyers will assist during the entire immigration process and help you with the documentation and visa application.
Available visas in Romania
If you wish to move to Romania from New Zealand for more than 90 days, you need to apply for a long-term visa. These visas include:
- The economic activities visa (D/AE);
- Professional activities (D/AP);
- Commercial activities (D/AC);
- Employment (D/AM1 and D/AM2);
- Studies (D/SD);
- Family reunification (D/VF);
- Religious activities (D/AR);
- Scientific research (D/CS).
Each visa has its own requirements and procedures. Our immigration lawyers in Romania will explain in detail the process for visa application, depending on your traveling purpose.
The employment visa and residence permit in Romania
New Zealand citizens can apply for a visa (followed by a residence permit) that will allow them to work in Romania. Most often, they will be employed by a Romanian company or the Romanian branch/subsidiary of a foreign company.
A special category of visa that grants work rights, and which can be used to immigrate to Romania from New Zealand, is the one for professional activities (visa type D/AP). It is issued to foreigners who will practise in Romania a liberal profession regulated by special laws (for example lawyers, doctors, architects). Digital nomads have a separate long-stay visa for other purposes (D/AS), while athletes employed by Romanian clubs and artists with an employment contract use the employment visa.
In case you are immigrating to Romania from New Zealand for work purposes, you need to gather the relevant documents to apply for the visa. The documents include:
- The employer’s single application for your employment, filed electronically on WorkinRomania.gov.ro (it replaced the former work permit in 2026);
- Proof of financial means equivalent to the national minimum gross salary for a period of 90 days (not required for highly qualified workers);
- Criminal record or equivalent document;
- Valid medical insurance for the visa duration;
- Proof of accommodation.
Once the employer’s single application is approved on the platform, the long-stay employment visa is requested at the Romanian consulate, which examines it within the term provided by law. After entry, the General Inspectorate for Immigration issues the single permit (residence and work). We remind you that after arrival, you must obtain your residence permit in Romania. Our team can help you relocate to Romania from New Zealand for work purposes.
Conditions for other types of visas and residence permits
New Zealanders who move to Romania are required to justify their stay in the country for their intended purpose. This means that they will first obtain a visa (for employment, study, business, family reunification, etc.) and, once they are in the country, will apply for the residence permit.
If you want to immigrate to Romania from New Zealand and your spouse is a Romanian citizen, you can apply for a long-stay visa and then a temporary residence permit for family reunification. This can also apply to unmarried individuals if they have at least one child.
If you apply for a student visa for Romania, you will be granted a temporary stay (for the duration of the studies). You can extend the duration of the temporary residence once the studies are finished for up to 6 months, to settle your academic situation and authenticate your diplomas, or for 9 months in order to look for a job or set up a business.
New Zealand scientists and researchers can apply for a long-stay visa for scientific research, provided that they receive the Ministry of Research’s approval. A visa extension is possible, provided that the research activities continue. The residence permit granted for this purpose can be extended for a total duration of 5 consecutive years.
Investors from New Zealand who want to open a company in Romania can apply for a visa (and residence permit) for commercial activities. In this case, they will have to obtain the approval of the competent authorities.
If you want to relocate to Romania and are interested in applying for any of the visas mentioned above, you should know that:
- A visa application fee is payable at the consulate;
- The authorities generally issue a response within 30 days of the receipt of the application;
- The usual 30-day term can be extended by another 15 days, on a case-by-case basis.
Our immigration lawyer in Romania can help you prepare and submit the documents according to your purpose of stay.
Long-term residence in Romania
To immigrate to Romania from New Zealand for a longer period, you must apply for a long-term residence permit. To obtain this permit, you must have continuously lived in Romania during the last 5 years, with no absence exceeding 6 consecutive months or a total of 10 months.
You cannot obtain long-term residency in Romania if you fall into certain categories. This includes having temporary residence for studies, being an asylum seeker, or having short-stay visas.
The long-term residence permit is valid for 10 years if you are a family member of a Romanian citizen and for 5 years if you stay in Romania for other purposes as provided by law.
We can help you relocate to Romania from New Zealand for extended periods of time.
Statistics about immigration in Romania
Our team has gathered some interesting statistics about the immigration trends in Romania in recent years. These statistics, provided by the OECD Library, show a significant increase in the number of new immigrants:
- 23,000 new immigrants obtained residence permits longer than 12 months in Romania (excluding EU citizens) in 2021;
- From that category, 66.3% were labor migrants, 15% were family members, 11.7% came for education reasons, and 7% were other migrants;
- In 2022, around 12,000 first-time asylum applications were registered, mostly from Ukraine, India, and Bangladesh.
If you have additional questions about immigrating to Romania from New Zealand, do not hesitate to contact our team for assistance and support.
