Requirements for Foreign Employees to Work
In Romania, citizens of the EU or the EEA do not need a work and residence permit. Foreign citizens (who are not EU or EEA citizens) must obtain a work permit in order to perform activity as an employee. The work permit is issued by the Romanian Office for Immigration. As a rule, the work permit is issued for a one-year period. The number of working permits issued every year is limited and is determined by the government. In 2020, the maximum number of working permits that could be issued was the highest ever, with 30,000 new working permits made available. Non-EU and EEA citizens have the right to work in Romania under certain conditions.
Does a Foreign Employer need to Establish or Work through a Local Entity to Hire an Employee?
In order to hire an employee under Romanian law, the employer has to have a national legal entity. Romanian law can also apply to employment contracts conducted between foreign employers and local employees, if the parties so choose. Employees of foreign companies can perform work in Romania based on their existing employment agreement, or can be dispatched to a Romanian company.
Limitations on Background Checks
Private companies cannot conduct background checks, other than requiring information from the candidate and recommendations from previous employers. They can however, ask the candidate to present a criminal record issued by the competent authorities. The employer has to ask the candidate for a medical certificate that ascertains that the candidate is medically fit to be employed, since his medical fitness prior to the signing of the agreement is an issue of the employment agreement’s validity.
Restrictions on Application/Interview Questions
There are limited legal provisions on hiring practices in Romania. The Labour Code states only that the employee has to be informed on the essential clauses of the individual employment agreement during the hiring procedure. Ordinarily, vacant positions that are to be filled by hiring new personnel are advertised in media and/or on specialised on-line sites with general access. For public institutions there are specific rules on publishing the available jobs on their own website and in the Official Bulletin (local or national editions). The employer can ask for a CV and select only some of the candidates to meet with. Job interviews are held either face-to-face, over the phone, or using live video messaging technology.
There are no rules or express limitations on what questions the employer can ask the candidate, but it is generally accepted that the questions need not be too personal. Also during the hiring process the employer has to pay attention not to discriminate any category of candidates. To this end, the questions that are asked should not refer to matters that are grounds for discrimination.