With the increasing influx of foreign citizens coming to work in Romania, the issue of declaring and paying taxes to the state for these individuals has emerged. We have noticed a high level of unfamiliarity with the necessary procedures, so we have decided to write this article to provide the necessary clarifications.
Obtaining a complete set of information and following the legal procedures can be done by scheduling an appointment on the website https://doctorbiz.ro/.
From a human resources legislation perspective, we have two types of foreigners who can come to work in our country:
- European Union citizens who have automatic work rights in our country, or citizens of other non-EU countries for which Romania has laws granting them full or limited work rights (e.g., Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, etc.).
- Citizens from countries that do not have work rights in Romania.
For point 1, the procedure is simple: these individuals can come to work in our country without any issues. An individual employment contract is concluded, and it is declared in the Revisal system.
For point 2, the procedure involves obtaining a work permit from the Romanian authorities and must be completed before the arrival of the employee in the country.
From a fiscal point of view, after registering the employment contract and declaring it in the Revisal system, the employee must go to the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) – Individuals and obtain a Tax Identification Number (NIF).
The NIF can be obtained by completing Form 030, also known as the “Declaration of Fiscal Registration/Statement of Amendments/Cancellation Declaration for individuals who do not have a personal identification number (CNP),” and attaching the corresponding supporting documents for the information provided in the declaration.
To access Form 030, you can download it from the ANAF website, under the “Taxpayer Assistance” or “Declaration of Tax Obligations” section, where you will find a list of all available forms, accompanied by explanations. Form 030 can be submitted in one of the following ways:
- Directly, in person or through a representative, fiscal representative, or fiscal curator, at the tax office that has jurisdiction over the fiscal domicile of the representative or fiscal curator.
- In the case of non-resident individuals who only earn income subject to withholding tax (e.g., copyright royalties, dividend tax, etc.), and the withheld tax is final (e.g., income from salaries, dividends, royalties, etc.), the form can be submitted by the income payer at the tax office within whose territorial jurisdiction the income payer’s fiscal domicile is located.
The following supporting documents are required to obtain the NIF:
- Copy of a valid passport (EU citizens can attach a copy of a valid passport or national identity document).
- Copy of the identity card.
- Original power of attorney or a certified copy thereof, for taxpayers who have the obligation or choose to appoint a representative or for whom a fiscal curator is appointed in accordance with the law.
- Appointment document of a fiscal representative and the decision approving the status of fiscal representative, for taxpayers registering for VAT purposes through a fiscal representative.
- Document proving the reason for requesting the NIF (e.g., copy of the employment contract, copy of the property lease agreement in Romania, self-declaration justifying the request, such as vehicle registration, acquisition of assets, etc.).
- Any other documents requested by the tax authority depending on the specific requirements of each fiscal registration application.
Documents drafted in a foreign language must be accompanied by certified translations into Romanian by authorized translators. The tax authority will keep the Romanian translations and certified copies of the submitted documents, while the original documents will be returned to the applicant.
Form 030 must be submitted within 30 days from the date of obtaining the first income or from the occurrence of the relevant event. Practically, considering the need for companies to report the income earned by employees through Form 112, obtaining the NIF is necessary by the deadline for submitting the Form 112, which is the 25th of the following month.
If there have been changes to the previously declared information, the non-resident individual must submit Form 030, selecting the “Statement of Amendments” option, within 15 days from the date of the changes. In the “Statement of Amendments,” all sections must be completed with the valid data at the time of declaration, regardless of whether they have been previously declared.
The cancellation declaration is completed when canceling the fiscal registration following the allocation of the personal identification number (CNP) in accordance with legal provisions.
Non-resident individuals employed in Romania with an employment contract must register for taxation and obtain a Tax Identification Number (NIF) until they obtain a document issued by the General Inspectorate for Immigration that assigns them a Personal Identification Number (CNP).
Once the mentioned document is issued, the tax authority will replace the NIF with the CNP in the tax records. Therefore, the CNP becomes the main fiscal identifier for non-resident individuals in Romania instead of the NIF.
Note: The transition from NIF to CNP is not automatic at the moment; the taxpayer must submit a request to ANAF to switch from NIF to CNP and have all the amounts paid under the NIF transferred to the CNP. Subsequently, Form 030 must be submitted again to cancel the NIF.
Note: The text is valid as of its publication date, it is for informational purposes only, and represents an interpretation by the specialists at Cont Consulting. It is not intended to replace current legal provisions. We are not responsible for any damages caused by the use of this material for legal purposes or as evidence in any potential litigation.
