Romanian residence permit for Ukrainians without relocating: company, apartment, employment contract — step by step
Your own Romanian residence permit is built from where you already live: the company, an apartment held by the company, official income and an employment contract are all put together remotely. There is one limitation, and you need to know it before the first payment: buying an apartment does not, by itself, give you the right to stay in the country.
The ground is created by the chain as a whole. Below: what exactly works, what it costs and how long it takes, what the authority checks, and what to do if the company is already open but has no activity.
In short. Buying real estate in Romania does not give you a residence permit: the country has no program granting status for investment in housing. What works is a structure of four elements — a Romanian SRL company, an apartment held by the company, official rental income and an employment contract with that company. The permit is issued by the General Inspectorate for Immigration. Under the terms on the service page as of 30.09.2026, opening the company costs €1,300, status support costs €1,300, and the full cycle takes about 4 months.
Does buying an apartment in Romania give you a residence permit
No. Ownership does not create the right to stay in the country: a residence permit is issued on a ground — work, business activity, family reunification or study — not on square meters. Romania has no residence-by-real-estate-investment program for any amount.
The purchase itself, however, is open. A foreigner buys a building with no restrictions based on citizenship; land is acquired under a reciprocity agreement, through a Romanian legal entity or by a right of superficies — Law No. 312/2005.
Ownership and residence are governed by different laws, and one right does not turn into the other either automatically or on application. What works is not the purchase but a structure in which the apartment is one of the elements.
Which structure works: an SRL, an apartment held by the company, rental income, an employment contract
The structure consists of four elements and is assembled strictly in order: a Romanian SRL company, an apartment held by the company, official rental income, an employment contract. The residence permit is issued on the basis of the contract, not on the basis of ownership, and the decision on each file is made by the General Inspectorate for Immigration.
An SRL is a Romanian limited liability company, the most common form for small businesses in the country. It is registered for a non-resident remotely and gets an account with a Romanian bank.
The apartment is registered to the company by a notarial contract. Carte funciară is Romania's land book, the state register of rights to real estate; ownership passes with the entry in it, Articles 885 and 1676 of the Romanian Civil Code.
Then the property starts working: the rental runs officially, through the company, with bookkeeping and reporting. The employment contract rests on this income, and the permit application rests on the contract.
Each element must be real. An empty company with no account and no activity, a formal contract with no work behind it and an undeclared rental do not make a structure: at renewal the authority checks whether the ground is still met. “Residence permit through real estate” is a phrase with no procedure behind it.
What it costs and how long it takes
Under the terms on the “Romanian residence permit without relocating” service page as of 30.09.2026: opening the company — €1,300, about a month, remotely; status support — €1,300, about three months; accounting — €600 a year. The full cycle takes about 4 months and runs mostly remotely.
Company — SRL registration, a bank account, accounting; about a month.
Property — selection, due diligence, notarial contract, entry in the carte funciară; the timing depends on the property.
Income and contract — a lease agreement, an employment contract with the company; in parallel with the property.
Status — preparing the file, filing, the authority's decision; about three months.
The apartment is bought with your own funds or in installments: the installment plan is offered by the apartment's owner. Until full payment, the seller's legal mortgage is registered in the land book — Articles 1723 and 2386 of the Romanian Civil Code; it is removed with the last payment. A Romanian bank does not issue a mortgage loan to a non-resident, so the bank route is not used in this structure.
The timelines, amounts and working procedure are fixed in the contract before work begins.
Do you need to move to Constanța
No. Personal presence is required once — when the permit file is submitted, accompanied by a company specialist. Company registration, the property transaction, the lease agreement and the ongoing paperwork are handled remotely or under a power of attorney drawn up in advance: under the terms as of 30.09.2026, the full cycle runs mostly remotely.
The city where your family lives does not change: the children's school, the doctor and work stay the same. The Alliance Consulting office in Constanța handles the documents on site, so trips around government offices do not fall on you.
The status gives the right to stay in the country, not an obligation to move: the family decides this question itself, and when it sees fit.
How to switch from temporary protection while it is still in force
Switching to a ground of your own is possible at any time while protection is in force: there is no need to wait for it to end, nor to give up the status during preparation. Temporary protection has been extended until March 4, 2028 by Council of the EU Decision 2026/1912, in force since August 5, 2026.
Temporary protection is a collective status for citizens of Ukraine, introduced and extended by a decision at the Union level. Your own residence permit rests on your own ground and does not depend on general decisions.
The difference also shows in the timelines: years under temporary protection do not count toward the residence period for permanent residence, while months on a personal status do. While protection is in force, you have calm time to prepare documents, and this is the best period to build a ground without haste. The step-by-step switching procedure is covered in a separate article.
What IGI checks and when personal presence is needed
IGI is Romania's General Inspectorate for Immigration, the authority that accepts files and issues and renews foreigners' right of residence. What is checked is not intent but whether the structure is real: an operating company, activity on the account, accounting in place, a lease agreement for the property, an employment contract and valid health insurance.
The file is submitted to the territorial office at your place of residence. Biometrics are taken at submission — this is the one trip that requires personal presence. The finished document is collected in person or delivered by courier.
Renewal works by the same logic. The permit is not issued forever: at each renewal the authority looks at whether the ground still exists — whether the company is operating, whether income is coming in, whether the contract is in force. A structure assembled as a formality falls apart precisely at renewal, not at the first filing.
What to do if the company is already open with no activity
You need to start not with filing but with bringing the company to life. An empty SRL gives no ground: without an account with activity, accounting and real income, the file confirms nothing, and the authority sees that. The situation is workable and fixable — the company already exists, which means the first step is done.
The recovery procedure is short. First, the company's condition is checked: the account, reporting, debts, compliance with the declared activity. Then an asset and income appear — an apartment held by the company and an official rental. Then the employment contract is drawn up, and only after that is the filing prepared.
The mistake here is not that the company was opened, but that it was opened as a document rather than as a working business.
How Alliance Consulting works. Alliance Consulting handles the entire structure under a contract that sets out the timelines, the amount and the working procedure: strategy, the legal part, the bank, financial monitoring and coordination of all processes. The company's licenses are publicly available on the website; its two offices are in Constanța and Mamaia.
The legal part is handled by specialized professionals, the accounting by audit firms. Properties matching the strategy are selected by Armonia: Armonia shows the properties, Alliance protects the money and builds the structure.
The horizon beyond the status is citizenship: naturalization requires eight years of residence, five if married to a citizen, Article 8 of Law 21/1991 on Romanian citizenship; with proven roots, Article 11 applies.
“The right to Romanian citizenship is confirmed by documents — and we take this right all the way to the passport. The decision is made by the authority: the result cannot be guaranteed, but the file can be assembled so that there are no questions about it. The timelines, the amount and the working procedure are in the contract.”
Start with a free strategic assessment: we will review your situation and show at least two routes, the budget and the sequence of steps. The assessment is carried out before any decisions and does not oblige you to anything. Write to us in the Telegram chat @alliance_consulting_SRL.
Questions and answers
Can you get a Romanian residence permit simply by buying an apartment?
No, you cannot buy an apartment and get a residence permit on that basis: Romania has no program granting status for investment in real estate. The apartment works as part of a structure — it gives the asset income, and the income supports the employment contract on the basis of which the permit is issued.
How many times do you need to come to Romania?
Once — to submit the file and give biometrics, accompanied by a company specialist. Company registration, buying the property and preparing the documents are done remotely or under a power of attorney. Under the terms as of 30.09.2026, the full cycle takes about 4 months. The finished document itself is then collected in person or delivered by courier.
Can you start without giving up temporary protection?
Yes. Temporary protection is in force until March 4, 2028 under Council of the EU Decision 2026/1912 and remains in place throughout the preparation. The switch happens at the moment your own permit is issued, with no gap in legal status, so starting early pays off better than waiting for protection to end. Years under protection do not count toward the residence period for permanent residence, while months on your own status do.
Sources
Council of the EU Decision 2026/1912 extending temporary protection until March 4, 2028 — July 30, 2026, in force since August 5, 2026
Law No. 21/1991 on Romanian citizenship, Articles 8 and 11 — March 1, 1991, as currently amended
Romanian Civil Code, Articles 885, 1676, 1723 and 2386 — Law No. 287/2009 of July 17, 2009, as republished
Law No. 312/2005 on the acquisition of land ownership by foreigners — November 10, 2005
Extension of the right of temporary residence for work — General Inspectorate for Immigration of Romania
Author: Sergey Valentinovich Kononov, head of Alliance Consulting. Published: 11.08.2026. Updated: 01.10.2026.
Verified as of 30.09.2026. The legal points, amounts and timelines are current as of this date; the page is updated when they change.
Sergey Valentinovich Kononov is the head of the consulting company Alliance Consulting (Constanța, Năvodari). Over 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. The company's licenses and documents are publicly available on the website.