Romania ETIAS

Positioned on the Eastern Side of the Balkan Peninsula, where the Carpathian Mountains touch the Black Sea and where modern-day Europe shares its borders with what once was the Soviet Union, Romania is a country with a prestigious cultural heritage that was influenced from its many connections with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russia and the Middle East just to mention a few.

ETIAS to Romania: main facts

Romania to be among enforcing countries of ETIAS System starting from 2025
ETIAS necessary to enter Romania for visitors with a passport issued from 60 Visa Waiver Countries
ETIAS allows for a combined stay in Romania and other ETIAS States not to exceed 90 days in 6 months and only for purpose of tourism, business, transit or medical care
Passport must have 3 months of remaining validity since the departure day from Europe

Romania and European Union
Positioned on the Eastern Side of the Balkan Peninsula, where the Carpathian Mountains touch the Black Sea and where modern-day Europe shares its borders with what once was the Soviet Union, Romania is a country with a prestigious cultural heritage that was influenced from its many connections with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russia and the Middle East just to mention a few.
Romania independence was long a painful goal to achieve, and the process took more than century for the country to fully emancipated from the Ottomans first and the Austro-Hungarians next.
In 1947 in the aftermath of World War II the country became a Socialist Republic under a strong political influence of the neighboring Soviet Union, and in 1989, after what is know as the revolutionary war, it eventually acquired the status of fully democratic and independent Nation.
EU and Schengen membership
Democracy brought Romania and the European Union much closer in the following years and, following a long process of modernization Romania, alongside Bulgaria, managed to be inducted into the EU in 2007. Such Membership brought and additional sponsorship towards Romania’s cultural and economic development enhancing a complete transition towards modern European political, institutional and infrastructural standards.

As a part if its EU subscription deal, Romania also became part, since January 2024, of Schengen Area.
Consequently, Romania too has been confirmed to become part of the ETIAS System form its very beginning in early 2025.

Visa Waiver Citizens from sixty nations around the world, willing to visit the Republic of Romania, and other EU/Schengen Area Nations in general, with the sole exception of the Republic of Ireland (EIRE), for short stays will than be required to electronically submit their application for EU’s Visa Waiver named ETIAS.
Romania ETIAS: hot to obtain one
Applying for an ETIAS Visa Waiver to Romania is a simple process to be carried out electronically exclusively. The greater part of the application protocol revolves around completing a digital form asking a short set of questions to be always answered in complete and truthful way.
The questions asked aim towards assessing the petitioners’ identity and intentions by requiring data as:

Full name and surname

Date of birth

Place of birth

Passport number

Passport’s authority and place of issue

Passport’s issue and expiry date

Contact details

First country of intended stay in ETIAS Area

Background questions

Once the form has been completed and double-checked, candidates will have to submit its content to the relevant European Authorities by mean of electronic payment of the due taxes. When the application has been submitted, candidates will than simply have to wait to receive its outcome that will be notified via e-mail within 72 hours.
ETIAS approval certificate, when ready, is only sent to the e-mail declared in the application form. Being the Visa Waiver electronically linked to the traveler’s passport it is not required, but still recommended, to carry a hard copy of the obtained ETIAS upon travelling.

ETIAS to Romania’s validity standards and practical use

Geographical and timing extension
Once received the positive outcome, like it will be in most cases, ETIAS Visa Waiver to Romania is valid for three years and allows for multiple entries in all of the 34 Countries part of the European Union/Schengen Area with the sole exclusion of the Republic of Ireland (EIRE); an exception to such validity frame is in place for those visitors whose passports expire in less than 3 years from the ETIAS issue date. Such Visa Waiver visitors should indeed remember that their ETIAS will cease its validity together with their passport and additionally, that it is required for the passport itself to have at least three months of remaining validity throughout the whole stay in ETIAS Area.
While an ETIAS could be required to enter Romania it is important to underline that the close by countries of Ukraine and Moldova are not part of either the European Union or the Schengen Area and therefore access to their territories is subject to local immigration rules that might also imply the obligation to have a valid Consular Visa.
Allowed travel purposes and duration
ETIAS can exclusively be used for Business, Leisure, Transit and Medical Therapy aimed journeys with a maximum combined stay inside the ETIAS Area never to surpass the limit of 90 days within six months.
Visa Waiver Nationals aiming to study, work or live in Romania or any other ETIAS Countries on a long-term basis will still be demanded to apply for a specific Consular Visa.
To this matter it is to be noticed that even if ETIAS is not technically fit to be used for long-term study programs or family reunification, the Visa Waiver can be used to access Europe for short training programs and/or for family and friends visits if the stay in the ETIAS Nations area will not exceed the timing threshold as mentioned above.
Additional details about ETIAS eligibility criteria and few exceptions are available in this website’s guideline and FAQ section.
Exemptions
Visitors to Romania that already possess a valid Schengen Visa, or a Residence Permit issued by any of the Schengen Member or de facto Member Countries are exempted from the requirement to hold a valid ETIAS. On the side, although, a Permit of Stay or National Visa issued by Romania is currently not considered a valid exemption criterion from the requirement to hold a Visa Waiver until Romania itself becomes officially part of the Schengen Area.
Entering Europe and Romania on an ETIAS
Although necessary, ETIAS itself does not automatically give a certainty that the Visa Waiver rights holders will be allowed to enter the European Borders since the decision making on this topic is always and only responsibility of the Border Control Officers.
As a matter of fact, travelers coming to the European Union/Schengen Area from abroad, regardless of the place of origin of the journey and of the mean of transportation used, might be required, so as to assess the genuine purpose of their visit, to provide further documents like:

return ticket to origin country

onwards ticket to a non-ETIAS Member Country

proof of sufficient funds

To avoid problems during the Border Control Procedures it is of paramount importance that all data inputted in the ETIAS Application form are correct and truthful.