How to Apply for a Romania Visa for Filipino Tourists or Visitors

Romania is best known for the historical region of Transylvania — this is not only because of its charming castles that are perched on top of picturesque hills, but also because of its association with the legend of ‘Count Dracula’. But I must say, there’s more to Romania than this because the district of Dobrogea is worth anyone’s while too! After all, I have spent my time there for a week and I had an amazing time. Though of course… in order to enjoy this all, as a Filipino citizen, you will need to avail a Romania visa first.

Fret not because it’s easy to apply for one and I hope that my guide and tips below will help you to on a successful application!

…But first, a disclaimer:

NO ONE can give you a guarantee on your Romanian visa’s approval — not even a lawyer, a consultant, a travel agent, or an embassy employee. Anyone who says otherwise is most likely going to be a scammer.

That being said, what I can offer you here is a comprehensive guide with helpful tips to increase your chances of getting that Romania Visa.
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^{Peles Castle from Shutterstock.com}
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Step 1: Determine the type of Romania visa that you need to apply for
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There are, of course, various types of Romanian visas out there that you can apply for: a visa for studying, a visa for working, etc.

For this particular guide, I will only be discussing the requirements for a visit or tourist visa since it’s an experience that I’ve gone through myself.

If, however, you have a complicated situation or a different purpose of visit, it’s best that you head over to this page of the Embassy of Romania in the Philippines for more information.

Now before I go on, it is helpful to note that…

• The Embassy only approves a maximum of 15 days for your Romania tourist visa.
• You do NOT need to apply for a Romania visa only if you have a…
  • Valid multiple-entry short-stay Schengen visa
  • Valid short-stay or long-stay visa issued by Croatia, Cyprus or Bulgaria (these countries are NOT Schengen member states yet)
  • Valid resident permit issued by any Schengen member state or by Croatia, Cyprus or Bulgaria
• In retrospect, if you have a Romania visa, you can enter Croatia, Cyprus or Bulgaria — however, a Romanian visa does NOT grant you entry to the Schengen member states.

Step 2: Register online to initiate and process your Romania visa application
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Go to Romania’ E-Visa Portal and click the button that says “Apply for a visa“.

The process from here on will not only be easy but also self-explanatory as you set up an account in the portal, and proceed to type in your info as well as upload soft copies of relevant documents. Do remember though that if you are traveling together with other people, each of you must individually register and apply on the site.

Below is a list of the basic documents that I uploaded…

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

• Duly Accomplished Visa Application Form – You can download this form through this link.
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• Passport Photo – Submit 2 pieces of passport-sized photo (3cm x 4cm) on a white background.
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• Passport – It should be valid for at least 1 year  beyond your intended period of stay in Romania. Along with this, you must also submit a photocopy of the passport’s first page (which contains your passport data and personal information).
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• Hotel Voucher(s) – These are hotel reservation(s) for the entire duration of your stay in Romania and they must contain the name and contact details of the hotel(s) you’ve chosen.
  

  I usually reserve my hotel stays via Booking.com and/or Agoda.com. With them, you can reserve a hotel with NO pre-payment and you can even cancel the booking a day before your arrival with NO cancellation charges at all. So yes, you can make reservations without any payment, you can change the reservation anytime, AND you can cancel them at no cost as well if in case your visa is not approved.

• Airline Tickets – There have been conflicting info about this as to whether you need to submit confirmed tickets or if a reservation is already fine. In fact, there have been instances wherein applicants were approved even with just reserved tickets; whereas there are others who were asked for confirmed/booked tickets. That being said, it’s up to you to submit reserved airline flight tickets only — besides, I surmise that the Embassy will tell you either way if they wanted confirmed ones from you. (For my case, I immediately submitted confirmed airline tickets because I already ended up buying it beforehand. It’s risky, I know, but it all worked out great!)
  • ALTERNATIVES FOR CONFIRMED TICKETS: You can submit open-dated flight tickets, or a written confirmation from an airline or travel agency stating that your onward travel has been booked and paid for.

  In case you’re wondering where to look for the best flight deals, my go-to platform is Skyscanner.

• Proof of Financial Resources – For this, I submitted my bank certificate and statements.
  • The embassy states that you must have at least USD $70 per day of your stay in Romania, but it must not be less than  USD $600 or its equivalent in convertible currency if your host/sponsor will NOT cover your living expenses.
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• Travel Itinerary – To see the travel itinerary that I submitted, you can view and download it here.
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• Travel Insurance – This should be valid or accepted in Romania and it must cover one day longer beyond your intended period of stay. (I used Pacific Cross‘ travel insurance and it was accepted by the Embassy).
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EXTRAS:

• Proof of Strong Ties – Depending on your situation…
  • If you are employed: submit your Certification of Employment (COE) and and Approved Leave of Absence
  • If you are self-employed: submit Photocopies of SEC registration, business registration, and income tax statements
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• Pledge of Support – If you have a sponsor/host, you must submit an authenticated invitation stating how your sponsor/host will cover the repatriation expenses should you not leave Romania upon expiry of your visa, as well as how your sponsor/host will shoulder your means of support and accommodation (in case they will also cover such or not).
  • I’m unsure if the authentication must be done by the Embassy of Romania in Manila or by the Embassy of Romania in your sponsor/host’s current residence. To be sure, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Consulate department of the Embassy to verify.
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• Driving Documents – Only if you plan to drive around Romania (as stated in your travel itinerary), you will need to submit your driver’s license.
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NOTE: It is possible that the Romanian Embassy may request for more information or additional documents from you which is apart from the basic requirements above — if they do, they will email you and ask you to submit it online (with appropriate instructions). For my case though, they didn’t ask for anything else (thankfully!).

Meanwhile, if you want assistance on making .PDF files, click the ‘+’ icon below to expand the following section…

Step 3: Wait and then attend your scheduled appointment
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After you finish the online application at the E-Visa Portal, your files will be sent to the Embassy for verification which will take about more or less a week (working days only).

When your files are approved by the Embassy, they will instruct you via email to book your preferred date for submitting hard copies of the documents you uploaded.

• Take note that you must submit the same documents you uploaded online together with the Visa Application Form. It’s advisable to print all documents on A4 paper.
• Do arrive on time for your chosen appointment; however, it is recommended that you do NOT arrive at the Embassy too early because it is possible that you will only be attended to around the time of your scheduled appointment.
• It is possible to have a representative or any third-party to submit your documents, and that person must have an authorization letter and a valid ID.

The Romanian Embassy’s address in Manila is as follows…

Embassy of Romania in the Philippines
150 Legazpi Street, G.C. Corporate Plaza
6th Floor, Legazpi Village
Makati City, Philippines
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +63 02 843 9014

The Consular section is only open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:00PM to 5:00PM. That being said, it’s important that you have all your documents printed out and ready in order to not waste time.

Once the consular officer accepts your application documents, you will need to pay the visa fee in USD currency which can range from $70 to $75 (depending on the dollar to euro conversion on that day – FYI, when I applied in May 2018, I paid $70). Please note that the visa fee is not refunded if ever your visa application is refused.

Finally, the officer will notify you as to what date you can return in order to claim your Romania visa application results.

Step 4: Get the results of your Romania visa application.
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Customarily, the processing time for a Romania visa can take between 7 to 14 days. Mine took 14 days.

Make sure that you take the payment receipt or slip (if provided) when claiming your passport.

To give you an idea of my application timeline…

• April 24: I submitted my documents via the E-Visa Portal
• May 4: I was notified by the Embassy that my documents were verified
• May 10: I attended my Romania visa application appointment
• May 24: I received my Romanian tourist visa!

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◘◘ How early can I apply for my Romania visa?
You should apply at least 30 days before your planned departure date.

◘◘ Will there be an interview?
I’m not entirely sure if it was the Ambassador that I talked to (I don’t think so), but it was a Romanian woman who interviewed me. Anyhow, the interview was brief and there were just basic questions such as why I am traveling to Romania, how long I’ll be staying, etc. Of course, the questions may vary depending on your circumstance but generally, there really are no difficult questions since they only want to know more about you and your trip.  So just be honest and concise.
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