Romanian Citizenship by Descent

Summary

Romania recognizes citizenship by descent and by restoration under Law 21/1991 on Romanian Citizenship (as amended by Law 14/2025). The key is choosing the right legal route for the family facts:

• Article 5 (descent): A child born to at least one Romanian-citizen parent is Romanian at birth. Longer family lines can work only if every parent-to-child link transmitted Romanian citizenship.
• Article 10 (reacquisition): Covers former Romanian citizens and, in the current law, descendants up to the second degree.
• Article 11 (restoration): Covers people who lost Romanian citizenship for reasons not attributable to them, or whose citizenship was taken without consent, and their descendants up to the third degree. This is the common route for many families connected to Bessarabia, Bukovina, Herța, and other former Romanian territories.

Applications run through the Autoritatea Națională pentru Cetățenie (ANC) in Bucharest or Romanian consulates abroad and conclude with an oath of allegiance ceremony. A 2024 amendment tightened documentation: all foreign records now require apostille plus authorized Romanian translation.

Dual citizenship is unrestricted (including U.S./Romanian, and most other major nationalities). Once recognized, the applicant is a full EU citizen with the right to live, work, and study anywhere in the EU and Schengen Area (Romania joined Schengen for air and sea travel in March 2024; land border integration is pending).

Eligibility

• A Romanian-citizen parent in each generation if you are asking Romania to recognize an existing citizenship by descent
• Or, for restoration/reacquisition, a former Romanian citizen in the family line who fits Article 10 or Article 11 and falls within the relevant degree limit
• For Article 11 restoration: evidence that the ancestor's loss of citizenship was not their fault or not with their consent, including loss tied to historical territorial changes or political measures
• A documented parent-to-child chain from the Romanian ancestor to you
• Civil-status records that prove the chain. This usually starts with long-form birth certificates for each person in the line, plus marriage, divorce, name-change, and death records where needed to explain names, marital status, or deceased ancestors.
• Apostille or legalization and authorized Romanian translation for foreign civil-status records, where required
• No Romanian-language requirement for descent or restoration (required for standard naturalization, not descent)
• No residency requirement in Romania
• Dual citizenship is permitted and common (including U.S./Romanian) — no renunciation

What This Route Allows

This route can help confirm or document citizenship in Romania when the citizenship-creating facts named above are proven. For many people in this category, the main work is evidence: civil records, family-link records, prior citizenship records, and any registration or restoration paperwork needed to show the claim.

What This Route Is Not

This is not a shortcut around documentation. Even when the citizenship claim is based on a right, you still need records that prove each required fact and family link.

Next Steps

1. Identify the Romanian (or historically Romanian) ancestor and the region of origin. If the ancestor was in Bessarabia, Bukovina, Herța, or another former Romanian territory, Article 11 restoration may be the right route. If your family line is further back than Article 10 or 11 allows, the direct-descent question becomes whether Romanian citizenship passed through every generation.
2. Gather the civil records needed to prove each parent-child link back to the Romanian ancestor. This usually starts with long-form birth certificates for each person in the line. Add marriage, divorce, name-change, and death records where they are needed to connect names, explain marital status, or document a deceased ancestor. Romania's Article 10/11 procedure refers broadly to civil-status documents for the applicant and ascendants, including birth, marriage, death, or divorce records, so the exact set depends on the family facts.
3. Locate the ancestor's Romanian records by contacting the relevant primărie (local civil registry) or Arhivele Naționale (Romanian National Archives) for older records; records for pre-1918 Transylvania are often held in Hungarian archives, and for pre-1940 Bessarabia in Moldovan or Ukrainian archives
4. Apostille each civil record under the 1961 Hague Convention (or use your country's legalization procedure)
5. Obtain authorized Romanian translations from a translator on the Romanian Ministry of Justice registry — this is now a formal requirement (2024 amendment)
6. File the application at the Autoritatea Națională pentru Cetățenie (ANC) in Bucharest directly, or through the Romanian embassy or consulate with jurisdiction over your country/state of residence
7. The ANC reviews the file and may issue supplementary document requests before making a decision.
8. On approval, attend the oath of allegiance ceremony in Bucharest or at a designated consulate — this is a mandatory in-person step
9. Once sworn in, apply for a Romanian CNP (personal numerical code), then a Romanian passport

Sources

• Autoritatea Națională pentru Cetățenie (ANC)
• Law 21/1991 on Romanian Citizenship (full text)
• Law 21/1991 English consolidation via Refworld
• ROePAS - Article 11 reacquisition procedure and document list
• Embassy of Romania in Washington, D.C.
• Consulate General of Romania in New York
• Romanian National Archives (Arhivele Naționale)
• Apostille Convention (HCCH) — U.S. competent authorities