A2, B1 or nothing: which Romanian language level do you need?

Why everyone seems to disagree

Romanian expat groups regularly produce arguments of the following kind. One person says the requirement is B1 unless you are over 65. Another says there is nothing about it on the immigration website. A third read the new ordinance, could not find a language certificate and concluded that language schools are inventing a requirement to sell courses. A fourth says their lawyer told them they need no certificate for a business residence permit.

Each of these statements is true for some situation and wrong for another. The B1 rule with the over-65 exemption is real, but it belongs to citizenship, not to residence. The A2 rule is real, but it belongs to long-term residence and starts in 2027. The lawyer's remark about business activities concerns temporary residence, not long-term residence. And EU citizens are in a completely different legal regime. Once you know which box you are in, the confusion disappears.

At a glance

This is the overview. Each line is explained in the sections that follow.

• Non-EU citizen applying for long-term residence from 1 January 2027: A2 certificate from an accredited Romanian institution
• Non-EU citizen applying for long-term residence by 31 December 2026: old procedure, with the language interview
• Applying for Romanian citizenship (Articles 10 and 11): B1 certificate or proof of three years of study in Romanian, with exemptions for applicants aged 65 or over and former citizens
• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: no language certificate for residence or permanent residence
• Temporary residence for work, business or family reasons: the A2 certificate is not part of the long-term residence document list; check the document list for your permit type

Long-term residence: A2 from 2027

OUG 32/2026 amended Article 72(1) of OUG 194/2002 by adding a certificate of Romanian competence at a level not lower than A2, issued by accredited institutions in Romania. It repealed the language interview in Article 72(2). Under the transition rule in Article 52(6), applications filed up to 31 December 2026 are decided under the older rules, which means the certificate becomes mandatory for applications filed from 1 January 2027.

Long-term residence is the status you apply for after roughly five years of continuous legal stay as a non-EU citizen. It is for an unlimited period and is no longer tied to one employer or one purpose. That is also why the legislator treats language as a condition here: it is the moment when a temporary stay turns into a lasting one.

Citizenship: B1, a different law

Romanian citizenship is governed by Law 21/1991, which was amended in 2025. For citizenship granted under Articles 10 and 11, the applicant must prove knowledge of Romanian at B1 or higher. Proof is a language competence certificate issued by a university accredited for the Romanian preparatory year, by the Romanian Language Institute, by the Romanian Cultural Institute or by Romanian cultural institutes abroad. A legalised transcript showing three years of study in Romanian is also accepted.

Applicants who are 65 or older on the filing date are exempt from the language proof when applying under Articles 10 or 11, and so are former citizens seeking to regain citizenship. The National Citizenship Authority also set a one-year window for people who had already filed to submit the certificate, which ended on 14 March 2026. If you read a forum post that says "it is B1 unless you are over 65", it is describing this rule, which is correct for citizenship and incorrect for residence.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

Citizens of other EU member states are covered by OUG 102/2005, which implements Directive 2004/38/EC on free movement. Article 16(1) of the directive gives EU citizens who have resided legally for five continuous years the right of permanent residence, and states that this right is not subject to the conditions of Chapter III of the directive. A member state cannot add a language condition on top of that.

The A2 requirement in OUG 32/2026 is a change to the law on foreigners, so it does not apply to EU citizens. One caution: the non-EU spouse or parent of a Romanian citizen is generally not treated as an EU citizen exercising free movement in Romania, because EU citizens are defined as nationals of a member state other than Romania. Family members in that position typically apply under the law on foreigners and should check with IGI how the new document list applies to them.

Work permits, seasonal visas and business residence

The same ordinance introduced a detailed regime for hiring foreign workers, and several of its provisions are about language, but in the opposite direction. A long-stay visa for seasonal work, for example, must be accompanied by written information in at least one language of international circulation, covering the worker's rights and obligations and the complaint procedures. Employment contracts for foreign workers must be concluded in Romanian and in the worker's language or a language of international circulation that they understand. The law expects that a new worker does not speak Romanian yet.

These provisions are easy to mistake for the A2 rule when you search the ordinance. They are protections for the worker at the start of the stay. The A2 certificate belongs to the end of the path, when you apply for the unlimited status.

As for business owners, a lawyer quoted in an expat group said that residency based on commercial activities does not need any level 2 certificate. That is consistent with the structure of the law, because the certificate is listed among the documents for long-term residence. It does not mean a business owner will never need the certificate: when that person eventually applies for long-term residence, the document list for that application applies. Check the document list for your specific permit type with IGI or your lawyer.

How to read the law yourself

You do not have to rely on summaries from a chat group, including ours. The ordinance is public, and checking it takes ten minutes.

• Open OUG 32/2026 on the legislation portal or in Monitorul Oficial no. 335 of 27 April 2026.
• Search the text for "competență lingvistică". You will find the new letter f) of Article 72(1) of OUG 194/2002, in Article 45, point 51.
• Search for "31 decembrie 2026" to find the transition rule in Article 52(6).
• Open the republished OUG 194/2002 on the IGI website and read Articles 70 to 72 for the full long-term residence document list.
• For citizenship, read the consolidated Law 21/1991 and the announcements of the National Citizenship Authority.

What to do next

If you are a non-EU citizen who expects to apply for long-term residence in 2027 or later, plan for A2. If you aim for citizenship, plan for B1, which takes more study but builds directly on A2. If you are an EU citizen, you do not need a certificate for residence, although many people take the exam anyway to speed up daily life and integration.

Whichever box you are in, the first step is the same: find out where you are today. Take the free three-minute speaking test on A2Ready to get a baseline score, and then use the preparation guide to build a plan around your filing date.