Employer guide: Romanian courses and language duties for foreign workers under OUG 32/2026

Two different language rules, two different people

OUG 32/2026 contains two language rules that are easy to confuse. The first is a duty of the employer: to provide Romanian courses to the foreign workers it employs. The second is a condition for the worker: to attach a Romanian A2 certificate to a long-term residence application filed from 1 January 2027. The two rules are linked in practice, because a worker who attends a good course is better prepared for the exam, but legally they are separate.

The employer's course does not replace the worker's certificate. The certificate must be issued by an accredited institution in Romania after an assessment. A course that you provide, however well run, produces learning, not a certificate. Employers who tell workers that the in-house course will be enough for their residence file are creating a problem for those workers.

What the course obligation says

The duty is in Article 7, paragraph (1), letter g) of OUG 32/2026, in the list of obligations of employers who employ foreigners in Romania. In substance, the employer must provide, directly or through accredited providers or in cooperation with public institutions, non-governmental organisations, international organisations or educational institutions, Romanian language courses that also include elements of cultural and social integration for foreigners.

The law sets a minimum duration and intensity. The course must run for at least six months from the date the worker's activity in Romania is registered in REGES-ONLINE, the electronic employee register, and it must be at least six hours per week. That is a minimum of roughly 150 hours of instruction over the period, depending on how weeks are counted, and the law expects it to run alongside the employment, not after it.

• Content: Romanian language plus cultural and social integration
• Delivery: directly, through accredited providers, or with public institutions, NGOs, international organisations or schools
• Minimum length: six months from the activity start date recorded in REGES-ONLINE
• Minimum intensity: at least six hours per week

The rest of the employer's duty list

The course is one item in a longer list. Article 7(1) also requires employers to pay wages into the worker's bank account, to conclude employment contracts in Romanian and in the worker's language or an international language the worker understands, to provide occupational health and safety training in a language the worker understands, and to make the notifications the ordinance requires to the placement agency and the labour inspectorate.

Employers must also guarantee access to confidential complaint and abuse-reporting procedures, including through the electronic platform, and must keep, at the registered office or workplace, a copy of the worker's travel document or residence permit and the documents proving compliance with these obligations for at least five years after the employment ends.

Taken together, these provisions mean that language support starts on the first day, in the worker's own language, and then builds towards Romanian over the following months. The legislator did not require workers to arrive with Romanian. It required employers to help them acquire it.

Registration and the consequences of non-compliance

To employ foreign workers, an employer must register on the electronic platform set up under the ordinance, or be authorised, depending on the category. Registration has conditions, such as having no outstanding obligations to the consolidated budget and, for companies, having carried out activity for at least one year in a field compatible with the occupation concerned, with exceptions for some categories.

Registration can also be suspended. Article 8 provides, among other grounds, that registration is suspended for six months if more than 20 percent of the foreign workers employed over any six consecutive months no longer have a valid right of residence in Romania because it expired, was cancelled or was revoked. That provision connects two themes: employers have a direct interest in making sure that their workers keep a valid status, and a worker who cannot pass the language step for long-term residence is more likely to be at risk later.

Employers should also be aware that inspections can check the documents listed above. A written record of the course is therefore not only good practice, it is evidence.

How to document compliance

Because the law uses minimum durations and weekly hours, the practical test of compliance is whether you can prove them. Build a simple file for every foreign worker from the first day.

• The REGES-ONLINE start date, which is the reference date for the six months
• A schedule showing at least six hours of instruction per week
• Attendance records signed or logged per session
• The provider's details and accreditation, or the details of the partner institution
• A short syllabus showing Romanian language content and cultural and social integration content
• Progress records such as placement test results and later assessments
• A copy of the worker's residence permit or travel document and the signed contract in both languages

Designing a course workers will actually attend

A course that exists on paper but that workers cannot attend does not help anyone. Foreign workers often work in shifts, live in shared housing and have little time. Courses that work in practice are short, scheduled around shifts and mobile-friendly. Splitting six hours into several short sessions, or combining a live lesson with self-study on a phone, increases attendance and learning. Use the worker's own language for instructions, because beginners learn faster when the explanation is clear, and move to Romanian only for the target language itself.

It also helps to start with a placement test. A worker who already speaks some Romanian needs a different course from a worker who has just arrived, and a single group course for everyone wastes the time of both. Placement tests give you a baseline and let you show progress over the six months.

Finally, think about what happens after month six. The legal minimum ends, but the workers who plan to stay long-term will need the A2 certificate for the 2027 residence rules. Employers who support that step keep their trained workers and reduce turnover.

How A2Ready supports employers

A2Ready offers a practice platform with a placement test, speaking practice with an AI examiner in the worker's own language for instructions, and progress reports for the employer. It is designed to complement a course delivered by an accredited provider, and to give workers daily speaking practice between lessons, which is where most learners lose momentum. It is a practice tool and it does not issue the official certificate.

Details of bulk pricing for employers are on the employers page. If you are unsure whether your arrangement meets Article 7(1)(g), check it with your lawyer or with the labour inspectorate. The wording of the obligation is short, and how it is applied in practice is best confirmed with the authorities.