Last updated: 12 February 2021
In line with the practice of other European countries, starting with February 12, 2021, at 00:00 o’clock, people arriving from countries / areas / territories with high epidemiological risk have the obligation to produce upon arrival in Romania the result of a negative RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2, taken less than 72 hours before the date of entry into the country.
The list of countries with high epidemiological risk, which now counts some 70 countries, is available HERE.
However, the authorities have provided for several exceptions in order to allow the entry into the Romanian territory of representatives of economic operators and people playing an important role in the life and activity of companies operating in Romania.
For the record, the state of alert has been extended from February 12, 2021 for a further 30-day term.
Here below there is a summary of the exceptions to the quarantine rule stated for the benefit of certain categories of professionals:
- Employees / representatives of Romanian economic operators who have travelled outside Romania to negotiate / sign commercial contracts / agreements, if they produce a negative SARS-CoV-2 test taken less than 48 hours before entering the national territory, as well as a document justifying the participation in the negotiation or signing of the contract / commercial agreement (National Committee for Emergency Situations (Romanian CNSU) Decision 36 of 21.07.2020 art. 3 paragraph (1)) letter z) ”;
- Employees of Romanian economic operators who carry out works outside the Romanian territory, if they produce proof of the contractual relations with the beneficiary located outside the national territory upon return to the country (CNSU Decision 36 of 21.07.2020 art. 3 para. (1) letter l)
- Representatives of foreign companies with subsidiaries / branches / representation offices or agencies in the national territory, if upon entering the Romanian territory they produce proof of the contractual relations with the economic entities residing in the national territory; (CNSU Decision 36 of 21.07.2020 art. 3 al. (1) letter m);
- People entering in Romania to carry out activities of use, installation, commissioning, maintenance, servicing of equipment and technologies in the medical, scientific, economic, defence, public order and national security, or transport fields, as well as people carrying out specific professional activities in the said fields, if they produce proof of the contractual / collaboration relations with the beneficiary (ies) on the territory of Romania, as well as the inspectors of international organizations (CNSU Decision 36 of 21.07.2020 art. 3 al. (1) letter n);
- Cross-border workers entering Romania from Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine or the Republic of Moldova, as well as Romanian citizens employed by economic operators from the aforementioned countries, who, upon entering the Romanian territory, produce proof of the contractual relations with the respective economic operators (art. 1, paragraph 4, letter l of CNSU Decision 6 of 04.02.2021, as amended by the CNSU Decision 7 of 04.02.2021);
- People arriving to Romania from countries / areas with high epidemiological risk, if their stay in the national territory is less than 3 days (72 hours) and produce a negative test for SARS-CoV-2, taken less than 48 hours before entering the Romanian territory;
- People who have received both doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, if there is a gap of at least 10 days between the date of the second dose and the date of entry into Romania. Proof of the anti-Covid-19 vaccination, including the date of administration of the second dose, is made by means of a document issued by the health service which administered it, in Romania or abroad (art. 1, paragraph 4, letter b) of the CNSU Decision 6 of 04.02.2021, as amended by the CNSU Decision 7 of 04.02.2021);
- People who have been confirmed positive for the infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus within the last 90 days before entering Romanian territory and for whom at least 14 days have passed from the date of confirmation until the entry into the country; proof thereof will be made with medical documents issued in this respect by the competent health authorities of the country of origin (art 1, paragraph 4, letter c) of CNSU Decision 6 of 04.02.2021, as amended by the CNSU Decision 7 of 04.02.2021);
- People traveling for professional purposes, proven by a visa, a residence permit or any other equivalent document, medical staff, researchers in the medical field, medical staff specializing in geriatric care, transporters and other categories of persons involved in the transportation of goods (Government Decision 3 of 12.01.2021 extending the state of alert in Romania, appendix 3 - art 2 paragraph (1) point 3 letter d).
Supporting documents to be produced upon entry in the Romanian territory
Despite the exceptions provided for by the Decisions of CNSU or of the Government, the law makes no express and specific mention of all the supporting documents that the person must present at the border, but rather indicate the general documents to be produced, such as for example - documents attesting the contractual relationship, etc.
Regarding the managers of companies entering the Romanian territory, it would be useful to be able to produce a Trade Registry excerpt proving, for example, that they are shareholders or partners in a Romanian company, or a certificate issued by the company proving of their status as CEO of the company and the essential nature of their presence in the workplace in Romania.
Likewise, for people who carry out commissioning, service or maintenance jobs, it would be necessary to present both a certificate proving the fact that they are employees of the service provider, and a short description of the assignment, as well as an extract from the service provisioning contract, stating the parties and the object of the contract, any deadlines to be observed, etc.
Nonetheless, each case should be assessed individually in order to identify the necessary documents enabling the enforcement of one of the exceptions provided for by the texts currently in force.