Visa-free countries with a Romanian passport in 2026
178 destinations without a prior visa, the right to live and work across the EU and full Schengen membership since 2025. The USA still requires a visa. Destinations by region and how to get the passport by descent.
In short
With a Romanian passport you can enter 178 of 227 countries and territories without a prior visa, and in EU countries also live, work and study without permits. The UK and Canada require an electronic travel authorisation, Australia an e-visa, and the USA a regular visa.
| Without a prior visa | 178 of 227: 141 visa-free, 27 on arrival, 10 with an electronic travel authorisation |
|---|---|
| Visa needed in advance | 48, of which 28 by e-visa |
| Schengen and the UK | Schengen area - free movement, United Kingdom - electronic travel authorisation |
| USA and Canada | USA - visa required, Canada - electronic travel authorisation |
| How to get it | restoration by descent without moving or naturalization after 8 years |
| Checked | October 2026 |
The Romanian passport opens 178 of 227 destinations without a prior visa: 141 fully visa-free, 27 with a visa on arrival and 10 with an electronic travel authorisation. The Bulgarian passport has the same, and it is 64 destinations more than the Russian passport.
But the count is not the main thing. A Romanian passport is EU citizenship: the right to live, work, study and start a business in any of the 27 EU countries, as well as Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, without visas, permits or quotas. Since 1 January 2025 Romania has been a full Schengen member: no checks at airports or land borders.
We will work out online when you can apply and what fees and documents will cost for your family.
Where you can go visa-free with a Romanian passport
Entry regimes differ in how much preparation the trip needs. Visa-free means the passport is enough and the permitted stay is set at the border. A visa on arrival means a fee and a stamp at the airport or checkpoint. An electronic travel authorisation is a short online form and fee before departure. An e-visa is also online but involves a check and a consular decision. A regular visa means a form, documents, often a personal visit to the consulate and waiting for a decision.
| Region | Visa-free or with an electronic authorisation | Visa on arrival or e-visa | Visa needed in advance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | Schengen area (live and work), United Kingdom (online authorisation), Ireland (live and work), Cyprus (live and work), Belarus, Moldova, Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, North Macedonia | Russia | - |
| Caucasus and Central Asia | Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan | Azerbaijan | - |
| Asia | China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea (online authorisation), Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines | Indonesia, India, Maldives | - |
| Middle East and Africa | UAE, Israel (online authorisation), Oman, Morocco, South Africa, Kenya (online authorisation), Tanzania | Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt | - |
| Americas | Canada (online authorisation), Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Panama, Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Uruguay | - | USA |
| Oceania | New Zealand (online authorisation) | Australia | - |
The Romanian passport has few closed destinations: a regular visa in advance is needed for only 20 of 227 countries and territories, the most notable being the USA. Almost all of Latin America including Mexico, the Balkans, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, Japan, China and the UAE are visa-free; Azerbaijan, India and Russia require an e-visa, and Egypt and Jordan issue a visa on arrival.
The table shows the main destinations for travel, living and business, not all 227 countries and territories. An electronic travel authorisation is issued online within minutes or days; an e-visa is also applied for online, but it is a separate consular decision. Entry rules change several times a year: check with an expert for your trip.
Schengen, the UK, the USA and Canada
Schengen and the EU. A Romanian citizen enters any EU and Schengen country with a passport or identity card. Living in another EU country for more than 3 months requires only registration of residence, not a residence permit.
United Kingdom. After leaving the EU, the UK introduced an electronic travel authorisation for EU citizens: since 2 April 2025 it is obtained online before the trip. A Romanian passport does not let you live and work in the UK without a visa.
USA. In early 2025 Romania was designated into the US Visa Waiver Program, but on 2 May 2025 the US Department of Homeland Security rescinded the decision. So Romanian citizens still need a tourist or business visa.
Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Canada requires an electronic travel authorisation when flying, and so does New Zealand. Australia issues EU citizens a free electronic visitor visa obtained online.
Asia. Visa-free: China since November 2024, Vietnam since August 2025, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. Indonesia issues a visa on arrival; India and Russia require an e-visa.
What else a Romanian passport gives
Living and working in the EU. EU citizens enjoy in another member state the same rights to work, study, healthcare and social protection as its own citizens. Children study at local schools and universities on EU terms: in many countries tuition for students from outside the union is several times higher.
Consular protection. Where Romania has no embassy, the embassy of any other EU country helps its citizen.
Dual citizenship. Romania does not require giving up the previous passport (Romanian Citizenship Law No. 21/1991), and children of a Romanian citizen are citizens by birth wherever they are born. A Russian citizen notifies the Interior Ministry of the second citizenship within 60 days.
Taxes. A passport does not make you a Romanian tax resident. For those who move to the country, rates are among the lowest in the EU: income tax is 10%, dividends and capital gains 16% from 1 January 2026. Someone living in another country pays tax there.
How to get a Romanian passport
A Romanian passport is not for sale: there is no citizenship by investment. The main route for citizens of Russia and Moldova is restoration under Article 11 of Law No. 21/1991. It is open to former Romanian citizens who lost citizenship involuntarily and their descendants to the third degree: children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. You do not need to live in Romania and you keep your previous passport, but since 15 March 2025 the applicant must prove Romanian at B1 level, and archive documents are checked more strictly.
The queue at the National Citizenship Authority takes years, and in September 2026 a bill was introduced in the Senate that could exclude grandchildren and great-grandchildren from the simplified procedure, so it makes sense to apply while the rule applies. Without roots there is one route - naturalization after 8 years of legal residence in Romania, or for spouses of citizens after 5 years of marriage and living together in the country. The passport costs about $60. All costs are in how much Romanian citizenship costs.
Requirements, timelines and documents are on the page Romanian citizenship by descent and naturalization.
The passport costs about $60, a refusal after years in the queue costs more
The law does not forbid applying to restore Romanian citizenship on your own. But mistakes cost more than the fees: a gap in the chain of kinship documents, an archive certificate that will not be accepted, differences in the spelling of surnames and a language exam you did not prepare for. We check your roots before filing, search the archives, prepare translations and handle the application until the oath, and if you have no roots we find another route to an EU passport.
Our manager in the chat will calculate the cost of support.
This topic in other countries
Visa-free travel with other passports:
- Visa-free countries with a Turkish passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Serbian passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Bulgarian passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with a Moldovan passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with an Armenian passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with an Israeli passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with an Italian passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with a Greek passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with a Latvian passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with a Lithuanian passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Sao Tome and Principe passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Nauru passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with an Egyptian passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Jordanian passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with a German passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Mexican passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Uruguayan passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Paraguayan passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Brazilian passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with a Kazakh passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with a St Kitts and Nevis passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with a Dominica passport in 2026
- Where you can travel visa-free with an Antigua and Barbuda passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Grenadian passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Saint Lucian passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Kyrgyz passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a Sierra Leonean passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a North Macedonian passport in 2026
- Visa-free countries with a US passport in 2026
- What an Argentine passport gives
- What a Vanuatu passport gives
More on this country:
- How much Romanian citizenship costs
- Romania and Russia dual citizenship
- Taxes in Romania
- Buying an apartment in Romania
- Romania: all programmes
Compare passports of different countries in our 2026 passport overview.
FAQ
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