An apartment in the European Union for a Ukrainian: how to buy without citizenship and what it gives you — step by step

An apartment in the European Union for a Ukrainian: how to buy without citizenship and what it gives you — step by step

An apartment in the European Union is available to a buyer without EU citizenship: a foreigner acquires ownership of a home on equal terms with a citizen, and entry starts from €30,000.
There is one restriction, and it is a banking one: in practice, banks in Romania do not give mortgages to non-residents — so what works is an installment plan from the apartment's owner, secured by the seller's legal mortgage.
You do not need to change your country of residence for this: your city, school, doctor and job stay where they are, and the deal is done remotely. Below — what a non-resident buys, what the entry amount is made of, what the apartment gives besides a home, and what happens to it after March 4, 2028.

Can a Ukrainian without EU citizenship buy an apartment in the European Union

Yes. EU citizenship is not required to buy a home: a foreigner acquires an apartment as their property on the same terms as a resident and receives a land register extract in their own name.
The difference concerns only land: a non-resident acquires a plot through a Romanian legal entity or on the basis of an international treaty, while a building can be bought without restrictions.
An apartment in a multi-unit building is the building plus a share of the land beneath it, so in practice the purchase goes through directly, and a company is needed not for the deal itself but for income and a ground for status.

The full sequence is 7 steps: Choosing the property, Checks and the deposit, Confirming the origin of funds, The notarial deed, Registration in the carte funciară, Installment payments, Renting out.
Rights do not arise at the handshake: the notarial deed is signed on the day of the deal, the registration is filed the same day, and the title passes with the registration — Articles 885 and 1676 of the Civil Code.

How much entry costs and why there is no bank

Entry into the deal starts from €30,000, and no bank is involved in this arrangement.
In practice, a mortgage is not given to a non-resident in Romania — this is not an obstacle but a fork in the road: instead of the credit route, what works is an installment plan from the apartment's owner, secured by the seller's legal mortgage under Articles 1723 and 2386 of the Civil Code.
The encumbrance is registered in the land register until full payment and is removed with the last payment.
There is no loan application, no credit scoring and no European-style income certificate here — there is a contract and a schedule.

•    A typical property — about €100,000.

•    Down payment — 30%, about €30,000; it includes notary fees and tax, and nothing is paid on top of this amount on the day of signing.

•    The remainder — about €70,000 over 36 months, interest-free, about €1,900 a month.

•    A comparable two-room apartment with a sea view in the European Union — from €300,000.

•    The full cycle, including setting up the company and the status — up to 4 months.

This compares price levels, not countries: specific markets are not named here, because the comparison should be property to property, not country to country.

What the apartment gives besides a home: an asset, income, a ground

The apartment gives 3 things at once: property in the European Union, income in euros and a ground for status. Property is a record in your name in the state register of an EU country — an asset that does not depend on the validity of your current residence authorization.
Income is rent: the property is let, the lease is registered with the tax office, and the money arrives in your account; the specific rates for a property are calculated separately, because they depend on the area, the condition and the letting mode.
The ground is a chain, not the purchase itself: real estate in the company's name, rent, fully legal income, an employment contract, a card. There are no promises here: the authority makes the decision, and the company prepares the documents.
You also do not have to deal with the property yourself — a management company runs it under a contract with timelines and an amount: preparation, the tenant, day-to-day matters, a report to the owner; the cost depends on the package and is fixed in the contract.

How to confirm the origin of thirty thousand

With documents, not explanations: the bank and the notary look at the chain by which the money came into being and reached the account. The origin is confirmed by contracts, statements, tax returns, and documents on the sale of property, a gift or an inheritance. For a buyer living in another EU country, the usual picture is salary and savings in local accounts, and that is the simple case: a statement and a letter from the employer settle the question.
It is harder where the money came in several transfers from different people or is held in cash — then a history is assembled for each part of the sum. The bank, the notary and the lawyer report to Romania's financial intelligence unit, so the check is mandatory and the same for everyone.
The bank makes the decision; the package is prepared to its requirements, and nobody guarantees approval. You get the answer to this question before the deposit — in the written opinion of the assessment.

How to buy without changing your city, school or job

Buying does not require moving: you stay where you live, work and take your children to school.
The deal is done remotely — by power of attorney to a representative or through a management company acting under your power of attorney; the power of attorney is notarized and translated by a sworn translator.
You need to come once, and only if you are going all the way to a card: to give biometrics, accompanied by the company's lawyer.
Everything else — choosing the property, checks, the deposit, payments, signing, registration, moving the tenant in — goes ahead without your presence.
That is the whole point of the structure for someone who has already settled their life in another EU country: an asset appears in the European Union, while daily life stays the same.

What happens to the purchase after March 4, 2028

Nothing happens to the apartment: ownership is not tied to the term of temporary protection. The land register entry has no expiry, the property remains yours, rental income keeps coming in, and you can sell it or pass it on by inheritance regardless of your residence status. The protection itself has been extended until March 4, 2028 — by Council of the EU Decision 2026/1912, in force from August 5, 2026. That is precisely the difference between an asset and a status: a status is granted for a term and renewed, while ownership exists permanently. That is exactly why the window for a calm decision is open now: your own ground is built in advance, in the ordinary way and with normal timelines, not in the last months when everyone is doing the same thing at once.

What to do if you are already renting for the fourth year

A fourth year of renting means someone else's square meters paid for and zero ownership; this can be fixed at any moment, and you do not need to start from scratch. The usual picture: payments go out monthly, the amount is comparable to an installment payment, but at the end of the year the tenant has no share in the property, no income and no ground for status — only receipts.
Meanwhile the lease can end at the owner's wish, and the terms are revised every year, not in your favor.

The turnaround takes 4 steps.

Step 1 — we calculate what is already going out: the annual rent payment against the down payment and the installment payment; this is arithmetic, not persuasion.

Step 2 — we check the money: which documents confirm the origin of the entry amount, what is missing and how to close it.

Step 3 — we choose the structure: buying in your own name or the company's, then income and a ground; the option without a status works too, if you do not need a card.

Step 4 — the deal, done remotely, and handing the property over to management.

Start with a free strategic assessment — it takes place before any decisions and commits you to nothing: a review of your situation, at least 2 routes, a budget and the sequence of steps.
The assessment may end in a reasoned refusal — that is a result too. Write to us — we will review your situation.

Do you need a residence permit to buy an apartment in the European Union?

No. Buying requires neither EU citizenship nor a residence permit: a foreigner acquires a home as their property and receives an extract in their own name.
Status is a separate route, built as a chain through a company, rent and fully legal income.

Who gives an installment plan if the bank refuses?

The apartment's owner. It is an installment plan from the owner, secured by the seller's legal mortgage: the encumbrance is registered in the land register until full payment and is removed with the last payment. No bank is involved in this arrangement.

What happens to the apartment if my residence status ends?

Nothing. Ownership is not tied to the term of your residence authorization: the register entry has no expiry, the property remains yours, the rental continues, and sale and inheritance are possible in the ordinary way.

Sergey Valentinovich Kononov — head of the consulting company Alliance Consulting (Constanța, Năvodari).
More than 30 years of management experience; the company has run a licensed practice in Romania for four years and supports clients from the first consultation to receiving their documents. We work under a contract that sets out the timelines, the amount and the procedure; the company's licenses are publicly available on the website.