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Romania dual citizenship with Russia: can you keep both passports in 2026

9 min read ·

Romania does not require giving up your previous citizenship on restoration by ancestry or naturalisation. We cover the routes, the language requirement since 2025, the queue, children, taxes and notifying the Russian Interior Ministry.

In short

Yes: Romania does not require renouncing your previous citizenship, so the Russian passport is kept on restoration by ancestry, marriage or naturalisation, and you only need to notify the Russian Interior Ministry.

Previous passport on naturalisationKept
Country ruleNo need to give up your previous citizenship
Legal basisRomanian Citizenship Law No. 21/1991
What Russia requiresnotify the Interior Ministry within 60 days
CheckedOctober 2026

Russia allows a second citizenship and so does Romania, so both passports are kept. The real question is which route is open to you and how long you will wait, since the queue at the National Citizenship Authority is measured in years.

What Romania requires on naturalisation

Citizenship is governed by Romanian Law No. 21/1991. No route requires leaving the previous citizenship, and applicants by ancestry can keep their address abroad.

Restoration under Article 11 is open to former Romanian citizens who lost citizenship involuntarily and their descendants up to the third degree: children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Many descendants of people from Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina get their passports this way. Since 15 March 2025, Law No. 14/2025 requires Romanian at B1 level, biometrics and strict checks of archive documents, and it extended the time for preparing an opinion from 5 months to 2 years.

Ordinary naturalisation under Article 8 requires 8 years of lawful residence in Romania, or 5 years of living together in the country from the date of marriage for spouses of Romanian citizens. You need knowledge of the Romanian language, the basics of culture and the Constitution, the anthem, means of support and no convictions. After the decision you take the oath and receive a citizenship certificate and a passport.

What Russia requires

Russia allows a second citizenship and does not end its own, but inside the country treats you only as a Russian citizen (Article 10 of Federal Law No. 138-FZ on Citizenship).

  • Within 60 days of receiving the second passport, file a notification with the Interior Ministry (MVD). If you are abroad at that moment, the period runs from the day you enter Russia.
  • Attach a copy of the foreign passport or another document proving the citizenship.
  • Failure to notify falls under Article 330.2 of the Russian Criminal Code: a fine of up to $2,400 or up to one year of income, or up to 400 hours of compulsory work.
  • Late or incomplete notification: a fine of $10-15 under Article 19.8.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences.
  • A residence permit abroad must be reported under the same rules (Article 11 of Law No. 138-FZ).

A Russian citizen with a second passport may not hold state or municipal office, serve in government bodies or stand for election. The duties of a Russian citizen, including military service, remain, and inside Russia the second passport is not taken into account.

How to keep both passports: step by step

  1. Check your ancestor. If there were Romanian citizens in your family, including residents of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina before 1940, the Article 11 route is available without moving.
  2. Collect documents: birth and marriage extracts no older than 2 years, archive certificates, sworn translations into Romanian and apostilles.
  3. Prove your language with a B1 certificate or proof of 3 years of study in Romanian.
  4. Apply to the National Citizenship Authority and wait up to 2 years or longer for the commission's opinion.
  5. Take the oath and get a passport: in Romania it costs about $60.
  6. Notify the Russian Interior Ministry within 60 days of receiving the passport, or within 60 days of entering Russia if you are abroad.

If preparation takes more than 2 years, the birth and marriage extracts have to be ordered again.

What happens to children

A child of a Romanian citizen obtains Romanian citizenship by descent wherever born, and with the other parent a Russian citizen usually Russian too; no choice is needed. Minor children are included in a parent's restoration application, and a child aged 14 or over gives notarised consent.

Taxes and military service

You become a Romanian tax resident with 183 days in the country in a year or your centre of vital interests here. Income tax is a flat 10%, and dividends are taxed at 16%. In 2023 Russia suspended the main articles of the double taxation treaty with Romania on its side, and in 2024 Romania approved a reciprocal suspension.

Compulsory military service in Romania has been suspended since 2007. The military duty of a Russian citizen with a second passport remains.

Common mistakes

  • Applying without the language. Since 15 March 2025 an ancestry application is not accepted without a B1 certificate or proven study in Romanian.
  • Relying on doubtful archive documents. After forgery scandals certificates are checked strictly, and forgery leads to refusal and a criminal case.
  • Letting extracts expire. Birth and marriage documents must be issued no earlier than 2 years before filing.
  • Searching for the ancestor in the wrong archive. Records on Bessarabian residents are held in the archives of Moldova, Ukraine, Russia and Romania.
  • Missing the Russian Interior Ministry notification. The deadline is 60 days from receiving the Romanian passport or from entering Russia.

How to get Romanian citizenship

The main route for Russian citizens is restoring citizenship by ancestry, without moving and without giving up the Russian passport, but with B1 language and a long queue. Without ancestry the only route is 8 years of lawful residence in Romania, or 5 years after marrying a Romanian citizen.

Requirements, timelines and costs are on the page Romanian citizenship.

You can check any pair of countries with the dual citizenship checker and compare all countries in the overview dual citizenship in 2026.

Romanian citizenship by ancestry without extra years of waiting

The law does not stop you applying for Romanian citizenship on your own. But mistakes cost more than fees: expired extracts, doubtful archive certificates, an application without proven language and a missed notification to the Russian Interior Ministry. We find the ancestor's documents, check the chain of generations, prepare translations and the application and see it through to the oath. We guarantee professional work and a transparent process.

The cost of support depends on the route and family size; our consultant in the chat will calculate it.

Talk to a consultant now

This topic in other countries

Dual citizenship rules with Russia in other countries:

More on this country:

You can check any pair of countries with the dual citizenship checker and compare all countries in the overview dual citizenship in 2026.

FAQ

Can you hold Romanian and Russian citizenship at the same time?
Yes: Romania does not require renouncing your previous citizenship, so the Russian passport is kept on restoration by ancestry, marriage or naturalisation, and you only need to notify the Russian Interior Ministry.
Do I need to notify the Russian Interior Ministry about Romanian citizenship?
Yes. A Russian citizen notifies the Interior Ministry of a second citizenship within 60 days under Article 10 of Law No. 138-FZ; failing to notify carries criminal liability under Article 330.2 of the Russian Criminal Code.
Does Romania allow dual citizenship?
Yes. Romanian law does not require renouncing the previous citizenship on restoration by ancestry or naturalisation.
Do I have to renounce Russian citizenship to become Romanian?
No. The Russian passport is kept; you only need to notify the Russian Interior Ministry within 60 days.
Can a Russian citizen get Romanian citizenship by ancestry?
Yes, if an ancestor up to a great-grandparent was a Romanian citizen and lost citizenship involuntarily. Since 2025 Romanian at B1 level is required.
How many years must you live in Romania before citizenship?
For naturalisation, 8 years of lawful residence; for spouses of Romanian citizens, 5 years of living together in the country from the date of marriage.
How long does Romanian citizenship take?
By law the commission's opinion takes up to 2 years and can be extended; the oath and passport then take several more months.
Will a child have Romanian and Russian citizenship?
Yes. A child of a Romanian citizen obtains Romanian citizenship by descent, and with a Russian parent Russian citizenship too.

Don’t want to figure this out alone?

We handle the whole process end to end: we check your documents, match a program to your situation and give you honest timelines and costs. Ask your question in the chat: the free consultation starts right here. Legal representation before authorities and courts is handled by Murblz specialists together with locally licensed partners.

The Murblz consultant replies straight away in the chat on this page. Describe your situation and we will work it out together.

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