Romania Travel Forum

Can anyone tell me whether it's possible to live long-term in Romania? I am from the US, which I think means I can stay 3 months without a visa. Is this true? Can I then make a one day visa run and come back right away for another three months, and continue doing that indefinitely?

Do the authorities hassle you less in Romania than in, say, Ukraine?

Can you buy the latest computer equipment in Romania?

Can you buy tofu in Romania?

Are the fresh vegetables and fruits grown in Romania treated with chemical pesticides and fertilizers? I have heard that in Russia, most people don't use chemicals, and was wondering if that was true in Romania too (I don't want chemicals on my vegetables).

My ancestors are from Romania and that's one of the reasons I'm considering this. Would appreciate any advise. Thanks.

Quite a while ago I chatted with an American couple who live in Romania. I forgot their VT name but keep looking for VT-ers living in Romania.
Tigeanesca is the person to ask about Romania!
I love the country and didn't think about pesticides when I ate theire lovely food.

I think the answer depends mostly on you! If you can live with giving up some of the things you got used with then you will be ok! There are guys who are moving back and crying after some things from the more developed country they used to live.
Regarding the visa thing the answer is deffenetly yes. I don't know how long you can stay in Romania but for sure you can make a visa trip to the first border and back! Watch out!!! There is a new law in Ro that says tourist should show their insurance and money when entering into Romania. The necessary amount you should have is 100 Eur/day (you won't need that much in reality, Romania and Eastern Europe is still cheap even though is catching up) ... I have no clue if they accept credit cards and the insurance included in the services of some bank cards! (I haven't been to Romania since this law was issued).
Have fun! Go and meet those friendly people, enjoy their hospitality!

In Romania it is possible everything - you can find chep living conditions, good foods (no chemicals, first of all because there are too expensive), high technology (the young generation is very smart). And in 3 months you have the mobility and the opportunity to visit many places in Romania - visa is not a problem for you.

Best,
Dana

I keep living in Romania since I was born, 30 years ago. Is this a term long enough? (It is, for me :-)))

The vegetables we buy from the supermarket are treated with chemicals, as they are imported. If you buy them from the open market, they are "genuine".

Levente already gave you an answer about the visa. About the computers and electronic equipment, yes, you can buy whatever you want.

Payment forms are continuously improving. There are more and more places where you can pay with cards, cheque or tickets.

We have one more thing in common: my ancestors were Romanians too!
:-)))

ATLC, were you talking about Christine and Alain, the Canadian couple living in Brasov? (Christalain)?

Cheers to all,
Irina.

Irina I think yes! They were from Canada.

Hi! It's me, the French Canadian from Brasov (ATCL, Irina : Ce faceti?)

Dear ArloB,

Romania is great! Really! You will not feel the language barrier so much, since a lot of people manage to speak in english. And most of them are very friendly.

The landscapes are beautilful, so bring your camera!

As for the food, I will never say it enough : it's great and cheap (compare to Canada or US). Vegetables (I eat a lot of them) are very good and fresh (no conservative either). Milk products are a bit different. We don't drink big glasses of milk here, because it taste different, but not bad... just more sweet. As for the tofu, I can ask around. Of course, in Bucharest you can find about everything, but in smaller cities it will be more difficult.

I went to Ukraine and didn't have problem with authorities, but it's because we avoid them like crazy. Compare to Ukraine, Romania is more friendly (sorry Inga), but not perfect.

You can buy computer equipment in Romania, no problem (my husband bought a lap top and many other things). The thing is that it is a bit more expensive. Everything that is electronic or electric is more expensive (compare to Quebec, of course).

Please write to me in my inbox, and I can tell you more. Insight from Romanian is good to know the country, insight from an expat is good to learn how to adapt. ;o)

La revedere!

Christyne

Thanks everyone, for all the great information. I have a few more questions that I'd love to have answers to. How much is it to use the Internet in Romania, both from home and from an internet cafe?

How much do you have to pay customs if you buy computer equipment or other items from US mail order companies and have it sent to Romania?

Is falafel (middle eastern food) available at restaurants there? Is kefir (fermented milk drink) available?

Can you buy herbal remedies and vitamins there? Are they very expensive? Do Romanian companies make Vitamin C and is it cheap? (I eat a lot of Vitamin C--yes, I'm a health food nut :o)

Computer equipment costs more there than in the West? How much more?

Okay, I'll reveal my real dream to you. I want to live in the beautiful unpolluted countryside of Romania in a simple but comfortable house with a pond and some land to grow vegetables. I want to find an attractive, very intellectual and/or artistic, nature-loving woman to share it with me. I want to be able to access the Internet from this country place easily and cheaply. Since I hate cars, I want to be able to take a bus or train into the city when I need to go there. I don't want to have to pay off corrupt cops or government officials for the privilege of living there. I might want to immigrate, based on the fact that I had grandparents from Romania. I don't want to be hassled by the government for taxes or anything like that; I live mainly off bank savings in the US and pay taxes there, and if I do any work in Romania it will be writing that I do on my computer for overseas publications that I keep in touch with via internet.

I am also considering doing this in either Moldava or Ukraine, but don't have enough information yet to decide. Also, it is hard to decide such a thing when you haven't even been there yet! (I plan to be there sometime this spring or summer). What do you consider the advantages/disadvantages of Romania over these other countries?

So, I'm embarrassed. Now you know all about me! :///)

Wow! I think your project is very interesting... but for the non polluted part, I am not so sure... you will have to be far from a big city. Brasov is great, but I would not recommend it (but just beside it, yes). The cars, here (old Dacia) are polluting a lot.

How much do you have to pay customs if you buy computer equipment or other items from US mail order companies and have it sent to Romania?
I am not sure I would do that. Administrative papers to get things at the customs (vama) is very complicated. Unless you bring it with you when you get all your stuff here, in the beginning... There are firms that take care of most of the paper work.

Is falafel (middle eastern food) available at restaurants there? Is kefir (fermented milk drink) available?
Falafel? I don't think so. There are shoarma (I don't know how to write it). As for Kefir, I saw it at Selgros (kind of a big Club Price with everything you can need)

Can you buy herbal remedies and vitamins there? Are they very expensive? Do Romanian companies make Vitamin C and is it cheap? Medication, vitamins and natural stuff exist here. Medication are not expensive and very good. As for vitamins, they are affordable. Never took the time to think about it...

Computer equipment costs more there than in the West? How much more?
I just spoke with my husband... he said around 1000$ (me, I know nothing about that). But as he said also, there's always a way to find less expensive (specials, promotion).

Christyne

Dear Friend,

yes, falafel are available in Turkish shops, in big cities. Kefir is available in food stores almost but only in big cities. You will surely find other excellent alternatives to it too (Sana, drinkable yoghurt etc.) and I'm not talking about Danone here.
In my opinion, if you live on the countryside, you'd better enjoy the real milk and the real fermented milk and all kinds of homemade cheese.
Vitamin C comes in various forms and various prices. From Redoxon (international brand, effervescent form, highest concentration, high price) to Ascovit or generic Vitamin C which costs almost nothing, there is a whole range. The Romanian sort of pickeled (sour) cabbage is an excellent way to obtain vitamin C.

I too dream of leaving Bucharest for good, open a nice pension on the countryside and quietly live and write in a nice place. It's nice to see that others have the same dream. If it wouldn't be for the pension, but only for my life, I would choose a small village like Bucova (see pics and comments on my Timisoara page). It's quiet, green, clean and much pleasant in terms of weather during the summer, compared to the southern half of the country. The pension project I have requested a much shorter distance from Bucharest so we bought a piece of land near Ploiesti, but Prahova Valley would be an option for you too, if you still want to be close to the capital. The condition would be to choose one of the most remote villages from the autoroute. Brebu or Telega would be in the middle of these criteria.

For the Internet, the dial-up is still the most wide-spread form, because it is easier to get a phone than a cable connection even in Bucharest, in its non-central areas. But as the state monopole is down, a major improvement and diversification of phone and Internet services is already noticeable.

Write me if you need more details.
Irina.

" Compare to Ukraine, Romania is more friendly (sorry Inga), "

LOL, Christine,,, however don't forget that Romanian is much closer to French than Ukrainian,,, language barrier is often an obstacle for friendliness :))))

Thanks again for all the info

Thanks Daniel. Great info.

greetings,
I live in the usa and was thinking of moveing to romania.I contacted the Romania embassy and conselet.
I was told 30 days no visa.With in 30 days find a house or appartment thenapply for resident. They told me,no problem.
I was in Romania in Feb. to check out the people country etc.
No trouble from the authorites,but of course I did not start a riot.
Food is good and rents are cheap and the country is nice. Climate simal to Connecticut.
have a good day
joekov1861

greetings
need information on living in Romania write
Embassy of Romania
1607 23rd. Street NW
Washington,DC 20008
call 202 232-3694
or contact Romania consulate in NY
at 212 682=9121
have a great day
joekov1861 virtual tourist

Joe, what I read on the ROmanian Consulate web site was that a US citizen can stay 90 days without a visa, not 30. Though I did find other sites saying 30. Anyone know which is correct?

90 days for sure.

Hi
I am thinking about moveing to Romania. last year I wrote some letters to 10 or 12 embassy on moveing to their country.only a few answered. of the ones that did ansewr I considered climate,land scape,life exspecenty,cost,etc.I came up with Romania. Also they were the most helpful in answering questions.also they seem to be welcomeing me in while other countries kind of well...cann't really exsplain it.
Me to,I want to move and live some where where i can live off bank interest.i would like a small house with a garden but I could be happy in appartment.
as for the time it is 90 days but I was told by the consulate find and house or appartment in 30 days then file for your long term visa.
maybe it is 90 days if visiting and plan on leaveing and 30 days if you plan on staying forever. you could call the consulate in ny at 212=682-9121
maybe we will meet in Romania someday
joe

Your plan to go live in Romania sounds great. I've always thought of doing something similar when I retire.

I've never been to Ukraine or Moldova (the Republic) so I can't compare with them, but I've been to Romania.

I'm Canadian and I go to Romania quite requently and often stay from 3 months to a year. At present, Canadians (and I think it's the same for Americans) can stay for 90 days without a visa. You just show up at the border or airport and they stamp your visa. No questions asked. After 90 days, you are supposed to leave (unless you have changed to a long term type visa). You can change your visa status INSIDE Romania. It's not necessary to go to another country to do this. The immigration police in any big city will deal with this.
I was studying at university there and the immigration police (a bit lazy) said they were willing to issue me the student visa but were reluctant to go to the trouble of the paper work because there was only one semester left (it took that long for the university to sort stuff out) so they recommended that I just go to the border with Hungary and then re-enter for another 90 days. This was actually cheaper than the cost of the visa (and I had done it may times before) so that's what I did.

I knew a British guy who is married to a Romanian. Even though he was married, he couldn't get a long term visa. He had to keep renewing his tourist visa every month. Although that was in the late 90s back when Brits (and Canadians) needed a visa to go to Romania. Maybe it's changed now.

About staying there long term. That might be a problem. I think that the laws change frequently, so maybe this is not completely up to date, but I think you will have difficulty immigrating to Romania. To tell you the truth, it seems easier for Romanians to emigrate than for foreigners to immigrate. Here's the procedure. This is from the Romanian Embassy, the immigration police, and from the Romanian governments web site, so I think it's probably accurate, but I haven't checked into it since a year ago.
General Requirements:
-you must pass a Romanian language exam
-you must have a place of residence - an appartment or house (see below for the partial paradox in this condition)
-you must have a job offer
No problem, you say? Here's the last requirement.
-You must have lived in Romania for at least 7 years. If you are married to a Romanian, it's reduced to 5 years.

What they expect you have have been doing in those 5-7 years if you can't work, I have no idea, unless of course you were a student or had some type of work visa (which are now more difficult for non-EU citizens to get).

I suspect that there is another method of immigration because I HAVE seen immigrants there, particularly noticeable are Asian and Middle Eastern immigrants (plus ther ARE western immigrants that aren't so noticeable).

You can find Kefir in any city. It's very common. It's the same name in Romanian. You can also get home made yogurt at the market. I think that many people make it at home.

I've seen Tofu but it's not common. They call it "soya cheese". Same goes for soya milk. The only place I've seen them is at a supermarket chain called "Billa". It's a common chain in Romania. Dried soya, on the other hand, is VERY easy to find. I think that now it's seen as a type of health food, but I remember in the 1990s it was still considered a substitute for meat if you couldn't afford meat.

I'm not sure about chemicals on the fruits and vegetables. But even in the market, a lot of stuff is imported. Especially the fruits and especially in the winter. I've seen that some people posted that in the market it's all local produce. But considering the climate in Romania, it's not likely they produce things like bananas. Besides, they have labels on them that say where they come from.

The polution depends on where you live. I think the locals in any area know the situation and can advise you. It seems much cleaner in the countryside (which Romania has plenty of). If you can find a way to buy land, you can get
some very cheaply in the countryside. A couple years ago, I was in Moldova and I asked at a town centre about buying land and they said I could buy 10 hectars for about 10,000 Deutsch Marks (about 5000 USD). You could buy a traditional house on a small piece of land for less than 3000 USD. But don't expect that to have gaz, and running water.

If you do hear about another method of immigration or buying land, I'd be interested in hearing it.

As many Romanians say, "This is Romania. Anything is possible here."

Good luck with you plans.

You should be aware that environmental pollution almost everywhere in Europe, but especially in the former Warsaw Pact countries, is vastly worse than it is in the United States.

Romania has serious issues with soil exhaustion due to overfarming, air quality, especially in the south is horrendous and mining operations have polluted the Danubean system with, among other things, cyanide.

Don't believe everything media says. I am working in the environmental research field and the general pollution is not worst than any other industrialised country; here, unfortunately, because the economical develop is not at such high level.
The cyanide pollution you heard about was not so important comparing with the political issues.
In general way, the environment quality is improving more and more.

Dana

Ah, interesting. I'll be in Bucharest for a conference next September and afterwards will do a touristic tour in the Danube Delta.

Danube Delta is a protected area, misterious, with a small jungle - an interesting place completed different than any other place in Romania.

In response to Crandell... thee a a couple of things I am not sure in the information you transmit.

First, I live in Romania since 3 years. I know Canadians who does since 4-5 years. Most of them do not even have working permit or are not married to Romanian. The only thing they need is a "legitimate" (permit of residence). You do not need to be an owner (can we?) just to rent a place. You do not need to speak Romanian at all... The only words I knew when I arrived in Romania was Te iubesc (I love you)! I have a legitimate and I do not need a visa anymore... and I don't work either... So probably the laws changed again and you should check, in case the new laws suits you better.... Good luck...

Christyne

In response to Christyne/Chrystalain...

I recently checked the laws. Long term residency is refered to in law No. 123/2001, Section 2, Article 35. That law would have been passed in 2001. I also wonder if the -interpretation- of the law varies depending on which office you apply at. I always asked at the Timisoara or Arad police offices. I'm outside Romania at present, so out of curiousity I'm going to ask at the Embassy about an application for resience to see what they say. Maybe I'll get lucky.

Read through the entire law No. 123/2001. It also refers to other types of visas and extentions and such. Perhaps there is a method of stay suited well to you.

I also didn't know any Romanian when I arrived. I just had a phrase book and pocket dictionary. It was relatively easy to learn.

About apartments, Christyne is correct. You do not need to own one in order to get a visa or residence permit. Renting is fine. I'm not sure for becoming a permanent resident. The law says you need a place of residence, so I guess that could mean you can rent for that purpose as well. I think now that it was only at the police office that they said I had to buy a place but that might only have been someones interpretation of the law.

Never-the-less, you can now buy them. I can't remember when exactly that law came into effect. I think maybe 2 or 3 years ago. Definitely in the 1990s foreigners could not buy apartments. I think though that companies could co-own apartments or offices. But at present we still can't buy a house or land.
I'm not sure how that works if you are married to a Romanian because when you are married, real estate (including apartments, houses and land) are legally put into both peoples names.
Renting... I'm not sure of the exact law there. I think that sometimes when people rent, they are technically breaking the law because you must be registered as living there and that address must be registered in your identification card (or legitimate book for foreigners).

Without a legitimate, I don't think you can officially be registered as living there. Although I think that you can also have someone (a Romanian or a legal resident of Romania) make you an official invitation that says that you will be staying at their place. And often when people rent, they just payd cash to the owner of the apartment (often he isn't officially declaring that income).

Something to take note of is that if you are not officially living at the place where you physically DO live, then apparently the police can tell you to move out. I think that they give you a warning the first time and then a fine. It happens sometimes in the student districts of university cities because students (Romanian citizens) oten don't change their official address (which is recorded on their identification card - "bulletin"). This is sometimes because they don't bother to do it, and sometimes because their landlord won't issue them a letter that says they are paying rent (i.e. the landlord doesn't want to pay tax), sometimes because they are living in a dormitory room that was allocated to someone else (who unofficially "sold" their place).
The police do random checks on everybodies id.
I've never had it happen to me, but I knew of another foreigner had had it happen (back in the late 90s). He though had a legitimate but his address had changed. I think in the end his company registerd him at the new address.

This is a message for Christyne in Brasov(the French Canadian)

I am a Romanian living for many years abroad (Europe) and I am more and more considering of returning to live in Romania. Can we talk some more of your experience there via email? Thank you in advance.....multumesc