Romanian Citizenship under Article 11 in 2026: Repatriation for Descendants Without Illusions

What Article 11 of Law 21/1991 is

Law No. 21/1991 “On Romanian Citizenship” provides two adjacent routes for descendants.

Article 10 — reacquisition of citizenship by former Romanian citizens who lost it before or after 22 December 1989 for reasons beyond their control, as well as for their children and grandchildren (first and second generation).

Article 11 — acquisition of citizenship by descendants of former Romanian citizens, up to and including the third generation (great-grandchildren). This is the main “by roots” route from Moldova, Ukraine, Serbia, Russia and other countries.

The right extends to those whose ancestors were Romanian citizens or were born on territory that was part of Greater Romania in 1918–1940: the whole of present-day Moldova, Northern Bukovina and Hotin County (part of Ukraine), Southern Dobruja (part of Bulgaria), and certain other territories. Citizenship was lost for reasons connected with historical border changes and the Soviet regime.

The only state body that receives and reviews applications is the National Authority for Citizenship (Autoritatea Națională pentru Cetățenie, ANC). The Authority was established by decree of President Traian Băsescu in 2010 and started operating on 10 February 2012. Its central reception office is in Bucharest, 3 Smârdan Street.

Who qualifies for repatriation under Article 11

Requirements for the applicant:

• documented kinship up to the third generation with a Romanian citizen who lost citizenship, or with a person born on the historical territory of Romania;
• age 18 or older (minors are included in a parent’s case);
• no criminal record in Romania or in the country of residence;
• no actions against the national security of Romania;
• knowledge of Romanian at level B1 (taking into account the new rules of 2026);
• knowledge of the basics of the Romanian Constitution and the anthem (checked at the interview).

The evidentiary base consists of documents from state archives: ancestors’ birth certificates, parish registers, marriage certificates, military records, Greater Romania passports. Searching for these documents on your own in the archives of Moldova, Ukraine and Romania is practically impossible — legal support with access to archival collections is required.

The main update of 2026 — the mandatory B1 certificate

Law 14/2025, which came into force on 15 March 2025, changed the key requirement of the route. From 2026, for most categories of applicants under Articles 10 and 11, a B1-level Romanian language certificate issued by an accredited institution is mandatory: the Romanian Language Institute, the Romanian Cultural Institute, the universities of Bucharest, Babeș-Bolyai (Cluj), Alexandru Ioan Cuza (Iași).

Exceptions where B1 is not required:

• applicants who are former Romanian citizens applying for reacquisition (Article 10);
• applicants aged 65 and older;
• minors included in their parents’ case;
• applicants whose cases were registered with the ANC before the reform came into force.

For all other descendants under Article 11 the B1 certificate is a mandatory condition. If a file is submitted without it after April 2026, the ANC refuses to accept it. This means that preparation for repatriation now begins not with the archives but with a language course — in parallel with the documentary work.

Realistic timelines in 2026

The topic of speed is the most sensitive spot of the market. For years competitors exploited the hook “Romanian citizenship in 1.5 years”, and in the early 2010s it matched reality. In 2026 the picture is different.

The average time from registration of the file to the issue of the citizenship order is 24 months. This is affected by:

• the queue for an appointment at the ANC (booking a submission slot takes 1–4 months);
• review by the commission (5 months by law, 6–12 in practice);
• possible requests for additional documents (plus 4 months for corrections);
• in the wake of the Le Monde investigation (December 2025), the ANC checks archival documents with additional layers of verification.

After the order is issued — the oath ceremony in Bucharest or at a Romanian consulate abroad, then the issue of the citizenship certificate, ID card and passport. This takes another 2–4 months.

The full realistic timeline from the start of document preparation to receiving the passport in 2026 is 24 to 36 months. Any promise of “6 months” or “1.5 years” in 2026 means one of two things: either the consultant is working with outdated data, or it is a fraudulent scheme based on forged documents.

The route step by step

1. 01

   Strategy consultation and assessment of prospects

   Analysis of the family history, assessment of the likelihood of proving kinship, choice of article (10 or 11), fixing the budget and the horizon.

2. 02

   Retrieval of archival documents

   Requests to the archives of Moldova, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia. Timeframe — 2 to 6 months depending on the region and the state of preservation of the collections.

3. 03

   Preparation of the B1 language certificate

   In parallel — a Romanian language course aimed at passing the exam at an accredited institution. A minimum of 6 months of structured preparation.

4. 04

   Translations and apostille

   All documents from other countries are translated by a sworn translator in Romania. Foreign documents are apostilled.

5. 05

   Booking an ANC appointment and submitting the documents in Bucharest

   The applicant’s personal presence is mandatory. The appointment is booked in advance — 1–4 months of waiting. The submission itself takes no more than 30 minutes. Documents can also be submitted through a Romanian consulate in the country of residence, but this extends the process by at least 4 months because of diplomatic forwarding.

6. 06

   Review by the Citizenship Commission

   6–12 months on average. The status of the case is tracked on the ANC website by the dosar number.

7. 07

   Issue of the order of the ANC President

   Within 3 days after a positive decision of the commission. The notification arrives by post.

8. 08

   Taking the oath

   Personal attendance in Bucharest or at a Romanian consulate within 12 months after the order. The ceremony takes no more than 30 minutes. The oath is pronounced in Romanian: “Jur să fiu devotat patriei și poporului român, să apăr drepturile și interesele naționale, să respect Constituția și legile României”.

9. 09

   Citizenship certificate, ID card, passport

   The certificate is issued within 60 days after the oath. On the basis of the certificate, the ID card and the passport are issued at the Serviciu Public Comunitar de Pașapoarte (SPCAP) — about 2 weeks.

Myths that lead to refusal

A dangerous market — repatriation fraud

Article 11 is the route to Romanian citizenship most heavily targeted by fraud. The Le Monde investigation, published in December 2025, uncovered a mass network of fraudulent applications: fictitious addresses, fabricated “ancestors”, forged documents.

Searches in the communes of Vârfu Câmpului and Dumbrăveni, in Suceava and Bucharest in November–December 2025 became a turning point. The ANC stepped up its checks of archival documents. Every Article 11 file now goes through additional layers of verification — this is the very reason why real timelines have grown to 24 months.

The consequences for a client who obtained citizenship through forged documents are severe. Citizenship is annulled regardless of any limitation period. A criminal case for forgery is opened. A ban on entering the EU is possible. Money paid to fraudsters is not returned.

What to do if you have already fallen victim to fraudsters

Some clients come to Alliance not at the start but after a first failed attempt. They paid an intermediary in a messenger app, handed over original documents — and lost contact. They received a citizenship card through a dealer in Suceava — and learned that the case is being reviewed. They applied through a consulate and received a refusal without understanding the reason. They went through a “firm with an office in Bucharest” that put fabricated archival extracts into the file — and are now under criminal investigation.

Each such situation can be resolved provided you act quickly. The Alliance legal department takes on a case at any stage: legal assessment, separating the legitimate part of the route from the forgery, rebuilding the documentary base through genuine archives, defence before the ANC and, where necessary, switching to the naturalisation route through a residence permit and real economic activity. The earlier the case is handed over, the higher the chance of preserving the time already invested.

An alternative for those without roots

Not everyone succeeds in proving kinship under Article 11. If the archival documents are lost, the chain of generations cannot be traced, or the ancestors were not born on the historical territory of Romania — the repatriation route is closed. This does not mean there is no path to a passport.

The alternative route is naturalisation under Article 8 of Law 21/1991: 8 years of legal residency in Romania plus B1 language knowledge plus integration. Residency is built through a Romanian company (SRL), real economic activity, and real estate in Constanța or on the coast. It takes longer, but it is the only legal alternative in the absence of roots. In parallel there is the Bulgarian citizenship track — a separate route with its own logic.

Alliance builds both scenarios: Article 11 for those who have grounds, and naturalisation through business and real estate for those building the route from scratch.

The role of Alliance

Alliance is a consulting company with four years of work with foreign clients in three areas: real estate in Romania under the Armonia brand, Romanian citizenship (Article 8 and Article 11), and Bulgarian citizenship. Its office in Constanța is geographically and operationally outside the networks linked to the fraud cases in the northern communes of Suceava and Botoșani. Legal support is provided by licensed lawyers who are members of the National Union of Romanian Bars. Archival documents are retrieved through official channels in Moldova, Ukraine and Romania. Every case is submitted in person in Bucharest, with no remote schemes.

Two Alliance products: full support of a real estate transaction in Romania and the arrangement of EU residency or citizenship — Romanian or Bulgarian. Combined, they work stronger because they are built for a single strategy.

Questions and answers