Romania Introduces Mandatory Biometric Data Collection for Citizenship Applications

As of September 1, new requirements for obtaining or reacquiring Romanian citizenship will include the mandatory collection of biometric data, following recent amendments to the Romanian Citizenship Law no. 21/1991.

The National Citizenship Authority has announced that, starting from this date, all applicants will be required to submit both a facial image and two fingerprints as part of the citizenship process. This requirement will also apply to children over 14 years old, who will now be obligated to provide both their facial image and fingerprints when applying for or reacquiring Romanian citizenship. For children under the age of 14, who are included in their parents' applications, only a facial image will be required.

The authority has further emphasized that, beginning September 1, all requests to acquire or reacquire Romanian citizenship must be submitted in person. This in-person requirement also extends to all minors included in a parent’s application. Additionally, if a parent has already obtained Romanian citizenship for a child who was not part of the other parent’s initial request, the presence of the minor is still mandatory.

Romanian citizenship can be granted to foreign nationals or stateless persons who have made significant contributions to the promotion and protection of Romanian culture for at least three years prior to the request. Citizenship can also be obtained through marriage or by descent.

In July 2023, Romanian authorities introduced biometric data collection as a standard part of the process for those applying to become Romanian citizens. This change will see the replacement of paper citizenship certificates with electronic cards that contain both biographic and biometric data.

Government spokesperson Mihai Constantin stated, "The measures adopted through an emergency ordinance aim both at the introduction of biometrics into the procedure for granting Romanian citizenship, as well as measures that will ensure the security of the entire process through advanced IT and security systems." The new regulation also establishes a legal framework for the National Authority for Citizenship to acquire the necessary biometric data acquisition equipment and other IT tools.

These measures have been introduced to align Romania’s procedures with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and to accelerate the country’s entry into the US Visa Waiver Program.

In December of the previous year, a study conducted by the Canadian immigration agency CanadaCIS revealed that Romania is among the ten easiest countries in which to obtain citizenship. This study was based on data from Eurostat covering the period from 2009 to 2021.

By fLEXI tEAM