The legal framework regarding the access of third-country nationals to the Romanian labour market has been substantially amended by the emergency ordinance (OUG) 32/2026, published in the Official Gazette on April 27.
The new regulation brings major changes in procedures, obligations for employers, and sanctions, and companies that use labour from outside the EU are required to completely reevaluate their internal processes, according to a review by lawyers from Pavel, Mărgărit și Asociații and Hațegan Attorneys published by Economica.net.
The normative act introduces the “List of Shortage Occupations”, the electronic platform Workinromania.gov.ro, mandatory contracts, financial guarantees, and a stricter sanctioning regime, being relevant both for labour law and for immigration procedures.
An important new element is the introduction of the “List of Shortage Occupations”, which conditions the initiation of procedures for hiring foreign workers on the inclusion of the occupation in this list. In practice, recruitment from third countries is allowed, depending on the inclusion of the occupation in the official list of shortage occupations, within an administrative mechanism for verifying the eligibility of applications.
iulian@romania-insider.com
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