Romania: working while you study

What you need to do

A student holding a temporary residence permit for study works in Romania without the separate hiring authorisation that an employer must otherwise obtain for a foreigner. That is a notable simplification, and precisely why it is easily read more broadly than it is.

The exemption is tied to the kind of contract. It applies to limited-hours employment; a full position does not fall under it, and there the general rules for foreign workers apply — with an authorisation requested by the employer.

Hence the practical order: first establish what contract you are being offered, and only then count the money. A contract of the wrong kind turns a simple situation into the general one, with all its timelines.

How this connects to the residence permit

The right to work here is a property of the study permit, not a separate status. While that holds, so does the exemption; when the studies end, the regime changes and work moves under different rules.

So renewing the residence permit and working are directly linked: a breach in one hits the other. These are not two independent lines of life but one.

What goes wrong

The exemption is taken for a right to work however you like. It is about the employer not needing an authorisation, not about the absence of limits.

People take a full position without warning the employer. That requires an authorisation, and obtaining it is the hirer's duty. An employer who did not know finds out at an inspection.

People start working before the residence permit is issued. The exemption is attached to the residence permit. Until it is issued, there is no ground for the exemption.

Where this is stated officially

• IGI — the general inspectorate for immigration: the section on studies and the rights a study residence carries.
• ANOFM — the employment agency: when an employer needs authorisation to hire a foreigner and how it is obtained.
• Ministerul Educației — the state section «Study in Romania» for international candidates.

How to check the requirement is still current

Check on the immigration inspectorate's site rather than in retellings: the kind of contract and the terms of the exemption change by decisions at that level, while blogs keep the old version for years.

Current rules and deadlines are collected below, each with its source and verification date.