Active citizenship in Romania

Overview

Overall, Romania continues to be a country of emigration. As per the data presented by the Ministry for Romanians Abroad (currently Department for Romanians Abroad within the Government), Romania has one of the largest emigrant population, with approximately 5.6 million nationals living abroad in 2019. The number increased by 64% since 2016 when, as per the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report around 3.6 million people born in Romanian were living abroad. The main drivers of the emigration of Romanians are socio-economic, consisting of: lack of job opportunities in some parts of the country and low incomes, difficult access to educational and health systems especially for the persons living in the rural areas and medium size cities, living conditions, bureaucracy, etc.  The largest Romanian emigrant population is hosted by Italy (approx. 1.2 million), Spain (approx. 1 million), Germany (approx. 722.000) and United Kingdom (457.000). In terms of education, Romanians living in UK, Germany and France have relatively high level of education with a lower rate in Italy. 

Starting 2018 a new migration trend is emerging across the country. The evolution of the economy and the negative demographic trends recorded in Romania have led to a severe labour shortage that has intensified in the past couple of years. According to the UN World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision report, Romania is expected to see its population shrink by 17% between 2017 and 2050 to a projected 16.3 million.  Therefore, labour migration to Romania is expected to become increasingly important. Certain sectors (e.g. hospitality, constructions) and geographic areas are more exposed, resulting in growing pressure from the private sector on the Government to increase the number of work permits issued for Third Country Nationals. As such, the Romanian Government responded by increasing the annual contingent of non-EU workers from 5.000 persons in 2016, to 7.000 in 2018, to 20.000 persons in 2019 and 30.000 in 2020. In 2021 the annual contingent is of 25.000 persons. In fact, the increase of migrant population in 2019 and 2020 – despite the Covid-19 pandemic – was mainly linked to the shortages existing on the labour market. This was addressed by attracting third country workers especially in the construction and services sectors. Therefore, the work permits issued by the GII increased by approx. 20% in 2019, respective approx. 18% in 2021 compared to 2018.   

The social inclusion of third country nationals (TCNs) and beneficiaries of a form of international protection is governed by the Emergency Ordinance no. 44/2004 (with its subsequent amendments, the last one approved in 2020). As per the provisions of the Ordinance, the TCNs and BIPs may register in the Integration Programme coordinated by the General Inspectorate for Immigration (GII). The program consists in a series of services/types of assistance provided through a cooperative effort of local authorities, nongovernmental organizations, local communities that are organized to better support the social inclusion of migrants into the Romanian society.  

The Integration Programme has a maximum of 12 months duration and may offer the below options: 

• Information and counselling about legal rights and obligations in Romania; 
• Romanian language courses (for adults and children); 
• Orientation courses; 
• Counselling for access to: employment, housing, medical and social assistance, social security and education; 
• Counseling and psychological support.  Other types of support depending on the specific needs of each migrant (e.g. accommodation for a period of up to 12 months in the GII centres opened in 6 cities in Romania, including Bucharest and Timisoara – for vulnerable persons).

The legal framework is complemented by the National Stategy for Immigration that usually has a three years duration. The Strategy for 2021-2024 it is to be approved in the following months. As per the document shared for public consultations the Strategy will aim: 

• For an efficient management of the migration by proving up to date and accurate information on the entry, stay and exit conditions in Romania, and by preventing the illegal migration, trafficking in human beings and labour exploitation of migrants  
• To foster the social inclusion of TCNs and BIPs by supporting their participation to the social, economic and cultural activities in the Romanian society. 

Covid-19

Covid-19 pandemic and its effects impacted not only the Romanian citizens, but the TCNs as well. During the pandemic some new challenges have arisen, including an increase in the number of TCNs that need material and medical assistance, hereby referring also to migrants from Vietnam, Nepal, Sri Lanka, India and Philippines that were in Romania for work purpose and remain unemployed, had their income decrease significantly, and had limited possibilities of returning in their countries of origins. 

On 15 March 2020 the state of emergency was introduced in Romania, a measure taken to contribute to reducing the spread of the Covid-19. The state of emergency was followed by subsequent state of alerts. All these restrictions impacted the interaction between TCNs and the host communities, by limiting their participation to language and orientation sessions, socio-cultural activities, etc. Even if some of the activities were adjusted and moved into the online environment, the participation of the TCNs – adults and children – was limited due to a series of factors such as: limited access to the broadband and computers/laptops/smartphones needed for online education, lack of support needed to focus on learning, language barriers, etc.