The granting of short-stay visas to foreigners from countries for which an invitation procedure is required follows a special procedure laid down by law.

The list of countries to which these provisions apply is drawn up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the opinion of the Ministry of the Interior.

Foreigners holding a simple passport may be granted a short-stay visa with one or more trips if they present to the diplomatic missions and consular offices a written invitation from a person or company, stating that the latter will cover the costs of removal if the invited foreigner does not leave Romania by the date on which the right of residence established by the visa ceases.

A short-stay visa may be granted for the following purposes:

a) For the purpose of visiting - Romanian citizens, citizens of another Member State of the European Union, of the European Economic Area, citizens of the Swiss Confederation or foreigners holding a document proving residence or stay on the territory of Romania may be invited.

b) Tourism - tourism companies may issue invitations, on a nominal basis for each foreigner invited, on the basis of the presentation of certain documents.

c) Business - companies based in Romania may issue invitations, as a rule, for 3 persons at the same time.

Invitations are subject to the approval of the General Inspectorate for Immigration and will be admitted if the invited foreigner fulfills the legal conditions for entry into Romania, if he/she does not present a risk of illegal migration or a risk to national security and if there are sufficient guarantees that he/she will leave the territory of the country when the visa expires.

Requests for approval of the invitation are processed within 45 days from the date of submission.

In case of approval, a copy of the invitation will be handed over to the inviting person, to be forwarded to the invited foreigner in order to present the original to the diplomatic mission or consular office where he/she applies for the Romanian visa.

The foreigner may apply for the visa within 30 days from the approval of the invitation, and the visa will be granted with a right of stay of up to 90 days, depending on the period for which he/she is invited.

It should be noted that for some countries a notarial invitation is required, so it is no longer necessary to go through the stage of approval of the invitation by the General Inspectorate for Immigration.

Author: Attorney at law, Cristian Badea, Law Office Grecu & Partners.