Romania foreign placement agency authorisation: ANOFM licence and the 75,000 euro guarantee

Any company that brings workers from outside the European Union to employers in Romania needs a placement authorisation issued by the National Agency for Employment, known as ANOFM. The authorisation runs for 2 years, is renewable for successive 2 year periods, and is granted only after a financial guarantee of 75,000 euro has been lodged, under OUG 32/2026.

What ANOFM requires for the authorisation

The placement authorisation is applied for at the National Agency for Employment, and the file is built around three elements that ANOFM checks separately: the company's registered activity, the financial guarantee, and the ability to document each placement. The authorisation is not a general recruitment licence. It permits the placement of foreign workers with employers in Romania on the terms set by OUG 32/2026, and nothing beyond that perimeter.

The financial guarantee is the part that decides whether a project is realistic. OUG 32/2026 sets 75,000 euro for up to 250 foreign nationals placed, plus a further 50,000 euro for each additional tranche of 250 workers. An agency planning 600 placements in one authorisation cycle does not fit inside the base threshold: 250 workers are covered by the initial guarantee, and the next two tranches require another 100,000 euro. The guarantee is lodged before placement begins, not as contracts come in, so the volume declared at application determines the sum tied up from day one.

The second condition agencies underestimate is the occupational perimeter. Placement services may only be provided for occupations on the shortage occupation list, and only against firm offers from registered employers. A placement request for a post that does not appear on the list is not an incomplete request, it falls outside the scope of the authorisation. How that list is read is set out in the shortage occupations list for employers.

The ban on fees charged to the worker

OUG 32/2026 expressly forbids a placement agency from charging commissions, fees or deposits to the foreign worker. The fee is collected from the employer only, under a service contract signed before placement starts. The rule covers indirect payments as well: a sum asked of the worker for document translation, for trade testing, or for accommodation in the pre departure period is still money taken from the worker, whatever the receipt calls it.

This is also the most common reason an authorisation is lost. A partner in the country of origin who collects an advance from a candidate creates direct exposure for the authorised agency in Romania, because the payment chain is reconstructed during an inspection. The service contract with the employer has to carry the full cost of recruitment, so that no component is left sitting with the worker.

Suspension thresholds and penalties

ANOFM has two statistical triggers for suspending an authorisation, both measured over the last 6 months. The first concerns qualifications: if an inspection finds that more than 10 percent of placed workers do not meet the qualification requirements, over 6 consecutive months, the authorisation is suspended. The second concerns visas: if more than 30 percent of applications receive a visa refusal in the last 6 months, the authorisation is suspended as well. Both thresholds are calculated across the agency's activity, not on a single file, so one campaign run carelessly damages the whole portfolio.

The fine for bringing in foreign workers without an ANOFM authorisation applies per case, between 20,000 and 30,000 lei. A batch of ten workers brought in outside the authorisation produces ten fines, not one, and the Labour Inspectorate establishes the position during the same visit at which it checks individual employment contracts. How such an inspection runs is described in labour inspection of foreign workers.

For the employer, the practical consequence is that the partner's authorisation is verified before the service contract is signed, not after the first group lands. Ask in writing for the authorisation number, the issue date and the occupations covered. The employment authorisation for each post is obtained separately from the General Inspectorate for Immigration, under the procedure set out in the employer's employment authorisation steps.

A recruitment project built properly rests on three verifiable facts: the occupation appears on the shortage list, the agency holds a valid ANOFM authorisation, and the cost of recruitment sits entirely with the employer. If you want these conditions checked for a specific corridor, our team can go through the file with you. Employer details are on the employers page.