Emergency Ordinance no. 25/2024 amending and supplementing certain normative acts in the field of foreigners and borders entered into force on 22 March 2024. The Ordinance sets out a series of measures necessary for the transposition of the Decision (EU) 2024/210 on the full application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in Bulgaria and Romania, following the lifting of controls at the air and sea borders as from 31 March 2024.
The main changes include:
- In order to obtain an employment permit for permanent workers, the employer will have to fulfil a new requirement, respectively to have actually conducted its business for at least 1 year in the field of activity for which the employment permit is requested. The condition will be verified by the territorial unit of the General Inspectorate for Immigration, including by checks at the registered offices or working places.
- The employer is required to conclude the individual employment agreement within 15 business days from the entry of the foreigner on the Romanian territory, or, as the case may be, from obtaining the new employment permit, in the case of a long-stay visa for employment. From 21 April 2024, the failure to comply with this obligation will be punishable by a fine from RON 5,000 to RON 10,000, unless the failure to conclude the agreement in time is due to the foreigner’s fault;
- The term within which the employer or, in the case of the seconded foreigners, the beneficiary of the service must notify IGI (The General Inspectorate for Immigration) about the amendment or termination of the employment agreement or, where applicable, about the termination of the secondment of the foreigner, is reduced from 10 days to 5 business days;
- Foreigners are required to declare to the territorial unit of the Romanian Immigration Office, which granted them the right of stay, any change in connection with their employment, within no more than 3 days instead of 10 days;
- Foreigners who have entered Romania for the purpose of employment will be extended the right of temporary stay for the purpose of employment if they present their full-time employment agreement concluded within 15 business days from their entry into Romania or, as the case may be, from obtaining the new employment permit;
- IGI will also allocate a personal number code to foreigners for whom employment or secondment permits have been issued.
