Profile

Au pair worker

Route status

Active as of 2026-08-25[2][3]
IGI's other-purposes page and the Ministry's catalogue both set out the cumulative conditions in the present tense.

Open to new applications under the rules recorded below.

Residency route facts

Identity

Identity
Official name (local)Lucrător au-pair — viza de lungă şedere pentru alte scopuri (simbol D/AS) as of 2026-08-25[3][7]
Article 2 lit. dd), read directly in the consolidated text as introduced by Ordonanta de urgenta nr. 32/2026, names and defines 'lucrator au-pair'; lit. o^3) defines the host family.
Official name (English)Au pair worker as of 2026-08-25[3][7]
Translation of the statutory term, which is itself a borrowing; no official English name was found.
Legal basisOrdonanţa de urgenţă a Guvernului nr. 194/2002, republicată, cu modificările şi completările ulterioare, art. 2 lit. dd) şi o^3), astfel cum au fost introduse ori modificate prin Ordonanţa de urgenţă a Guvernului nr. 32/2026 privind accesul străinilor pe piaţa muncii din România as of 2026-08-25[3][7]
Both letters were read directly. Article 2 lit. o^3), defining the host family, was itself amended by OUG 32/2026 with effect from 27 April 2026.
Instrument typeresidence permit as of 2026-08-25[2][3]
A D/AS long-stay visa for 90 days, then a residence permit.

Who can apply

Who can apply
Nationals not served by this routeEU, EEA as of 2026-08-25[2][7]
Minimum age18 as of 2026-08-25[3][7]
Article 2 lit. dd) fixes the range at 18 to 30 years; 18 is the floor and the 30-year ceiling has no field of its own in this schema. Both IGI and the Ministry repeat the same range.
Criminal-record conditionYes as of 2026-08-25[3]
A criminal record certificate or another document of the same legal value issued by the authorities of the country of origin is among the documents for the D/AS long-stay visa.

Permit terms

Permit terms
Initial durationup to 1 year as of 2026-08-25[3]
Two rules converge on the same figure. The general other-purposes rule extends the right successively for periods of up to 1 year; and the au-pair's own condition is a PART-TIME individual employment contract for a period of at most one year.
RenewableYes as of 2026-08-25[3]
The other-purposes right is extended successively for periods of up to one year. IGI states no au-pair-specific bar on extension, unlike unpaid vocational training, where it says expressly that the right is granted for a maximum of one year without the possibility of extension.
Renewal durationup to 1 year as of 2026-08-25[3]
Successive periods of up to one year.
Work rightshours capped as of 2026-08-25[2][3][7]

Permanent residence and citizenship

Permanent residence and citizenship
Counts toward permanent residenceNo as of 2026-08-25[5]
IGI states in terms that the long-term residence right is NOT granted to holders of a right obtained to carry on activity as an au-pair worker, and separately that stay obtained as a seasonal or au-pair worker is not counted at all towards long-term residence. Both halves are express.

Requirements

Requirements
Job offer requiredYes as of 2026-08-25[3]
A part-time individual employment contract with the host family, for a period of at most one year, is among the documents for the visa, together with the host family's authenticated declaration undertaking to cover maintenance, accommodation and social health insurance, and its authenticated declaration that it has no kinship up to the fourth degree or affinity with the person it engages.
Salary threshold
    • Measured against: minimum wage
    • Amount: 1 × national minimum gross base wage guaranteed in payment per month as of 2026-08-25[2][3][7]
      Article 2 lit. dd) and both publishers state that the monthly amount of the financial means of maintenance is AT LEAST at the level of the national minimum gross base wage guaranteed in payment. It sits in salary_threshold rather than own_means_requirement because the au pair holds a part-time employment contract and the figure is what that engagement must produce; it is recorded in own_means_requirement as well, because the sources phrase it as a means test.
Qualification requirementnone as of 2026-08-25[7]
Employer sponsorshipYes as of 2026-08-25[3][7]
The host family is the employer and gives the undertakings; its members must have a different citizenship from the au pair and no family ties with them.
Own means requirement1 × national minimum gross base wage guaranteed in payment per month as of 2026-08-25[2][3][7]
The same single figure as the salary threshold above, recorded twice because the sources phrase it as a means condition inside a statutory definition of an employment relationship. It is ONE requirement, not two, and a consumer that sums them would double it.
Job-search routeNo as of 2026-08-25[3]
Not a job-search instrument.

Process

Process
Where to apply fromfrom abroad only as of 2026-08-25[2][3]
The other-purposes long-stay visa, symbol D/AS, is granted on request by the Romanian diplomatic missions and consular posts in the country where the applicant has their residence or domicile, for 90 days with one or more journeys. Internally the National Visa Centre approves it only after IGI's aviz, which is issued within at most 30 days of the request, extendable by 15 days.
Statutory processing timeup to 30 days as of 2026-08-25[3]
The other-purposes long-stay visa, symbol D/AS, is granted on request by the Romanian diplomatic missions and consular posts in the country where the applicant has their residence or domicile, for 90 days with one or more journeys. Internally the National Visa Centre approves it only after IGI's aviz, which is issued within at most 30 days of the request, extendable by 15 days. The application to grant or extend the residence right is decided within 30 days of submission, extendable by at most 15 days where further checks are needed. Where the information or documents supplied are inadequate, IGI sets a reasonable deadline of no more than 30 days for the applicant to supply more and the 30-day clock is suspended until they arrive; if they do not, the application may be rejected.
Fees
    • Kind: application
    • Amount: EUR 300 one-off as of 2026-08-25[1][3]
      The Ministry of Foreign Affairs fee page states the long-stay visa fee (symbol D) is 300 euro, and states in terms that this figure applies to applications sent for validation to Romanian missions through the e-Viza portal from 27 April 2026, applications sent before that date being charged 120 euro. It is a single fee for every long-stay visa symbol, not a per-purpose one. Ukrainian citizens are exempt from the long-stay visa fee under a bilateral agreement in force since 21 October 2016, and so are family members of Romanian, EU, EEA and Swiss citizens who accompany or join them.
    • Charged per: applicant
    • Paid by: applicant
    • Condition: Taxa de viza pentru viza de lunga sedere (simbol D)
    • Kind: card
    • Amount: RON 265 one-off as of 2026-08-25[4][6]
    • Charged per: application
    • Paid by: applicant
    • Condition: Contravaloarea permisului de sedere
    • Kind: renewal
    • Amount: EUR 120 one-off as of 2026-08-25[4][6]
      The consular fee charged on the application to grant or extend the residence right, paid in the leu equivalent. It coincides numerically with the pre-27-April-2026 long-stay visa fee and is a different charge.
    • Charged per: application
    • Paid by: applicant
    • Condition: Taxa consulara
Quota
  • Quota exists: Not established from a qualifying source

Physical presence

Physical presence
none statedto keep the permit as of 2026-08-25[3]

Family inclusion

Family inclusion
Family members may be includedNot established from a qualifying source

Your next step

Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.

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Verification

Verification
Sources cited7
of which official (tier 1)7
Oldest as-of date2026-08-25
Newest as-of date2026-08-25
Reviewed on2026-08-26
Schema version1.1

Sources

  1. [1] Perceperea taxei de viza
    Ministerul Afacerilor Externe — Centrul National de Vize · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-25
  2. [2] Tipuri de vize şi scopurile deplasării
    Ministerul Afacerilor Externe – Centrul Naţional de Vize (eViza) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-25
  3. [3] Alte scopuri — administrator, sef de filiala sau reprezentanta, formare profesionala neremunerata, voluntariat, lucrator au-pair, tratament medical, nomazi digitali
    Inspectoratul General pentru Imigrari · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-25
  4. [4] Permisul unic / Cartea albastra a UE — obtinerea si prelungirea dreptului de sedere in scop de munca si de detasare
    Inspectoratul General pentru Imigrari · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-25
  5. [5] Informare privind dreptul de şedere pe termen lung, condiţiile de acordare şi când încetează acesta
    Inspectoratul General pentru Imigrări · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2023-03-29 · Accessed 2026-08-25
  6. [6] Taxele pe care trebuie sa le achitati pentru obtinerea permisului de sedere
    Inspectoratul General pentru Imigrari · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-25
  7. [7] Ordonanţa de urgenţă a Guvernului nr. 194/2002 privind regimul străinilor în România, republicată – formă consolidată valabilă la 30 aprilie 2026 (publicată de IGI)
    Inspectoratul General pentru Imigrări / Guvernul României · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2008-06-05 · Accessed 2026-08-25

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