Romania work permit quota and the aviz de angajare for Indian workers
Government Decision 1169/2025 caps Romania's 2026 intake at 90,000 workers. Since 8 August 2026 the employer files one application on WorkinRomania.gov.ro.
Before an Indian worker can start in Romania, the employer has to hold the employment authorisation issued by the Inspectoratul General pentru Imigrări (IGI). For years that document was filed as the aviz de angajare. Since 8 August 2026, under Emergency Ordinance 32/2026, it is one electronic single application lodged on WorkinRomania.gov.ro, and IGI decides within 30 days. The authorisation is drawn from an annual quota, fixed at 90,000 for 2026.
What the quota is, and when it runs out
Each year the Romanian government fixes by decision how many workers from outside the EU may be newly admitted. For 2026 that instrument is Government Decision 1169/2025, published in Official Gazette 1221 of 31 December 2025, and the figure is 90,000, down from the 100,000 approved for 2025. It is the first reduction after four steady years. The number is a ceiling, not a target, and it is the point at which a hiring plan either holds or collapses.
The 2025 figures make the shape of the year visible. IGI had issued 83,914 authorisations by 30 September 2025, with a further 7,418 files pending, and the remaining quota was gone before the middle of December. Files lodged in the closing weeks of the year wait for the next year's quota, no matter how complete the employer's paperwork is. IGI issued a warning on exactly that point in 2025, advising employers to apply early in the year.
The practical consequence is that a file lodged in February and a file lodged in October pass through the same procedure but do not carry the same risk. The real timeline on the second file is not 30 days. It is the first quarter of the following calendar year.
From the employer file to the visa in India
The sequence starts with the employer, not the worker. Emergency Ordinance 32/2026, in force since 27 April 2026 and fully operational since 8 August 2026, replaced the paper dossier at the IGI counter with an electronic route: the employer registers on WorkinRomania.gov.ro, then files the single application with the company documents, the job description, the salary, and the evidence that the post could not be filled from Romania or the rest of the EU. IGI decides in 30 days, extendable by up to 15 where further checks are required.
Once the authorisation is issued the file moves to India. The worker has 30 days from the date on the authorisation to lodge the long stay visa D/AM at the Romanian mission, and the National Visa Centre decides within 20 days of a complete application. The order cannot be reversed: without the authorisation there is no D/AM application. After arrival the worker applies to IGI for the residence permit, and the individual employment contract is registered separately in REGES-ONLINE.
| Step | Who files | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single application for the authorisation | Employer | WorkinRomania.gov.ro | 30 days, plus up to 15 |
| D/AM long stay visa | Worker | Romanian mission, India | Filed within 30 days, decided in 20 |
| Residence permit | Worker | IGI, Romania | After arrival |
The Indian side runs in parallel. Workers on an ECR passport need emigration clearance, set out in ECR passports and emigration clearance, and the contract checkpoints are in employment contract checks.
What breaks when the quota closes
The common failure is not a refused authorisation. It is a correct file arriving after the quota is gone. That is what happened to applications lodged in the last weeks of 2025. The candidate has been selected, the contract is signed, and the start date rests on a permit that cannot be issued in that year at all.
The second break point is the 30 day visa window. It runs from the date on the authorisation, not from the day the employer forwards it to the worker, so a week in internal post and ten days in courier can leave the candidate at the consulate with four days left and an untranslated police certificate. The appointment is booked on the day the authorisation is issued, not once the file is complete. To place Romania against other destinations, see the country by country timeline.
Romania is planned backwards. Fix the month the worker should start, subtract the 20 days the National Visa Centre takes, subtract the wait for a consular appointment, then subtract the 30 days IGI allows itself and the 15 it can add, and see where that date lands inside the quota year. If it lands after September, the plan belongs to the next quota year.
Keep reading
All posts →What a UK sponsor licence costs an employer in 2026
The Home Office charges £1,682 for a medium or large Worker sponsor licence, £525 per Certificate of Sponsorship and £1,320 a year in skills charge.
UK skilled worker salary thresholds and going rates 2026
The Home Office sets an hourly floor of GBP 17.13 under Table 1 of Appendix Skilled Occupations and GBP 12.82 under Table 2, each alongside the going rate.