Immigration to Romania is less common than immigration to most otherEuropean Union countries, withRomania having 3.1% of the population foreign born as of 2024, of which 1.1% were born in another European Union (EU) state, and 1.9% were born outside of the EU.[1]Among immigrants, the most common countries of birth wereRepublic of Moldova (40%),Italy (11%) andSpain (9%).[2] About two thirds of the foreign born population consists of labour migrants.[2]
Romania has recently experienced a growing wave of immigration, mostly from the Republic of Moldova,Turkey, Italy, Spain,Southeast Asia,South Asia andEast Asia[3] and to a lesser extent other parts of the world.
According toDIICOT, Romania has evolved since 1990 from a country of transit for illegal migrants to a country of destination.[4] Within theEuropean Union, the country has the second highest rate of immigration from non-EU countries (86%), just behindSlovenia (90%).[5] Most immigrants in Romania are fromEurope. Among non-European immigrants, most are fromAsia andNorth Africa.
Over 40% of the country's foreign-born residents originate fromRepublic of Moldova. Owing to the formerperiod of union between most of Moldova and Romania, many Moldovans are eligible for Romanian citizenship on thebasis of descent. Theculture of Moldova is influenced primarily by theRomanian origins of its majority population, being strongly related toclassical Romanian culture, and, as such, it is easy for people from neighbouring Moldova to integrate within the contemporary Romanian culture. Many immigrants from the Republic of Moldova prefer to settle in theRomanian counties from the region ofMoldavia, because there the culture is more similar to their home country.[3]
After the start of the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, a large number ofUkrainians started emigrating into Romania.[6] This also includedethnic Romanians from the country.[7]
In addition of Ukrainians, hundreds ofRussians fleeing the 2022 mobilization came to Romania.[8][9]
Immigrants from Italy and Spain often have close relations with Romanians, including intermarriage (see alsoRomanians in Italy andRomanians in Spain).
In recent years, the Romanian government has approved a quota of 100,000guest workers per year.[10][11] In 2023, the most common countries of origin were Nepal (there were 20,892 Nepalese working in Romania in 2023)[12] and Sri Lanka (15,807 Sri Lankans).[13]
During the first half of 2025, the top countries of origin, other than EU countries, for guest workers were Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan, Morocco, Turkey, Ethiopia, Philippines.[14] In 2024, they were Nepal, Sri Lanka, Turkey, India.[14]
According to a 2023 study,[15] there were 120,165 foreign citizens (eg. guest workers, refugees, citizens of other EU countries etc) working in Romania. The top 20 countries for such workers were: Nepal, Sri Lanka, Turkey,Stateless Persons, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, India, Bangladesh, Italy, China, Vietnam, Pakistan, Philippines, Serbia, Hungary, Greece, Germany, Egypt, Syria, France. Over a third of these workers were based in Bucharest, followed by thecounties of Ilfov, Timiș, Constanța, Cluj, Brașov, Iași, Arad, Argeș, Bihor.
In 2022, the top countries for sending guest workers were Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and Vietnam.[16] In 2021, the top countries were Nepal, Turkey, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Morocco, Republic of Moldova.[17]
A 2022 study on Asian guest workers in Romania conducted in Bucharest, Craiova and Cluj-Napoca, among 400 such workers from Asia (which were from the countries of origin of India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia and Laos) found that almost 40% of them worked in constructions, followed by services and logistics & transportation (including warehouse management). Three quarters were men and 60% were aged between 26 and 35 years (average age 27).[18]
In recent years, considerable numbers ofChinese andVietnamese citizens work in Romania, due to the emigration of a large part of the Romanian workforce.[3] Many Chinese live in theIlfov County (the county surrounding Bucharest). There are also small numbers of migrants fromUzbekistan.[19]
Many employers in Romania hire foreign citizens form outside the EU due to the labor crisis. In order to work in Romania, they have to obtain a work permit and a long-stay visa. After arriving in Romania, the foreign citizens have to obtain a residence permit.[20]
Many immigrant workers work inconstructions; the top countries in 2021 for such construction workers were: Turkey, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Moldova, Pakistan, Ukraine.[21] Other countries include Egypt, China, Serbia and Sudan.[21]
Arabs in Romania come primarily fromSyria (includingrefugees of the Syrian Civil War),Lebanon,Iraq andTunisia. In 2018, most asylum applicants were from Iraq, Syria and Iran.[22] In 2020, they were from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.[23]
Africans come primarily to study in Romania. Africans have been studying in Romanian universities since theCommunist Era.[24] Most Africans who studied in Romania during theCeaușescu era came from Sub-Saharan African countries such asCentral African Republic,Sudan,DRC,Republic of the Congo,[25][26][27][28] and fromMaghreb,[29] because Ceaușescu had a plan to educate the African elites in order to create political relations with such African countries.[24][29] It is estimated that during the communist era, about 10,000 Sudanese young people studied in Romania.[30]
Currently, in Romania, most Africans are students, refugees, guest workers[31] or children from mixed-families of a Romanian parent and an African student or worker who came to Romania.[32] In 2020, asylum applicants fromSomalia andEritrea represented the 6th and 9th highest numbers among asylum applicants in Romania.[33]
Historically, refugees to Romania have includedArmenians who fled theOttoman Empire due to theArmenian genocide in1915,Greeks who fled persecution after theGreek Civil War and during theGreek military junta of 1967–74,Koreans who fled theKorean War andChileans fleeing theMilitary dictatorship of Chile (1973–90).[34]
Since entering the EU, Romania has also been subject to themigration and asylum policy of the European Union.[35] Romania has, in particular, received refugees from Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine, but also fromSomalia,Yemen andVenezuela.[36][37][38][39]
In 2020, most asylum applicants were from Afghanistan, Syria, Bangladesh, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Pakistan, Yemen and Eritrea.[33]
In 2023, most asylum applicants were from Bangladesh, Syria, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.[40]
Estimate immigrants to Romania (as of mid 2020, includingrefugees):[41]
Moldova - 285,000;
Italy - 80,000;
Spain - 62,000;
Ukraine - 43,000;
United Kingdom - 32,000;
Germany - 30,000;
France - 22,000;
Bulgaria - 12,000;
Hungary - 10,000;
Russia - 10,000;
Turkey - 9,000;
Greece - 8,000;
China - 7,000;
United States - 6,000;
Israel - 5,000;
Belgium - 5,000;
Ireland - 4,000
Serbia - 3,000;
Syria - 3,000
Austria - 3,000;
Iran - 2,000;
Iraq - 2,000;
Vietnam - 2,000;
Portugal - 2,000;
Tunisia - 2,000;
Netherlands - 2,000;
Denmark - 2,000;
Poland - 1,000;
Sweden - 1,000;
Norway - 1,000;
Albania - 1,000;
Slovakia - 1,000;
Czech Republic - 1,000;
Switzerland - 1,000;
Brazil - 1,000;
Canada - 1,000;
Egypt - 1,000;
Lebanon - 1,000;
Morocco - 1,000;
Nepal - 1,000;
United Arab Emirates - 1,000;
Philippines - 1,000;
Sri Lanka - 1,000;
India - 1,000;
Algeria - 1,000;
Pakistan - 1,000;
Jordan - 600; (2017)
Nigeria - 500; (2017)
South Korea - 500. (2017)
According toEurostat 59.9 million people lived in theEuropean Union in 2023 who were born outside their resident country. This corresponds to 13.35% of the total EU population. Of these, 31.4 million (9.44%) were born outside the EU and 17.5 million (3.91%) were born in another EU member state.[42][43]
| Country | Total population (1000) | Total Foreign-born (1000) | % | Born in other EU state (1000) | % | Born in a non EU state (1000) | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU 27 | 448,754 | 59,902 | 13.3 | 17,538 | 3.9 | 31,368 | 6.3 |
| Germany | 84,359 | 16,476 | 19.5 | 6,274 | 7.4 | 10,202 | 12.1 |
| France | 68,173 | 8,942 | 13.1 | 1,989 | 2.9 | 6,953 | 10.2 |
| Spain | 48,085 | 8,204 | 17.1 | 1,580 | 3.3 | 6,624 | 13.8 |
| Italy | 58,997 | 6,417 | 10.9 | 1,563 | 2.6 | 4,854 | 8.2 |
| Netherlands | 17,811 | 2,777 | 15.6 | 748 | 4.2 | 2,029 | 11.4 |
| Greece | 10,414 | 1,173 | 11.3 | 235 | 2.2 | 938 | 9.0 |
| Sweden | 10,522 | 2,144 | 20.4 | 548 | 5.2 | 1,596 | 15.2 |
| Austria | 9,105 | 1,963 | 21.6 | 863 | 9.5 | 1,100 | 12.1 |
| Belgium | 11,743 | 2,247 | 19.1 | 938 | 8.0 | 1,309 | 11.1 |
| Portugal | 10,467 | 1,684 | 16.1 | 378 | 3.6 | 1,306 | 12.5 |
| Denmark | 5,933 | 804 | 13.6 | 263 | 4.4 | 541 | 9.1 |
| Finland | 5,564 | 461 | 8.3 | 131 | 2.4 | 330 | 5.9 |
| Poland | 36,754 | 933 | 2.5 | 231 | 0.6 | 702 | 1.9 |
| Czech Republic | 10,828 | 764 | 7.1 | 139 | 1.3 | 625 | 5.8 |
| Hungary | 9,600 | 644 | 6.7 | 342 | 3.6 | 302 | 3.1 |
| Romania | 19,055 | 530 | 2.8 | 202 | 1.1 | 328 | 1.7 |
| Slovakia | 5,429 | 213 | 3.9 | 156 | 2.9 | 57 | 1.0 |
| Bulgaria | 6,448 | 169 | 2.6 | 58 | 0.9 | 111 | 1.7 |
| Ireland | 5,271 | 1,150 | 21.8 | 348 | 6.6 | 802 | 15.2 |