Romania, home for 60,000 ‘official’ foreigners, many more illegal immigrants

Romania has become a new home for over 60,000 foreigners, and every year, 6,000 people, driven away by wars and poverty, find shelter in Romania, according to Digi24. However, beyond the official numbers, there are several hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants in Romania, most of which come from the Republic of Moldova and from the Middle East. Statistics show one third of the foreigners who come to Romania arrive here for studies, 15 percent, for a job, and 5 percent, to start a business. For many, getting the Romanian citizenship is one of the obstacles for integration. “You have to take a language, culture and general knowledge test. The syllabus needed for this exam can be compared to the syllabus for a doctorate exam. It is massive and there aren’t manuals for it,” said Victoria Cojocariu, coordinator within the Foundation for an Open Society. editor@romania-insider.com