Working in Romania
The latest from the Romanian labour market
Sorin Iordan, 04.12.2025, 14:06
Labour shortage is the main reason why Romania welcomes workers from other countries, according to the findings of a study on the migration of foreign citizens to the Romanian labor market, their integration, and the risks of labor exploitation. The research, conducted by the Economic and Social Council, which brings together representatives of the government, entrepreneurs, and trade unions, highlights major challenges such as xenophobia and discrimination, non-compliance with labor legislation, and the lack of adequate qualifications among workers. Another problem is that bringing workers into the country is bureaucratic, and people who arrive here find it difficult to prove what profession they have. At the same time, some have problems communicating in a foreign language and have different cultural habits. The Economic and Social Council study also proposes solutions, such as limiting the role of abusive intermediaries, digitizing the labor recruitment process, supporting counseling centers, cultural mediation, and legal assistance for foreign workers, as well as intensifying controls among employers. Another proposed solution is to run multilingual information campaigns and conclude agreements between Romania and the workers’ countries of origin. Romanian Labor Minister Florin Manole said that there are a number of problems with foreign citizens who arrive in Romania because some of them do not want to work in our country. He said that although the government had approved a quota of 100,000 non-EU workers, this limit had never been reached. In this context, the Secretary General of the Bucharest Government, Radu Oprea, announced that discussions are underway for Romania to reduce the number of new foreign workers entering the labor market to 75,000 next year.
The Ilfov County Immigration Service (IGI) managed the stay and residence of nearly 13,500 people from other countries in the first 10 months of the year. Of these, over 12,600 come from third countries, most of them from Nepal (almost 3,900), Sri Lanka (around 1,350), and Turkey (approximately 1,150). Another 900 are citizens of the European Union, the European Economic Area, or the Swiss Confederation, mainly from Italy, France, and Germany. According to the Ilfov Service, over 51,000 foreign citizens are registered in this region bordering the capital Bucharest. Of these, more than 38,000 have temporary residence rights, about 5,200 have permanent residence, and over 8,250 are European citizens. The most common reasons why foreigners choose to live in Ilfov County are work and family reunification. Thus, during the period mentioned, over 7,000 permits were issued for permanent and posted workers, and approximately 820 applications were rejected. At the same time, immigration police processed 54 invitations for third-country nationals, of which 34 were approved and 20 rejected, as well as nearly 500 applications for family reunification, of which 245 were approved and about 100 rejected. Following checks carried out by IGI Ilfov, 119 foreign nationals were found to be in illegal situations, most of them from Sri Lanka, Nepal, and India. In total, in the first 10 months of the year, 265 decisions were issued to return them to their country of origin, and 140 people were banned from entering the territory of the Member States of the European Union, the European Economic Area, and the Swiss Confederation for periods ranging from 6 months to 5 years.
Almost 12,000 people participated in free vocational training courses organized by the National Agency for Employment between January and October. Of these, around 8,200 are unemployed, while another 1,900 benefited from on-the-job training through apprenticeship programs. During the reference period, 509 vocational training programs were organized. The main trades or occupations for which these were organized were digital skills in the use of information technology as a tool for learning and knowledge, security agent, data entry, processing, and validation operator, human resources clerk, assistant cook, green space caretaker, communication skills in Romanian, cook, and occupational health and safety inspector. (MI)
