Consular Facilities for the Romanians Abroad
The Government of Romania has decided to eliminate the fees for a number of consular services provided to Romanians living abroad.
Roxana Vasile, 10.10.2014, 13:54
The Government of Romania has decided to eliminate the fees for a number of consular services provided to Romanians in the Diaspora. Set in 2008, the fee level had been substantially increased in 2010, and the Romanians living abroad complained more than once about the costs incurred whenever they needed documents from consular offices. According to the Foreign Ministry, reducing the tax burden on the citizens living abroad, in the context of the global economic and financial crisis of the past few years, remained a major concern for the authorities, which this week decided to scrap the fees for a number of services. Here is Brandusa Petrescu, spokesperson with the Foreign Ministry:
“Consular fees will no longer be charged for the recording of foreign birth certificates in Romanian civil status registers for children up to 6 years of age, provided that the application is filed within six months of the registration of the birth with the authorities of the host country. Similarly, consular fees have been eliminated for the release of travel documents for children up to 6 years of age. The following documents may now be obtained free of charge: travel documents for Romanian citizens evacuated from regions affected by armed conflicts, acts of terrorism, natural disasters or other international crises, travel documents for Romanian citizens victims of trafficking in human beings, travel documents for the repatriation of unaccompanied underage children. Consular fees have also been eliminated for the registration of the death of Romanian citizens abroad.”
As for the date when these provisions enter into force, Brandusa Predescu says:
“At the moment we are working on implementing these provisions and training the staff of Romanian diplomatic missions and consular offices. The actual date when the new regulations take effect will be announced for each host country, by the diplomatic missions and consular offices, to the Romanian citizens applying for the respective documents.”
The left-of-centre power in Romania says that, apart from the strictly financial aspect, the measures taken to support the Romanians in the Diaspora contribute substantially to strengthening the ties with the citizens living abroad. The Liberals in Opposition expect the Government to reduce other burdening taxes and charges for the Romanians in the diaspora.
