How Foreign Workers Become Illegal in Romania

The presence of Asian workers has been a topic of debate in the media and has divided public opinion in Romania in recent days

Iulia Hau, 17.09.2025, 13:21

The presence of Asian workers has been a topic of debate in the media and has divided public opinion in Romania in recent days. The xenophobic street attack on a Nepalese delivery man has exposed the vulnerabilities of these people who are increasingly coming to take jobs that Romanians do not want, or prefer to take in Western countries. A week after the incident, the city hall of the capital approved, then canceled at the last minute, an anti-migrant protest organized by two right-wing parties. During the same month, Bucharest City Hall announced that it was temporarily withdrawing from public debate the project regarding the approval of the Strategy for the Inclusion of Migrants in the Capital.

However, an essential aspect of the situation of Asian workers remains completely outside public attention: their arrival in Romania legally, with work visas, and their illegal entry for reasons beyond their control. According to official data collected from the Immigration Bureau and the Ministry of Labor, between 2021 and 2024, 250,000 work visas were issued. During the same period, temporary residence permits for work were issued to only 138,000 people, so that, in November 2024, less than 100,000 of them were still valid.

To get to Romania, most Asians take out loans of thousands of euros to pay agency fees (both from Romania and their countries of origin), airfare and visa fees. However, many of them lose their right to stay in bureaucratic processes over which they have no control.

Daniela Zaharia-Mănescu, a lawyer specializing in migration and human trafficking, says that there are situations in which, once they arrive in Romania, foreigners are asked to work in positions completely different from those for which they agreed to come here.

“So, the type of work changes. When he comes to Romania, he discovers that, in fact, he has to work something else, in a different location and perhaps at a completely different salary. and perhaps under completely different working and accommodation conditions compared to how he was offered a different working time. We have two hypotheses: he accepts those conditions or, if he does not accept those conditions, his employment contract is no longer concluded. He must, during that period, find another employer — so that that employer, within the term that the foreign citizen has left, can obtain the employment permit.”

The term the specialist is talking about is the validity of the employment visa with which he enters the country: that is, 90 days.

“You don’t have time, because the system and the way in which it is applied for the employment permit takes a long time. And there were many citizens who remained this way, without any actual fault, in illegal residence, because, we must admit, it is difficult for us, as Romanian citizens, to find a job, let alone for a foreign citizen. And you also put the burden on the employer to go through some extra formalities to obtain an employment permit”.

This is just one of the many situations in which foreign citizens can become illegal. The second common situation of becoming illegal is changing employers. Foreigners not only have the right to change employers without restrictions after a year of work at the first company they work for, but many are also forced to do so. Companies can go bankrupt, lose their right to hire foreigners, or simply decide that they no longer need them.

Changing jobs involves, first of all, obtaining a new work permit from a new employer, a complex procedure that requires a series of conditions and documents issued and submitted on time. The foreigner also has 90 days to obtain the new permit. Although he has only minimal involvement and responsibility in this process, if the file is rejected, he is the only one who bears the consequences.

The lawyer believes that the system does not provide foreigners with defense mechanisms when it comes to losing their legal status. Many also become victims of human trafficking and labor exploitation without having access to effective and qualified legal advice or protection from the Romanian state.

Asked what possible solutions to this large and, nevertheless, overlooked phenomenon would be, expert Daniela Zaharia-Mănescu answers:

“So I don’t know, if you were to ask me, I would first go with proposals for legislative amendments. In the explanatory memorandum, clearly, let’s mention what the current problems are, why such an amendment is useful, what it would help with, what the consequences are. What is certain is that there must be this desire to note that this phenomenon exists. First of all, let’s realize, let’s be aware that this phenomenon exists. We cannot stop it, of course, but at least let’s mitigate the negative consequences as much as we can, so that we can somehow keep it in check and offer protection to foreign citizens.”

In 2024, the General Inspectorate for Immigration issued 2876 return decisions, a significantly lower number than in the previous two years, marked by Romania’s efforts to join the Schengen Area: almost 4000 in 2023, and 4316 in 2022. The return decision is the administrative act by which the General Inspectorate for Immigration establishes the illegal stay of the foreigner on the territory of Romania, and establishes his obligation to return to his country of origin, as well as the deadline for voluntary departure from Romania.