Your first weeks in Romania: three months for the IGI, thirty days for every change, and the ANAF's clock that starts later
In your first weeks in Romania several clocks run at once. For the immigration service IGI you have three months, and the certificate with your personal number comes the same day. Then the health fund and the family doctor, the bank and the municipality wait for that number. The car has no Romanian deadline we could verify, but it does have a Dutch one: thirteen weeks for the bpm. And after 183 days the tax agency's clock starts.
What do you arrange first in your first weeks in Romania? The registration certificate at the immigration service IGI. You have three months for it, six if you are looking for work, but it is the key to everything else: it is issued the same day, with your personal number on it, and the health fund, the family doctor, the bank and the municipality wait for that number. The pitfall is not the IGI's deadline but what comes after: you report every change within thirty days, and after 183 days a clock starts at the tax agency that nobody reminds you of.
Which clocks are running?
| Clock | Deadline | Counter |
|---|---|---|
| Applying for the registration certificate | within 3 months of arrival, jobseekers 6 | IGI of your județ, ready the same day |
| Reporting a change of address, name or nationality | within 30 days | IGI |
| Loss or theft of your certificate | within 48 hours | police and IGI |
| Tax residence questionnaire | within 30 days after you have been in Romania 183 days | ANAF |
| Applying for the S1 at the CAK | up to 5 months before departure, answer within 4 weeks | CAK, before you go |
| Bpm refund: car registered elsewhere | within 13 weeks of the RDW "Export" status | Belastingdienst |
| Applying for child benefit | after arrival, at the town hall | primărie |
| Enrolment in the preparatory class | according to the annual calendar, in spring | the school of your district |
Why the certificate comes first
On paper you have three months. In practice nothing starts without the certificate: the law provides that every registered EU citizen receives a cod numeric personal, entered on that document, and EURES says the bank, the tax agency and healthcare ask for it. Bring a registered tenancy agreement, your passport, the proof of your means or your employment contract, and for pensioners the S1, and go in the first or second week. Anyone late gets a fine of 25 to 50 lei; anyone walking around without a number gets no everywhere.
Healthcare: first the health fund, then the family doctor
With your S1 from the CAK and your certificate you go to the health fund of your județ. Then you choose a family doctor, because according to the European Commission's guide every insured person must be on the list of a medic de familie; without that registration you don't get to a specialist. Ask about English when choosing. How the system works is in healthcare in Romania.
The ANAF's clock only starts after half a year, and that is why you forget it. Anyone who is in Romania for more than 183 days in twelve months files the questionnaire on their tax residence within thirty days after that. Put the day of arrival in your diary, count 183 days on and add the final date. The IGI, the bank and the family doctor say nothing about it. What the ANAF then does with your pension is in AOW, pension and tax in Romania.
The car: two counters before the plates
A Romanian deadline for registering your car we did not find at an official source, but the order we did: first the tax registration at your municipality's local tax office, then the certificate of authenticity from the RAR, and only then the plates at the DGPCI, for 76 lei. And the Netherlands does have a deadline: the bpm refund requires the car to be registered elsewhere within thirteen weeks of the RDW "Export" status. Anyone taking the car therefore starts on it in the first weeks. The driving licence can wait: an EU licence doesn't have to be exchanged. All of it in car and driving licence in Romania.
Money in the first weeks
Romania counts in lei. Your Dutch card works, but according to EURES the rent often goes in cash, and you only open a Romanian basic account with your personal number. Meanwhile your AOW keeps arriving in euros on your Dutch account. So withdraw lei with the Dutch card until the account is there.
Children and animals: register them straight away
You apply for child benefit at the town hall, with the birth certificate and your identity document. Enrolment in the preparatory class follows a calendar of the ministry, in spring; outside that period you ask the school of your district for a free place. More in school in Romania. You have your dog entered in the national register by a Romanian vet, see taking your pet to Romania.
What can wait
Buying a house, exchanging your driving licence, and permanent residence, which only comes after five years. Which step comes when and how the deadlines work out for your situation is in the step-by-step plan for Romania.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Romania or go straight to step 4.1 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change — when in doubt the source is leading, not this article.
- IGI — admission and stay of EU citizens, registration after three months — igi.mai.gov.ro
- IGI — limits and fines, the thirty days for changes and the fine of 25 to 50 lei — igi.mai.gov.ro
- OUG 102/2005 — three months, six for jobseekers, the certificate the same day and the personal number — igi.mai.gov.ro
- ANAF — tax residence guide, the questionnaire within thirty days after 183 days — static.anaf.ro
- CAK — registering with a pension, up to five months ahead, answer within four weeks — hetcak.nl
- European Commission — your social security rights in Romania, the family doctor and child benefit at the town hall — employment-social-affairs.ec.europa.eu
- DGPCI — registering a vehicle from abroad, first the municipality and the RAR — dgpci.mai.gov.ro
- Belastingdienst — bpm refund on export, registration elsewhere within thirteen weeks — belastingdienst.nl
- Ministry of Education — enrolment in the preparatory class, the annual calendar — edu.ro
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