EU citizenship through Romania: filing on your own or professional support — where you really lose money, time and the result
A Romanian passport is a passport of a citizen of the European Union. The right to live, work and do business in any EU country. Banking infrastructure, legal status, freedom of movement without visas or restrictions. This is not a privilege — it is a legal reality available to those who have a ground for Romanian citizenship. And the first question everyone faces once they decide to work towards this result is: file on your own or turn to a company. This article is not an advertisement. It is a breakdown of the two routes, based on four years of practice of Alliance, a consulting company that works with foreign clients in Romania. Filing documents, support at every stage, the administrative court — we see the whole process from the inside. And we see how each of the two routes ends.
What lies behind filing on your own Formally, anyone who has a ground for it can apply for Romanian citizenship. The law does not prohibit it. Information about the procedure is available from open sources: document lists, how to apply to ANC, general requirements for the file. At first glance, everything is clear and doable. But between a list of documents and a successful filing lies a distance that most people do not see until they face it personally. A list of documents is just a list. A procedure is a legally significant sequence of actions in which every step matters. The format of a document, the order of legalization, the country where the translation is made, the sequence of apostilles, the validity period of each certificate — none of these are trifles. They are parameters, and failing to meet them leads to the file being returned, to collecting everything again, to losing months and years. Alliance's practice shows three systemic points where filing on your own breaks down most often. The first is errors in the documents. An apostille placed in the wrong order. A translation made in the wrong jurisdiction. A certificate that expired by the time of filing. A notarization that does not meet ANC's current requirements. Each of these errors is not a formality but a ground for rejecting the file. The second is the file becoming outdated while it is being collected. Romanian citizenship law is getting steadily stricter. Requirements that applied a year ago may no longer be relevant. It used to be possible to submit documents after filing — now this is prohibited. An apostille used to be unnecessary for a number of documents — now it is required. A person who spends two or three years collecting a file on their own risks arriving with documents that no longer meet the rules in force. The third is the lack of oversight after filing. The law sets a time limit for ANC to examine a case — two years. But thousands of cases go beyond that limit: three, four, five years with no result. A person who filed on their own is left without legal support. They do not know what stage their case is at. They do not know whether there are grounds to go to court. They do not know that the administrative court is a working procedure for speeding things up, provided for by law. They simply wait. And every month of that waiting is a month without an EU passport.
The real cost of a "free" filing The main argument for filing on your own is saving money. But when you count it in detail, that saving turns out to be an illusion. The direct costs of collecting the file yourself are translations, apostilles, notarizations, travel and accommodation. These costs seem manageable. But when documents have to be redone, when certificates expire, when the law changes and the file has to be collected again, the direct costs double and triple. On top of the direct costs comes the cost of lost time. Every year without an EU passport is a year without legal status in Europe, without full banking infrastructure, without freedom of movement and employment. On top of that comes the cost of missed opportunities. Business decisions that were not made. Moves that were postponed. Children's education that was not started. In real practice, Alliance regularly sees the following situation: people come to us after waiting three, four, five years since filing on their own. We review the case, analyze the stage, file with the administrative court — and within a year they get into a citizenship order. A year of professional work instead of several more years of waiting in silence. That is the real arithmetic. And it does not favor "free" filing on your own.
How the process is set up at Alliance Alliance Consulting is a consulting company that works with foreign clients in Romania. Four years of practice. Two products in the Romanian citizenship line. Product one is the full document package and filing for Romanian citizenship. The process begins with an assessment. Alliance does not take on a case without a full analysis of the situation: the ground for filing, the state of the documents, the stage of readiness, the risks, the strategy. This is the foundation on which all the work is built. Next comes collecting and preparing the documents. Alliance controls every document: format, legalization, apostille, translation, validity periods, the order in which the file is assembled. The company works to ANC's current requirements — not from information in open sources but from real practice. Filing is done so that the file goes through the first time. No returns, no rework, no repeat visits. After filing, Alliance tracks the stage of the case. The client gets information, not silence. If the case goes beyond the normal time limit, the company moves on to the next step. Product two is a case review and speeding things up through the administrative court. If the case does not reach the oath within the time limit set by law, Alliance takes it through the administrative court. This is a working legal procedure provided for by Romanian law. It is not a conflict with the state and not a last resort. It is a legal tool that turns years of waiting into a concrete result. Both products work towards one result — a passport of a citizen of the European Union.
What to do if you have already filed on your own A separate and important question is the situation where the filing has already been made on your own and problems have arisen. The documents were returned. The case is stuck. A refusal came. Or there has simply been no answer for years. Alliance handles such situations systematically. The first step is a full case review. What was filed, what state the documents are in, what stage the examination is at, whether there are errors, whether there are grounds for speeding up or appealing. If the case can be corrected, Alliance corrects it. If the documents have to be redone, a new collection strategy is built to the current requirements. If the case is stuck, the stage is analyzed and a decision is made on going to the administrative court. If a refusal has been issued, the legal grounds for an appeal are assessed. The main rule is not to keep waiting in silence. Doing nothing after filing on your own is the most expensive scenario. Because time works against you: appeal deadlines are limited, the law is getting stricter, documents become outdated.
Why the decision needs to be made now Romanian citizenship law does not stand still. Every year brings new requirements, new regulations, new restrictions. What can be done today may become harder, longer and more expensive tomorrow. This is not a marketing trick. It is a fact confirmed by the pattern of legislative changes over the past four years. Every change made the procedure stricter. Not one made it softer. Every month of delay is a month that works against the result.
The next step If you are considering applying for Romanian citizenship, start with a consultation. Alliance will assess your situation and build a strategy. If you have already filed on your own and do not understand what is happening with your case, ask for a case review. Alliance will analyze the stage and tell you what to do next. If your case is stuck and you are not getting to the oath, Alliance will assess the grounds for speeding it up through the administrative court. Write to us on Telegram, and our manager will contact you.
Alliance Consulting is a consulting company in Romania. Four years of work with foreign clients. Two products: the full document package and filing for Romanian citizenship. Case review and speeding things up through the administrative court. One result — a passport of a citizen of the European Union.