Buying Property Remotely and Obtaining a Residence Permit in the European Union: How It Works in 2026

Why Romania, and why Constanța

Romania is an EU country, a Schengen country, a country on the threshold of the eurozone. A resident of Romania receives the full scope of European rights: freedom of movement across the 29 countries of the Schengen Area, access to the EU banking system, the opportunity for children to study and work in any country of the Union, and the protection of European law. The entry price is several times lower than in Italy, Portugal or Spain.

Constanța is the largest Romanian city on the Black Sea, the country's main seaport and the centre of the southern coast. Several key districts operate under the one location brand:

Comparable properties in Lisbon or Barcelona — from 300 000 €. In 2026 a second window opened: the property market of Constanța and the coast has grown since Romania's full entry into Schengen, but has not reached the level of the overheated markets of Western Europe. This is a short horizon in which the asset works both as European property and as a foothold for EU residency.

How the transaction works: four options to choose from

The transaction begins with choosing a property on the Alliance and Armonia website. After the request, a company employee arranges a viewing — in person or by video call. The owner is present at the meeting and answers all questions directly, without intermediaries. Once the property is confirmed, the client chooses one of four ways to complete the purchase.

1. 01

   Through a management company

   The management company registers a firm (SRL) in the client's name and makes the purchase through a corporate structure. Ownership is registered to the client.

   Best for: When the purchase goes together with opening a company, subsequently obtaining a residence permit and conducting business activity — rentals, management, investment operations.

2. 02

   By power of attorney to a trusted person

   The client issues a notarised power of attorney to a relative or acquaintance, who signs the purchase agreement before a Romanian notary on the client's behalf. Ownership is registered to the client.

   Best for: When the client has a trusted person in Romania and a standard transaction structure.

3. 03

   A one-day personal visit

   The client flies to Romania for one day, signs a power of attorney for the subsequent formalities and the notarial purchase agreement in person before a notary, and then flies out immediately.

   Best for: When the client wants to go through the key act of the transaction personally — without delegating authority to third parties at the moment of signing.

4. 04

   By power of attorney to the management company

   The client issues a power of attorney to the management company, and it signs the transaction on their behalf. The most self-contained option in terms of logistics: the client does not fly to Romania, does not involve relatives and does not coordinate an outside party.

   Best for: The management company takes on the entire process — from signing before the notary to entering the property in the cadastral register.

In all four options Alliance handles the legal due diligence on the property, the bank's financial monitoring and the registration of ownership. Armonia is responsible for selection and viewings. The client manages the process — from their own country or with a single visit.

The “company → property → residence permit → citizenship” chain: four levels of one strategy

The main mistake is to treat each step separately. Buying an apartment. Opening a company. Applying for a residence permit. Obtaining citizenship. In practice these are four levels of one structure, and they must be assembled in the right order, with the next step in mind. If the first level is assembled incorrectly, the fourth becomes unreachable.

1. 01

   A company in Romania

   A Romanian SRL is a limited liability company. The minimum share capital is symbolic. Registration takes 7–14 working days.

   The company's tax regime depends on its type of activity and turnover — the applicable rates as of the registration date are calculated at a consultation. Alliance sets up a company with a real economic function: an office, a current account, correct activity codes (CAEN), accounting support. This is not a “paper company” — it is a business unit that withstands scrutiny by the immigration service and the bank. The client acts as founder and administrator.

2. 02

   Property as an asset

   Property is registered either to an individual or to a company. Each scheme has its own tax and legal consequences.

   An individual and a company face different tax consequences: both the property tax and the treatment of rental income differ, and registering to a company additionally opens up depreciation and renting out through a legal entity. The applicable rates as of the transaction date are calculated at a consultation. Alliance selects the scheme to fit the goal: if the priority is residency and a long horizon, a mixed structure is used more often, where the home is registered to the owner and commercial properties to the company.

3. 03

   Residence permit: the first permit and renewals

   The first residence permit is applied for on the basis of activity in the company — as an associate or administrator.

   The application package includes proof of real activity: contracts, turnover, office lease, employees. Owning property strengthens the case — it is a tangible asset confirming an economic link with Romania. The average processing time for a first application is 30–90 days. The first residence permit is issued for 1 year and is then renewed annually. In the fifth year, the right to a long-term EU resident permit opens up — a status with the right to reside in all countries of the Union and access to the social system, education and healthcare on a par with citizens.

4. 04

   Romanian citizenship

   After eight years of continuous lawful residency, the right to apply for Romanian citizenship by naturalisation opens up. Eight years is the term specifically for naturalisation: routes by descent, including repatriation, run on a separate track with their own requirements and timelines.

   Requirements: basic knowledge of the Romanian language, loyalty to the state, no criminal record, sufficient means of subsistence, confirmed integration. Romanian citizenship is European Union citizenship in full: visa-free entry to 178 destinations (Henley index, 2026), the right to live, work and do business in any country of the Union without a separate permit, the right to vote in European Parliament elections, and the passing of the status to children by birth. A parallel route is Bulgarian citizenship: an alternative with its own logic, timelines and legal nuances.

What to do if a mistake has already been made

Some clients come to Alliance not at the start, but after a first failed attempt. They bought a property through a random agent — it turned out to have no occupancy permit. They transferred money without clearing it with the bank — the account was blocked and the funds got stuck. They set up a company on a cheap package — the structure is unsuitable for a residence permit. They signed a power of attorney with excessive powers — they lost control over the transaction. They applied for a residence permit without proof of economic activity — they were refused, and the next application goes under heightened scrutiny by the immigration service.

Every such situation can be resolved. The Alliance legal department takes on a case at any stage: unblocking accounts, re-registering properties, replacing the company structure, revising the transaction, defence before the Inspectoratul General pentru Imigrări, restoring the route to a residence permit and citizenship. The earlier the situation is handed over, the higher the chance of preserving the asset and not losing years of residency. A late entry costs more, but in most cases the route is restored.

The roles of Alliance and Armonia: the formula for a remote transaction

Armonia shows the properties. Alliance protects the money and builds the structure. These are different levels of responsibility within one transaction.

Armonia works with the market of Constanța and the coast: it knows the developers, assesses locations in Mamaia, Faleza Nord and Tomis Nord, selects properties to fit the client's strategy, negotiates the price and arranges viewings with the owner present. Alliance works with law and finance: it checks the property legally, handles the bank monitoring, sets up the company, prepares the documents for the residence permit and, in the longer term, for citizenship, and coordinates the process as a whole.

Four years of working with foreign clients. Three directions — property in Romania, Romanian citizenship, Bulgarian citizenship — one unified funnel of responsibility. The client receives one contract, one curator and one result — property in ownership, EU residency and the horizon of European citizenship.

Where the work begins

A remote transaction begins with a strategy session — without it, selecting properties turns into sifting through offers. The session defines the goal, budget, horizon, family composition, and priorities for location and residency. After that, an individual route is formed: which properties to view in Constanța, Mamaia or Faleza Nord, which structure to set up, which bank to open an account with, on what basis to apply for a residence permit, and in what horizon to approach citizenship.

Alliance runs two products: full support of a property transaction in Romania, and obtaining EU residency or citizenship. These products can be taken separately, but together they work more strongly — because they are built around one strategy.

Questions before a remote transaction