New bill allows foreigners married to Romanian citizens to obtain citizenship even if they live outside the country

On Wednesday, November 23, the Romanian Chamber of Deputies adopted a draft law allowing foreigners married to Romanian citizens for at least 10 years to obtain Romanian citizenship even if they live outside the country, Hotnews.ro reported.

Originally initiated by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) senators Robert Cazanciuc and Leonard Azamfirei and the current minister of defense Angel Tîlvăr, the new bill gathered 253 votes in favor and none against and complements the Romanian Citizenship Law no. 21/1991.

Under the new law, people with or without citizenship who are married to Romanian citizens are eligible for Romanian passport grants 10 years after their marriage date, despite being resided in another country.

At the moment, foreigners with married Romanian partners can apply for citizenship 5 years after their marriage date, but they must legally and continuously reside in the country. Other ways of obtaining citizenship are by naturalization, which takes over eight years to complete, or by investing over EUR 1 million in the country’s economy.

After the final vote in the Chamber of Deputies the bill is now going to President Klaus Iohannis for further approval.

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