– Romania enjoys the Schengen member zone now since 31 March 2024. As of this date, air and sea border controls have been lifted. At the same time, Romania will fully apply the Schengen acquis.
Starting from 1 April 2024, the Romanian authorities will issue Schengen visas. These will allow holders to travel within the Schengen area, for stays that do not exceed 90 days in any 180 days.
According to this, starting on March 31, 2024, Romania has become a Schengen member state.
Status of visas issued before 31 March 2024
Short-stay visas issued by the Romanian authorities before March 31, 2024, will continue to be valid until the expiration date, but only for the territory of Romania. Therefore, if the holder of a short-stay visa issued by Romania intends to travel to the Schengen area, he will have to request the issuance of a visa from the authorities of the state in which he intends to travel.
Starting from March 31, 2024, in accordance with the provisions of Article 6 of the Schengen Borders Code, the maximum duration of authorized stay on the territory of the states located in the Schengen area for third-country nationals, regardless of whether they have the obligation to hold a visa or are exempt from such obligation cannot exceed, in total, “90 days during any 180-day period”, regardless of the type of passport held.
Visas issued before March 31, 2024, will be valid for the entire period of their validity, only for entering Romania. This visa with with two or multiple entries, will be able to travel, based on the Romanian visa, to Romania, Bulgaria, and Cyprus.
The transit rules for the visas issued before March 31 2024 are also important to follow. If the flight you are traveling with has a stopover in a Schengen member state, you will be able to transit it with a valid Schengen visa. The competent state to grant the Schengen visa is Romania because it is the state that represents the main destination for the trip.
Border controls lifted
Controls on persons will be lifted at internal sea and air borders from 31 March 2024, in accordance with the provisions of the Schengen Borders Code, without affecting the rules on controls on goods. On the other hand, the checks at the internal land borders (Romania-Bulgaria and Romania-Hungary) will be maintained until a further decision on this aspect is adopted.
Right of residence in Schengen calculation after March 31, 2024
Stays in Romania will be considered stays in the Schengen area, so they will be included in the calculation of the maximum stay of 90 days in any 180-day period.
Will the short-stay visas issued by Romania allow travel in the Schengen area?
Romania will issue uniform (Schengen) visas starting on March 31, 2024. Uniform visas issued after this date will allow travel to the Schengen area for stays of a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period.
Information of interest to holders of passports of the following countries:
Kosovo
Starting from January 1, 2024, the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2023/850 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 19, 2023 amending Regulation (EC) no. 2018/1806 establishing the list of third countries whose nationals must hold a visa for crossing external borders and the list of third countries whose nationals are exempt from this obligation according to which holders of biometric passports issued by Kosovo in accordance with Civil Aviation Organization standards International (ICAO) can travel without visas, in the EU and, implicitly, in Romania, for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180 days.
Mongolia
The decision of the Mongolian authorities to liberalize the visa regime for Romanian citizens, and holders of simple passports.
Starting from the year 2023, Romania appears, along with 33 other states, from the European Union, but also from other regions, on the list of states whose citizens are exempt from the obligation to hold a visa to travel for tourist purposes in this state.
According to the data publicly communicated by the Mongolian authorities, the period for which Romanian citizens can travel without a visa is a maximum of 30 days.
Romania’s diplomatic representation in Mongolia is provided by the Romanian Embassy in Beijing. The MAE reiterates the recommendation addressed to Romanian citizens who wish to travel to Mongolia to consult the Travel Conditions section on the MAE website where detailed information on the travel regime abroad of Romanian citizens.
Information of interest for foreign citizens, holders of visas issued by Romania
Starting with January 1, 2023, as per the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Romania, with the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the Schengen Area, Decision no. 565/2014 ceases to have effects vis-à-vis Croatia, therefore third-country nationals who are holders of visas and residence permits issued by Romania will no longer be able to enter the territory of the Republic of Croatia unless they hold a valid Schengen visa (type C visa) or a national long-stay visa (type D), issued by the Croatian authorities.
Total suspension of the application of the Agreement between the European Community and the Russian Federation on the facilitation of the issuance of visas for citizens of the European Union and the Russian Federation
Agreement (from 2022) between the European Community and the Russian Federation on facilitating the issuance of visas for citizens of the European Union and the Russian Federation, whereby according to the provisions of Art. 1 the agreement is suspended in its entirety about the citizens of the Russian Federation, starting from September 12, 2022.
Full suspension of the application of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the exemption from the obligation to hold a short-stay visa. On November 8, 2022, Council Decision (EU) 2198/2022 was adopted on the full suspension of the application of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the exemption from the obligation to hold a short-stay visa.
Thus, starting from February 4, 2023, the application of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the exemption from the obligation to hold a short-stay visa for the citizens of the Republic of Vanuatu is suspended.
By Decision (EU)2022/333 of the Council of February 25, the Agreement between the European Community and the Russian Federation on the facilitation of the issuance of visas for the citizens of the European Union and the Russian Federation was partially suspended, therefore the Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Government of the Federation was also partially suspended Ruse on mutual travel of citizens, signed in Bucharest on August 26, 2002.