Romania increases non-EU employees annual quota amid workforce shortage

On 31 January 2019, the Romanian Government enacted Decision No. 34 on the annual quota for the maximum number of non-EU employees admitted to work in Romania, during 2019. Through this decision, the Romanian Government increased the maximum number of non-EU employees permitted to work in Romania in 2019, commonly based on a work permit, to 20,000.

By comparison in 2018, the maximum number of non-EU employees admitted to work in Romania was 15,000. The main reason for the increase for 2019 was the Government’s intention to meet Romanian employers’ increasing demand for potential employees, given the current workforce crisis faced by employers which hinders profitability and economic growth.

In furtherance of tackling the workforce shortage, under Decision No. 34/2019, the Government chose to take a more flexible approach and abandoned the use of category-based limits for non-EU employees admitted to work in Romania. Under the 2018 legislation, the Government preferred to limit by categories, the number of non-EU employees admitted to work in Romania, allocating the highest numbers to permanent workers and posted workers (8,000 and 5,200, respectively).