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Romania: visas, tax & cost of living

Romania digital nomad visa guide: the 3x-average-wage income test, the 183-day tax trigger, a 10% flat tax, and EU living from about EUR 900/mo.

Romania: visas, tax & cost of living
Your passport

United KingdomRomania

Your move to Romania on a United Kingdom passport

  • VisitEasyVisa-free entry
  • NomadEasyNomad visa, likely eligible
  • RelocateFairly easyClear residence route

Visiting

Visa-free for up to 90 days. Travel on a passport valid for your whole stay, with a return or onward ticket and proof you can support yourself.

Passport validity: Passport issued within the last 10 years and valid for at least 3 months beyond your planned departure from the Schengen area.

Heads-up: EES biometric registration began rolling out from October 2025, and ETIAS pre-authorisation (currently set at 20 euro) is expected around the end of 2026.

At the border: Border may ask for a return or onward ticket, proof of accommodation, and enough funds for the stay.

Working remotely

Digital Nomad Visa (long-stay D/AS visa).

Income needed: 3x Romania's average gross monthly wage ("castigul salarial mediu brut"), which the statistics office republishes every month, not once a year. At the July 2026 release that wage was RON 9,709, so the floor was about RON 29,100 a month (roughly EUR 5,500 at the current exchange rate). The multiplier is fixed by law; the wage behind it is not, so check the newest INS figure before applying. (estimate)

Duration: 12 months

Fee: ~120 EUR (estimate)

Who qualifies: Long-stay Digital Nomad Visa (symbol D/AS, added to OUG 194/2002 by Legea 22/2022) for people who are employed by, or who own and remotely run, a company registered outside Romania; if you work through your own company it must have been registered abroad for at least 3 years. You need income of at least 3 times Romania's average gross monthly wage for each of the 6 months before you apply and for the whole visa period, health insurance of at least 30,000 euro, and a clean criminal record.

Tax and residency

Resident if you spend more than 183 days in Romania in any 12 consecutive months, or if your domicile or the centre of your vital interests is here (each on its own is enough, no day count required); residents are taxed on worldwide income at a flat 10%. (estimate)

The UK decides residence with its Statutory Residence Test (days in the UK plus your ties). As a non-resident you are usually taxed only on UK income; where one exists, a double-tax treaty with the destination decides who taxes what.

Double-tax treaty: yes, in force since 2025

Practical

Currency: RON. Cost of living: low.

Healthcare: There is no broad reciprocal public healthcare for most foreigners, so private health insurance (at least 30,000 EUR cover for the nomad visa) is generally required.

Healthcare agreement: UK GHIC or a still-valid EHIC covers medically necessary state care on short visits.

Driving: Visitors can usually drive on a foreign licence for short stays, but an International Driving Permit is recommended, especially for non-Latin-alphabet licences.

Sources: Romania, OUG 194/2002 art. 2 lit. n^4, art. 49 alin. (1) lit. f^1) and (2^1), art. 69 alin. (1) lit. i) and (7) (digital nomad visa, as amended by Legea 22/2022), IGI-hosted consolidated text · Romania, Codul fiscal (Legea 227/2015) art. 7 pct. 28 (tax residence test) and art. 64 (10% flat rate) · Romania, ANAF (fiscal residence guide, EN) · Romania, INS press release on "castigul salarial mediu brut" for July 2026 (RON 9,709), as reported by News.ro · Romania, e-Visa portal (MAE) for the digital nomad long-stay visa application · GOV.UK: tax on foreign income · HMRC: double-taxation treaties

Estimates, not advice. Confirm with the official sources before you act.

Should you move to Romania?

Want EU living without an EU price tag? Romania is one of the best-value bases on the continent, and the internet is genuinely fast. Bucharest is the practical year-round hub, with a real tech crowd and plenty of coworking. If you want something calmer and cheaper, look at Cluj-Napoca, Brasov, or Timisoara, which are smaller and easier to settle into. The local currency is the leu (RON), though plenty of rents and bigger prices get quoted in euros. Budget somewhere around EUR 900 to 1,300 a month as a solo nomad in a city, and you can spend less outside Bucharest. By European standards that is firmly in the low range.

Romania visa and entry

Romania does run a dedicated digital nomad visa, the long-stay D/AS route, aimed at people who work for, or own and remotely run, a company registered outside the country (if it is your own company, it needs at least three years on the books abroad). The sticking point is the income bar. You need to show at least three times the Romanian average gross monthly wage for each of the six months before you apply, and for the whole visa period. That average wage is not a once-a-year figure: the statistics office republishes it every month. At the July 2026 release it stood at RON 9,709, which puts the floor around RON 29,100 a month, roughly EUR 5,500 at the current exchange rate, plus health insurance of at least EUR 30,000 and a clean criminal record. The multiplier is fixed by law; the wage behind it is not, so check the newest figure before you apply rather than trusting last year’s number. EU citizens skip the whole thing and just register; the nomad route is really for non-EU passports. Get in on the visa and you enter on a long-stay visa, then convert to a residence permit in-country; the first renewal of that permit only runs six months, with later renewals needing a fresh income check, so budget for paperwork more than once a year. It does count toward Romania’s five-year mark for long-term residence, unlike some stopgap permits elsewhere.

Tax residency and what to check

The usual trigger is more than 183 days in Romania in any 12 consecutive months. But the tax office also looks at where your home is and where your center of vital interests sits, and either one on its own is enough to make you resident, no day count needed. Become a Romanian tax resident and your worldwide income comes into scope; stay a non-resident and only Romanian-source income is taxed. The upside, if you do land here, is the flat 10% personal income tax, one of the lowest in the EU (social contributions are a separate story, and nothing here lets a nomad tap Romania’s IT-worker or micro-enterprise breaks, since those are built for people paid by a Romanian employer or running a Romanian company, not the foreign-registered setup the nomad visa requires). Treat all of this as an estimate and confirm your own situation before you rely on it.

Figures are estimates. Always check the official source linked below.

At a glance

Currency
RON
Cost of living
Low
Digital-nomad visa
Yes

Frequently asked questions

Romania: is there a digital nomad visa?
Digital Nomad Visa (long-stay D/AS visa). Long-stay Digital Nomad Visa (symbol D/AS, added to OUG 194/2002 by Legea 22/2022) for people who are employed by, or who own and remotely run, a company registered outside Romania; if you work through your own company it must have been registered abroad for at least 3 years. You need income of at least 3 times Romania's average gross monthly wage for each of the 6 months before you apply and for the whole visa period, health insurance of at least 30,000 euro, and a clean criminal record.
Romania: when do you become a tax resident?
Resident if you spend more than 183 days in Romania in any 12 consecutive months, or if your domicile or the centre of your vital interests is here (each on its own is enough, no day count required); residents are taxed on worldwide income at a flat 10%.
Romania: what is the cost of living?
The cost of living is low and the local currency is the RON. Treat any figures as estimates.
Romania: do you need health insurance?
There is no broad reciprocal public healthcare for most foreigners, so private health insurance (at least 30,000 EUR cover for the nomad visa) is generally required.
Romania: can you drive on a foreign licence?
Visitors can usually drive on a foreign licence for short stays, but an International Driving Permit is recommended, especially for non-Latin-alphabet licences.

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