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- FIND YOUR RELATIVES IN ROMANIA
First, you must find out if your parents or grandparents were Romanian citizens and if they renounced their Romanian citizenship or it was withdrawn by the Romanian authorities.
To determine whether you have relatives who were Romanian citizens, you must also take into account the fact that the old territory of Romania also includes parts of today’s Ukraine, as well as the territory of the Republic of Moldova.
According to the law, Romanian citizenship can be regained by those who lost it not due to any wrongdoing of their own, as well as by their descendants up to the second degree (children and grandchildren).
In order to obtain Romanian citizenship, there is no requirement to know the Romanian language; it is sufficient to prove the existence of relatives with Romanian citizenship.
- OBTAIN EVIDENCE OF KINSHIP
Once you find out that you have a relative with Romanian citizenship, you will need to obtain the certified evidence from the Romanian authorities. For this purpose, you must provide the documents of civil status to the Romanian authorities, both for you and for your relatives, apostilled/super-legalized and with Romanian legalized translation, if applicable.
- PREPARE THE FILE
The file for regaining citizenship must contain all the documents required by the National Authority for Citizenship (NAC).
The documents required (apostilled/super-legalized and with a Romanian legalized translation, if applicable) include:
passport;
criminal record issued in you’re the country of origin;
civil status documents for relatives (birth certificate, marriage certificate, death or divorce certificate, certificate attesting to the change of name, etc.);
written statements and written proof of the loss of Romanian citizenship;
If you want to establish your domicile in Romania, you will also have to present the proof of income as well as proof of your home in Romania.
At the same time, if you have children and want to obtain Romanian citizenship for them as well, you will have to include their documents in your citizenship application.
- SUBMIT THE FILE
The file for the recovery of Romanian citizenship can only be submitted personally, except in cases of a medical condition that does not allow the applicant to travel.
If you live abroad, you can submit the file for regaining Romanian citizenship to the diplomatic missions or consular offices of Romania in the country where you have your residence or domicile.
- FOLLOW THE STATUS OF THE FILE
The status of the file can be tracked based on the registration number of the file on the ANC website. The information regarding the status of the file can also be obtained based on a request addressed to the NAC, indicating the registration number of the file and your identification data.
If the file complies with all legal requirements, the President of the NAC will issue a decree granting you Romanian citizenship. The decree will be communicated to you by a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt at the declared address.
- OBTAIN THE CITIZENSHIP CERTIFICATE
Within 6 months from the approval of the file, you will have to take the oath of faith towards the Romanian state at the NAC headquarters. Otherwise, the effects of the decree to regain the Romanian citizenship will cease.
The Romanian citizenship certificate will be issued at the swearing-in ceremony.
After obtaining the citizenship certificate, you will need to obtain the transcript of the civil status documents (birth / marriage certificate) at the Civil Status Office in Romania.
Once you successfully complete the above steps, you can officially call yourself a Romanian citizen!
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Stefania Costea
Consultant
stefania.costea@eurofast.eu