How Romanian citizenship by descent works
The eligibility rules for Romanian citizenship by descent, in plain English — who may qualify, what disqualifies, and the legal regimes over time, each cited to its primary statute.
Who may qualify
A qualifying path — via the passport direct route
Requirements
ALL of the following
the qualifying ancestor must have held romanian citizenship at the moment the applicant was born, passing it down the line by descent. Where the claim runs through more than one generation, a later loss of that citizenship is measured against the birth of that ancestor's own child on the line — the point at which it would have passed down — rather than against the applicant's birth.
- required citizenship:
- romanian
the applicant has a recorded citizenship held such that country = romanian, mode = descent. If this fact is absent, the rule treats it as not applying (rather than asking for more information).
- country:
- romanian
- mode:
- descent
Primary sources
- § Law 21/1991 on Romanian Citizenship, Art. 5 & Art. 6(2) — Romanian citizenship acquired automatically at birth (jus sanguinis) from a Romanian-citizen parent where the line was never lost. Outside the Art. 10/11 reacquisition-by-application process, so NOT subject to the Law 14/2025 B1-language requirement or the Art. 4(2) discretionary grant.
A qualifying path — via the restitution route
Date keying
- In force from 2025-03-15 onward — keyed on the assessment date, not on anyone's birth.
Requirements
ALL of the following
ANY of the following
the applicant must be the parent of the qualifying ancestor.
- relationship:
- parent
the applicant must be the grandparent of the qualifying ancestor.
- relationship:
- grandparent
the applicant must be the great grandparent of the qualifying ancestor.
- relationship:
- great_grandparent
The qualifying ancestor must have been born in Greater Romania (1918–1940) between 1918-12-01 and 1940-09-07.
- territory:
- greater_romania_1918_1940
- window start:
- 1918-12-01
- window end:
- 1940-09-07
the qualifying ancestor must have held romanian citizenship at the moment the applicant was born, passing it down the line by descent. Where the claim runs through more than one generation, a later loss of that citizenship is measured against the birth of that ancestor's own child on the line — the point at which it would have passed down — rather than against the applicant's birth.
- required citizenship:
- romanian
ANY of the following
ANY of the following
the applicant has a recorded language proficiency such that language = romanian, level = B1.
- language:
- romanian
- level:
- B1
the applicant has a recorded language proficiency such that language = romanian, level = B2.
- language:
- romanian
- level:
- B2
the applicant has a recorded language proficiency such that language = romanian, level = C1.
- language:
- romanian
- level:
- C1
the applicant has a recorded language proficiency such that language = romanian, level = C2.
- language:
- romanian
- level:
- C2
the applicant has a recorded formerly held citizenship such that country = romanian.
- country:
- romanian
the applicant has a recorded language requirement exempt such that reason = age_65_plus.
- reason:
- age_65_plus
the applicant has a recorded language requirement exempt such that reason = former_citizen.
- reason:
- former_citizen
Primary sources
- § Law 21/1991 on Romanian Citizenship, Art. 11(1) — reacquisition or grant for persons who were Romanian citizens and lost that citizenship through no fault of their own, or had it withdrawn against their will, together with their descendants up to the 3rd degree (great-grandchildren); subject to art. 8(1)(b),(c),(e) and proof of Romanian-language knowledge
- § Law 14/2025 (in force 2025-03-15) — mandatory B1 Romanian-language certificate; exemptions: former citizens, age 65+, minors <18, medical incapacity.
A qualifying path — via the restitution route
Date keying
- In force from 2025-03-15 onward — keyed on the assessment date, not on anyone's birth.
Requirements
ALL of the following
ANY of the following
the applicant must be the parent of the qualifying ancestor.
- relationship:
- parent
the applicant must be the grandparent of the qualifying ancestor.
- relationship:
- grandparent
the qualifying ancestor must have held romanian citizenship at the moment the applicant was born, passing it down the line by descent. Where the claim runs through more than one generation, a later loss of that citizenship is measured against the birth of that ancestor's own child on the line — the point at which it would have passed down — rather than against the applicant's birth.
- required citizenship:
- romanian
ANY of the following
ANY of the following
the applicant has a recorded language proficiency such that language = romanian, level = B1.
- language:
- romanian
- level:
- B1
the applicant has a recorded language proficiency such that language = romanian, level = B2.
- language:
- romanian
- level:
- B2
the applicant has a recorded language proficiency such that language = romanian, level = C1.
- language:
- romanian
- level:
- C1
the applicant has a recorded language proficiency such that language = romanian, level = C2.
- language:
- romanian
- level:
- C2
the applicant has a recorded formerly held citizenship such that country = romanian.
- country:
- romanian
the applicant has a recorded language requirement exempt such that reason = age_65_plus.
- reason:
- age_65_plus
the applicant has a recorded language requirement exempt such that reason = former_citizen.
- reason:
- former_citizen
Primary sources
- § Law 21/1991 on Romanian Citizenship, Art. 10 — reacquisition for former Romanian citizens and their descendants up to the 2nd degree (children + grandchildren)
- § Law 14/2025 (in force 2025-03-15) — mandatory B1 Romanian-language certificate; exemptions: former citizens, age 65+, minors <18, medical incapacity. B1-submission grace period extended by OUG to 2027-03-14.
Cases that need individual review
Needs individual review
Requirements
ALL of the following
the applicant must be the great grandparent of the qualifying ancestor.
- relationship:
- great_grandparent
the qualifying ancestor must have held romanian citizenship at the moment the applicant was born, passing it down the line by descent. Where the claim runs through more than one generation, a later loss of that citizenship is measured against the birth of that ancestor's own child on the line — the point at which it would have passed down — rather than against the applicant's birth.
- required citizenship:
- romanian
ANY of the following
ALL of the following
The qualifying ancestor must have been born in Greater Romania (1918–1940).
- territory:
- greater_romania_1918_1940
Must NOT be true
The qualifying ancestor must have been born in Greater Romania (1918–1940) between 1918-12-01 and 1940-09-07.
- territory:
- greater_romania_1918_1940
- window start:
- 1918-12-01
- window end:
- 1940-09-07
Must NOT be true
The qualifying ancestor must have been born in Greater Romania (1918–1940).
- territory:
- greater_romania_1918_1940
Author caveats
- The 1918–1940 birth window is how this product models Art. 11's territorial scope; it is not quoted from the statute. An ancestor born in one of those territories before the 1918 union or after the 1940 cessions may still be within Art. 11 — that is exactly what this referral exists to have settled.
- Art. 11 reacquisition is decided by the National Citizenship Authority on the file as a whole, so this route cannot be granted from a bare claim either way.
Primary sources
- § Law 21/1991 on Romanian Citizenship, Art. 11 — reacquisition for persons who lost Romanian citizenship through no fault of their own (historical territorial changes), descendants up to the 3rd degree (great-grandchildren). The sourced conditions are the no-fault loss and the generational reach
- § MODELLING LIMIT, NOT A STATUTORY TEST: the 1 Dec 1918 – 7 Sep 1940 birth window carried by RO-greater-romania-territory is the interwar EXTENT of Greater Romania, used to date the territory token. No entry in lib/packs/ro/sources.json, and no citation in this pack, states that Art. 11 imposes a birth-date condition. Whether Art. 11 requires Romanian citizenship acquired at birth inside that window, or also reaches the 1918 collective-acquisition cohort (a person born under Russian, Austro-Hungarian or Ottoman rule who became Romanian at the union and lost it in 1940), is an open question for legal review
Historical regimes — no longer in force
These rules governed applications made before the dates shown. They are listed because they are often what people are looking for when researching an older claim — but none of them applies to an application made today.
A qualifying path that has closed — the restitution route
Closed 2025-03-15
Date keying
- In force until 2025-03-15 (exclusive) — keyed on the assessment date, not on anyone's birth.
Requirements
ALL of the following
ANY of the following
the applicant must be the parent of the qualifying ancestor.
- relationship:
- parent
the applicant must be the grandparent of the qualifying ancestor.
- relationship:
- grandparent
the applicant must be the great grandparent of the qualifying ancestor.
- relationship:
- great_grandparent
The qualifying ancestor must have been born in Greater Romania (1918–1940) between 1918-12-01 and 1940-09-07.
- territory:
- greater_romania_1918_1940
- window start:
- 1918-12-01
- window end:
- 1940-09-07
the qualifying ancestor must have held romanian citizenship at the moment the applicant was born, passing it down the line by descent. Where the claim runs through more than one generation, a later loss of that citizenship is measured against the birth of that ancestor's own child on the line — the point at which it would have passed down — rather than against the applicant's birth.
- required citizenship:
- romanian
Primary sources
- § Law 21/1991 on Romanian Citizenship, Art. 11(1) — reacquisition or grant for persons who were Romanian citizens and lost that citizenship through no fault of their own, or had it withdrawn against their will, together with their descendants up to the 3rd degree (great-grandchildren); subject to art. 8(1)(b),(c),(e) and proof of Romanian-language knowledge
A qualifying path that has closed — the restitution route
Closed 2025-03-15
Date keying
- In force until 2025-03-15 (exclusive) — keyed on the assessment date, not on anyone's birth.
Requirements
ALL of the following
ANY of the following
the applicant must be the parent of the qualifying ancestor.
- relationship:
- parent
the applicant must be the grandparent of the qualifying ancestor.
- relationship:
- grandparent
the qualifying ancestor must have held romanian citizenship at the moment the applicant was born, passing it down the line by descent. Where the claim runs through more than one generation, a later loss of that citizenship is measured against the birth of that ancestor's own child on the line — the point at which it would have passed down — rather than against the applicant's birth.
- required citizenship:
- romanian
Primary sources
- § Law 21/1991 on Romanian Citizenship, Art. 10 — reacquisition for former Romanian citizens and their descendants up to the 2nd degree (children + grandchildren)
See how these rules apply to your family
The free eligibility check walks your own lineage through these rules — no account, no card, about two minutes.
Check your Romanian eligibility