Welcome students to Romania

This guide provides the mandatory administrative and logistical framework for international students admitted to Romanian universities. Whether you are enrolled in a metropolitan university center or a specialized industrial/technical institute, the following steps are designed to facilitate your integration and ensure regulatory compliance.
​Romania’s academic landscape is characterized by a high concentration of specialized research centers—ranging from automotive engineering and petroleum extraction to advanced clinical transplant surgery. This section serves as your standard operating procedure for navigating the local bureaucracy, securing your residency, and accessing specialized research facilities.
​Follow the five steps outlined below to manage your transition efficiently.

Road Map

​Step 1: Legal Registration & Residency Compliance
​Objective: Obtaining the right of legal residence.
​Action: Registration with the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI).
​Required documents:
​Letter of acceptance/registration.
​Proof of accommodation: Certificate of accommodation (issued upon registration) OR rental contract registered with ANAF.
​Proof of means of support and medical insurance.

​Step 2: Identity & Healthcare Foundation
​Objective: Access to the public system and current services.
​Action: Obtaining the CNP (Personal Numeric Code) and registering with a Family Doctor.
​Note: The CNP is mandatory for any legal contract (telephony, banking, rent), and the family doctor is the single point of access for the public health system.

​Step 3: Housing & Living Essentials
​Objective: Managing daily life in the chosen home.
​Action: Managing the housing contract, paying utilities, understanding rights and obligations towards the landlord/manager.
​Note: This stage focuses on long-term housing stability, after the formality in Step 1 has been fulfilled.

​Step 4: Financial & Mobility Infrastructure
​Objective: Financial autonomy and urban mobility.
​Action:
​Banking: Opening a local account (for university/scholarship payments) or using digital services (neobanks).
​Mobility: Activating the student ID for a 90% discount on public transport (according to the law for students up to 26 years old).

​Step 5: Academic & Professional Integration (The Hub Specialty)
​Objective: Capitalizing on research and internship opportunities.
​Action: Connecting with the university's Careers and Partnerships office.

​Specific focus:
​Industrial/Technical: R&D projects (e.g. Dacia-Renault for Pitești, Oil & Gas for Ploiești, Mining for Petroșani).
​Clinical/Medical: Access to centers of excellence (e.g. transplant centers, university clinical hospitals, genetics laboratories).

Step 1

Legal Registration & Residency Compliance

Objective: Obtaining the right of legal residence.
​Action: Registration with the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI).
​Required documents:
​Letter of acceptance/registration.
​Proof of accommodation: Certificate of accommodation (issued upon registration) OR rental contract registered with ANAF.

Tip for students: If you haven't found a long-term rental yet, look for temporary accommodation (hostel/Airbnb) for the first 30 days that can provide you with a document confirming your stay, or, ideally, prioritize dormitory accommodation for the first semester, precisely to avoid the bureaucracy of rental contracts in the first week.

​Proof of means of support and medical insurance.

Step 2

Identity & Healthcare Foundation

Identity & Healthcare Foundation

​- Objective: Access to the public system and current services.
​- Action: Obtaining the CNP (Personal Numeric Code) and registering with a Family Doctor.
- ​Note: The CNP is mandatory for any legal contract (telephony, banking, rent), and the family doctor is the single point of access for the public health system.

Obtaining the CNP (Personal Numeric Code)

Obtaining the CNP (Personal Numeric Code) is obtained from IGI .
In Romania, IGI is the abbreviation for the General Inspectorate for Immigration, the official government agency within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, responsible for national immigration, asylum policies and the legal status of foreign citizens.

In Romania, CNAS stands for the National Health Insurance House, the autonomous public institution that manages public health funds and coordinates the entire social health insurance system. Its main role is to collect health contributions (CASS) and finance hospitals, clinics and pharmacies so that insured citizens have free or compensated access to treatments.

​Step 3

Housing & Living Essentials

Objective: Managing daily life in the chosen home.
​- Action: Managing the housing contract, paying utilities, understanding rights and obligations towards the landlord/manager.
​- Note: This stage focuses on long-term housing stability, after the formality in Step 1 has been fulfilled.

This module covers the management of long-term housing, after the initial administrative procedures have been completed. In Romania, the student housing market is divided between university infrastructure (dormitories) and the private market.

1. University Dormitories
- Management: Administered by the “Social Department” or “Accommodation Service” of each university.
- Procedure: Allocation is made according to academic and social criteria established by the university’s internal regulations.
- Technical note: Dormitory places offer the fastest method of obtaining the proof of accommodation required in Step 1. The accommodation contract/certificate issued by the university constitutes the legal residence document for that address.

2. Private Market
Recommended platforms: Use specialized portals (e.g. olx.ro, imobiliare.ro) or Facebook groups dedicated to students.
Lease Agreement (Legal Compliance):
- Mandatory: Any lease agreement must be registered with ANAF (National Agency for Fiscal Administration) by the landlord.
Importance: An unregistered contract does not provide legal protection to the tenant and cannot be used for residency formalities at IGI.

3. Utilities & Billing (Utilities Management)
Included/separate services: Most rents are expressed in Euro, but payable in RON (at the BNR or commercial bank exchange rate on the day of payment).
- Invoices: Utilities (gas, electricity, internet, maintenance) are usually invoiced separately from the monthly rent.
Digitalization: Most utility providers (E.ON, Engie, Digi, Orange) offer mobile applications for monitoring consumption and paying bills online.

Both E.ON(https://www.eon.ro/) and ENGIE(https://www.engie.ro/) are integrated suppliers that can legally provide both electricity and natural gas for your home or business, under the same contract or through separate contracts.

The telecommunications and television market in Romania is authoritarianally dominated by three large integrated giants—Digi, Orange, and Vodafone—which share the majority of their subscribers.

Digi does not have a special subscription exclusively for students, but it offers the cheapest standard subscription on the market and very affordable packages that fit a student budget.

For students, Orange Romania offers advantages focused on flexibility, large data packages and discounts through its digital ecosystems and educational partnerships.

Vodafone Romania offers dedicated benefits to students, especially through "Back to School" campaigns or special programs (such as Student Speed). These offers include discounts on mobile voice/data subscriptions, packages for portable Wi-Fi routers and discounts on the purchase of smartphones and gadgets.

Step 4

Financial & Mobility Infrastructure

Objective: Financial autonomy and urban mobility.
​Action:
​- Banking: Opening a local account (for university/scholarship payments) or using digital services (neobanks).
​- Mobility: Activating the student ID for a 90% discount on public transport (according to the law for students up to 26 years old).

BT Student subscription (18-26 years old): Dedicated to young people enrolled in a university in Romania. Comes with a Mastercard OmniPass debit card

BCR ''George'' is the first smart banking platform launched in Romania, operating as a fully digital ecosystem developed by Erste Group. The application allows you to control all financial aspects 100% online, offering a modern, customizable interface and advanced saving or lending tools

ING Home Bank is the official internet and mobile banking application of ING Bank Romania. It functions as a "complete digital bank", allowing you to manage almost any operation directly from your phone or computer, without going to the counter.

Step 5

Academic & Professional Integration (The Hub Specialty)