Romanian citizenship · Law 21/1991
Romanian citizenship for you and your family
If your parents, grandparents or great-grandparents were Romanian citizens, the law lets you apply for Romanian citizenship and keep the citizenship you have now. The lawyer checks your family documents, finds what is missing and prepares the application for the National Authority for Citizenship (ANC), so you know from the start what your case rests on.
- Full member of the Suceava Bar
- Applications from Moldova, Ukraine and Russia
- Filing at ANC Suceava or at a consulate
Situations
Choose the situation that fits you
The conditions depend on where your ancestors were born and on the citizenship you hold today. Each page explains the rules for your case.
You are a citizen of Moldova
If your grandparents or great-grandparents were born in Bessarabia up to 1940, you can apply under Article 11 and keep your Moldovan citizenship.
You are a citizen of Ukraine
For families from the Chernivtsi and Odesa regions, that is, from Northern Bukovina, the Hertsa region and southern Bessarabia.
You are a citizen of Russia
What counts is where your ancestors were born, and the country you live in today does not change that right. Russian documents get closer checks.
You live legally in Romania
After 8 years of legal residence, or 5 years after marrying a Romanian citizen, you can apply for naturalization.
You filed and have waited more than 2 years
When ANC does not decide within the legal deadline, the lawyer can ask a court to order ANC to rule on the application.
Your family fled or was deported
Allowances for refugees, displaced persons and deportees and for their children, plus old compensation claims at the National Authority for Property Restitution (ANRP).
Who qualifies
Who can apply for Romanian citizenship
The Romanian citizenship law (Law 21/1991, as amended by Law 14/2025) has three main routes. For most families from Moldova, Ukraine and Russia, Article 11 applies.
Descendants of people who lost citizenship against their will (Art. 11)
This covers the people of Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina and the Hertsa region, who lost Romanian citizenship when these territories passed to the USSR, and their descendants down to great-grandchildren. You can keep your current citizenship and go on living where you live now.
Former Romanian citizens and their descendants (Art. 10)
People who had Romanian citizenship and lost it for other reasons, for example by giving it up, can ask to get it back. The right also passes to their children and grandchildren, and they can keep their other citizenship.
Foreigners who live legally in Romania (Art. 8)
Naturalization requires a long-term residence right or permanent residence and 8 years of legal residence. If you are married to a Romanian citizen and you live together, 5 years from the marriage are enough.
For Articles 10 and 11 you also need to
- be at least 18 years old; minor children can be included in a parent’s application
- be of good conduct, with no criminal conviction that makes you unworthy of citizenship
- be loyal to the Romanian state and not have supported actions against it
- prove your Romanian with a B1 certificate or with 3 years of school in Romanian
Bring the Romanian language certificate by 15 March 2027
Since 15 March 2025, anyone who applies under Article 10 or 11 must prove Romanian at B1 level. People who were Romanian citizens themselves are exempt, and so are people aged at least 65 when they file. If you filed after 15 March 2025 without a certificate, you can bring it until 15 March 2027 under Emergency Ordinance (OUG) no. 16/2026. After that date the application is rejected.
Did you file more than 2 years ago?
The law gives the ANC commission at most 2 years for its report, plus an extension of up to 6 months. Once that time has passed, the lawyer can bring an administrative court action, and courts have already ordered ANC to decide in cases like this. See how it works.
Documents
Documents usually required
The exact list depends on your family. Still, every Article 11 file has to link three things: the ancestor who was a Romanian citizen, each generation down to you, and your identity today.
Since 2019, ANC accepts only translations in which names are written exactly as in the passport. We check this before filing, because you have only 4 months to send any extra documents ANC asks for.
- A document showing that your ancestor was born or lived on Romanian territory up to 1940: a birth certificate, a marriage record, an old identity card or a certificate from an archive
- Birth, marriage and, where relevant, death certificates for each generation, issued within the last 2 years
- Your passport and the identity document from your country
- A criminal record certificate from your country of citizenship and from the country where you live, with apostille
- The B1 Romanian language certificate, or a transcript showing 3 years of study in Romanian, unless you are exempt
- Certified translations into Romanian and proof that you paid for the citizenship card (91.50 Romanian lei)
Steps
How the application works, from your first message to the oath
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1
We check whether you qualify
You send us the documents you have and what you know about your family. The lawyer tells you in writing which article you can apply under, which documents are missing and what the fee is.
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2
We complete the documents
We request the missing documents from archives and civil registry offices, then prepare the translations and apostilles.
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3
You file the application, with the lawyer beside you
Your fingerprints and photo are taken when you file, so you need to be there in person. You can file at ANC, including its office in Suceava, or at the Romanian consulate in the country where you live.
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4
We follow the file
The commission has at most 2 years for its report, with an extension of up to 6 months. If ANC asks for more documents, we send them within the 4 months set by law.
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5
You take the oath
After the order granting citizenship, you have one year to take the oath. If you live abroad, you can take it at the Romanian consulate in your country, and you become a citizen on the day of the oath.
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6
You get your Romanian documents
Next come the citizenship card, the transcription of your birth certificate and, after that, the passport or identity card.
What the lawyer does
What the lawyer does in your file
The lawyer cannot speed up the ANC decision, and the decision belongs to the commission. What the lawyer does is make sure that the file is complete, that the documents are genuine and that no legal deadline passes without an answer.
Searches the archives for documents
We request documents from archives in Romania and in the Republic of Moldova. In Ukraine we work with partners who search civil registry offices and state archives, for example in Chernivtsi and Odesa.
Checks every document before filing
A false document leads to rejection and can lead to a criminal case. That is why we check the documents before they reach ANC, including the ones you received from other people.
Keeps track of deadlines
The B1 certificate, the 4 months for extra documents, the account for your online file and the year for the oath each have their own deadline. The lawyer follows them and tells you in good time.
Goes to court when needed
If ANC misses the legal deadline or rejects the application, the lawyer can bring an administrative court action.
Handles the documents after the oath
The transcription of your birth and marriage certificates, then the application for a passport or identity card.
Works close to you
The office is in Suceava, where ANC has a regional office, close to the borders with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. The rest of the work is done online.
No false promises
What we do not promise
The law says clearly that it gives no one an automatic right to Romanian citizenship: the ANC commission decides on each application. That is why we do not promise you a result or a date.
- There is no paid “fast track”. ANC handles applications in the order they were registered, and when the legal deadline passes, the only legal route is the court.
- Citizenship cannot be bought, and you can no longer get it through investment. Offers like that have already led to criminal cases.
- Without an ancestor who was a Romanian citizen, you cannot apply under Article 11. We tell you this in the first conversation, before you pay anything.
Questions
Can I keep the citizenship I have now?
Yes. Articles 10 and 11 let you keep your foreign citizenship and your home abroad. What your own country’s law says about a second citizenship is a separate question, which we explain on the page for each country.
Do I have to come to Romania?
Not necessarily. Applications under Articles 10 and 11 can also be filed at the Romanian consulate in the country where you live, and you can take the oath there as well. You only need to be present when you file, for fingerprints and a photo.
How long does it take?
The law gives the commission at most 2 years for its report, with an extension of up to 6 months. Then come the order, the oath (you have one year for it) and the documents. In practice, Article 11 applications have taken more than 3 years on average, so no one can promise you a date.
How much does it cost?
According to ANC, it charges nothing for reviewing the application, and you pay only for the citizenship card, 91.50 Romanian lei. You pay separately for translations, apostilles and the lawyer’s fee. You get the fee in writing after the lawyer sees your documents and before you sign anything.
What happens to my minor children?
Children under 18 can be included in a parent’s application and get citizenship together with the parent, without taking the oath. Children over 14 must also give their consent.
Where can I see the status of my file?
On the ANC website, cetatenie.just.ro, under “Stadiu dosar” (file status), using your registration number. The lawyer also follows the file and explains what each change means.
Request
Tell us what you know about your family
Write where and when your parents, grandparents or great-grandparents were born and attach the documents you have. The lawyer reads everything and tells you which article you can apply under, what is missing and what it costs.
The lawyer who handles your file
Ioan-Dorin Tipa
Avocat (lawyer), member of the Suceava Bar since 2021
Check the registration in the National Register of LawyersWe have your request
Request code:
The lawyer reads what you sent and contacts you on the number you left, with the next steps and the fee. Keep the code so you can quote it when we talk.
Your documents are stored privately and only the lawyer sees them. Prefer to talk? Call +40758020129 or message us on WhatsApp.
Other situations
- Citizenship for Moldovans
- Citizenship for Ukrainians
- Citizenship for Russian citizens
- Citizenship by naturalization
- Delayed citizenship files
- Refugees and deportees
This page in other languages: Română · Українська · Русский
Legal basis: Law no. 21/1991 on Romanian citizenship, as amended by Law no. 14/2025 and Emergency Ordinance (OUG) no. 16/2026. This information is general and was checked on 19 October 2026. The law changes often, so the lawyer confirms it for your case.