Hire in Romania: A Comprehensive Guide for 2026

Introduction

Hiring remote employees in Romania means working within the Codul Muncii, Romania's Labor Code, which requires a written employment contract concluded in Romanian.

Foreign companies cannot run local payroll directly, so they must employ through a registered local entity or an employer of record (EOR) that holds the legal employment relationship and files with the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF).

Registering a local entity through the National Trade Register Office takes weeks to months and needs a Romanian bank account before anyone is on payroll. Hiring contractors looks lighter, but under the Labor Code, a contractor who works set hours under your direction can be reclassified as an employee, which leaves you liable for back-dated social insurance and health contributions, unpaid statutory benefits, and penalties.

In this guide, we cover the three ways to hire remote employees in Romania, what each option costs, the employment laws that shape every hire, and the challenges to plan for before you start.

How to hire remote employees in Romania?

The most pressing question you have been waiting for is how to hire employees efficiently and successfully in Romania.

Well, there are primarily three main ways of global hiring in this country. They include:

• Setting up a local entity
• Hiring employees via EOR
• Hiring employees via AOR

Let’s take a closer look at what these three methods entail.

Setting up a local entity

Contact the National Trade Register Office to set up a local entity in Romania. The Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry organizes it. This process is usually highly time-consuming and expensive. It is suitable for enterprises that wish to hire many employees in Romania.

How to hire employees through EOR in Romania?

Setting up a local entity in Romania means registering with the National Trade Register Office, opening a Romanian bank account, and committing to ongoing monthly Form D112 filings with ANAF (National Agency for Fiscal Administration), a process that can take weeks to months before your first hire is on payroll.

Skuad helps remove that dependency. Skuad acts as the legal employer in Romania, so your company can hire, onboard, and pay employees without entity setup, local legal counsel, or in-house Romanian payroll infrastructure.

Here is what Skuad helps with:

• Employment contract generation across 160+ countries, aligned with local labor laws and statutory requirements
• Statutory contribution workflows across supported markets, covering applicable social insurance and pension obligations
• Payroll processing in 70+ currencies with accurate tax withholding and statutory deductions
• Statutory benefit administration, including paid leave and parental entitlements in line with local requirements
• Termination and offboarding support aligned with local labor requirements across supported markets
• Background verification covering identity, employment history, and criminal records before onboarding

Book a demo to see how quickly Skuad can onboard your first Romania hire

How to hire contractors through AOR in Romania?

Leveraging the services of an AOR (Agent of Record) can be a wise decision when you wish to hire independent contractors in Romania.

They serve as a point of contact for local government authorities, managing all paperwork and compliance inquiries.

Some significant benefits of hiring in Romania via an AOR include local compliance expertise, risk mitigation, flexibility, and control.

Hiring contractors in Romania carries classification risk. Under the Labor Code, a contractor who works set hours under your direction can be treated as an employee, which exposes you to back-dated CAS (Contribuția de Asigurări Sociale translates to social insurance contribution) and CASS (Contribuția de Asigurări Sociale de Sănătate translates to health insurance contribution) contributions, unpaid statutory benefits, and penalties.

An Agent of Record helps reduce that exposure. Through Skuad's AOR and contractor management solution, you can engage contractors in Romania on compliant terms, or move them onto employment where the relationship requires it, without carrying the classification risk yourself.

Here is what Skuad helps with:

• Locally compliant contractor agreements that reduce misclassification exposure across supported markets
• Worker classification checks that flag risk before a contract is signed
• Invoice generation, approval workflows, and payment processing in local currency
• Multi-currency contractor payouts across 70+ currencies with no manual reconciliation
• Contractor records, contracts, and payment history in a single dashboard alongside full-time employees
• Support for converting a contractor to full-time employment through Skuad's EOR when the relationship changes

Compare AOR and contractor pricing for your Romania hires

What is the cost of hiring remote employees in Romania?

The cost of hiring remote employees in Romania is rarely just the salary you agree on. Between statutory contributions, the hiring method you pick, and the setup work behind the scenes, the actual cost can look quite different from the offer letter. Here is how those costs break down:

Romania's employee cost structure is complicated, with lighter employer-side costs, around 2.25% labor insurance contribution (CAM), compared to the employee side, with 25% pension (CAS), 10% health (CASS), and a flat 10% income tax withheld from gross pay.

Skuad's employee cost calculator helps you estimate the full cost of employing someone in Romania up front, so you can budget against total cost of employment rather than base salary.

Estimate the total cost of your Romania hire

What are the employment laws in Romania?

The Romanian Labor Code (Law no. 53/2003) is the primary legislation governing the employee-employer relationship in Romania. It covers the core aspects of employment, including the following:

• Article 164 of the Labor Code (minimum wage): The national minimum gross basic wage, corresponding to the normal work schedule, is set by Government decision after consulting trade unions and employers' organisations. An employer cannot agree a wage below this level, and must guarantee a monthly gross wage at least equal to it.
• Article 112 of the Labor Code (working time): For full-time employees, the normal working time is 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. For young people under 18, it is 6 hours per day and 30 hours per week.
• Occupational health and safety (Title V, Articles 175 to 191): The employer must ensure employees' safety and health in every aspect of work, assess and prevent occupational risks, provide safety training before work begins, and insure employees against workplace accidents and occupational diseases. Employers with at least 50 employees must set up a labour safety and health committee.
• Employment contracts and conditions (Articles 16 and 17): The individual labour contract must be concluded in writing, in Romanian, and signed before the employee starts work, with the written form being the employer's responsibility. Under Article 17, it must state the essential elements, including the job description and duties, the normal working hours per day and week, the basic wage and pay periodicity, the rest leave, the notice periods, and the contract duration for fixed-term roles. The contract must also be registered in the general register of employees (REGES-Online) and sent to the territorial labour inspectorate no later than the day before work begins.

What are the challenges of hiring in Romania?

While Romania is undoubtedly an ideal spot for global hiring, it also has unique challenges. You must create strategic ways to navigate global hiring and ensure you hire by following the defined labor laws.  

Let’s start with the challenges:

1. Compliance with employment laws

The primary employment regulation in Romania is the Romanian Labor Code.  These laws cover aspects like hours, time off, and worker rights. They're often changing, which makes it hard to keep up.

Some of the key provisions of the Romanian Labor Code include,

• Overtime is generally not allowed.
• In situations where employees are required to work beyond the standard working hours, they need to be compensated with paid leave within 90 days.
• Employees are entitled to 20 days of annual paid earned leave, 180 days of sick leave, and 17 public holidays per year.
• The minimum notice duration before and after the probationary period includes 20 working days.

If you fail to follow these rules, you could get in trouble and pay fines. That's why it's important for you or any business to get help understanding and following Romanian labor laws.

You might need experts to guide you through the process and make sure you are doing everything right.

2. Payroll

Apart from the employment laws, you also need to be aware of the payroll system in Romania. It includes provisions like social security contributions, minimum wage, and others. One of the biggest issues with payroll processing is tax payment.

You can have the perfect administrative team to handle all hiring tasks. However, if you do not have the legal expertise to comply with Romania's payroll policies, all these efforts will be of no value. Instead, they will cost you legal repercussions and hefty penalties.

3. Currency mismatch

Romania is not a member of the Eurozone, meaning that all transactions in this country are made in the official currency, which is the Romanian Leu (RON, lei).

This can turn out to be a potential disadvantage for companies, as most organizations and consumers have debt denominated in euros, and major purchases are often priced in euros.

This currency mismatch can result in higher transaction costs and enhanced vulnerability to exchange rate fluctuations, thereby impacting the financial stability and planning of your organization.

4. Complicated Visa application process

Employers often find the visa application process in Romania difficult to navigate, as it features unique immigration rules and regulations.

For example, while most countries only require a work permit or work visa, the same does not apply to Romania.

In Romania, you need to possess separate documents with different application procedures to obtain a work visa.

Romania's immigration process is more involved than a single work visa. Non-EU hires typically need a work permit secured by the employer first, followed by a long-stay employment visa, and then a residence permit after arrival, each with its own documentation and timeline.

Skuad supports the work permit process on your behalf, including:

• Supporting work permit and long-stay work visa applications for foreign employees joining your team
• Helping coordinate visa documentation with the relevant Romanian immigration authorities
• Assisting with residence and work permit conversions as required by local immigration law
• Helping track documentation requirements and deadlines across the full permit lifecycle
• Helping keep your team aligned with compliance requirements as permit renewals and rules change

Hire in Romania without setting up an entity

Hiring in Romania gives you access to a deep, cost-competitive talent pool, especially in tech and engineering. Contracts must be in Romanian and registered in REGES-Online before day one. Payroll runs monthly via D112 filings with ANAF.

Employer and employee contributions must be calculated correctly. Non-EU hires need a work permit, visa, and residence permit in sequence.

An employer of record gives you a way into the market without registering a local entity or building Romanian payroll and HR from scratch. Skuad acts as the legal employer in Romania, so you can hire, onboard, and pay your team while staying aligned with the Labor Code as it changes.

Companies across SaaS, technology, engineering, and professional services use Skuad to enter the Romanian market and scale their teams there. Whether you are making your first hire or growing an existing team, Skuad supports the contracts, payroll, and compliance work behind every Romania hire.

Book a demo to see how quickly Skuad can onboard your first Romania hire

FAQs

1. What is an employer of record in Romania?

An employer of record in Romania is a licensed local company that acts as the legal employer of your workers, signing the Romanian-language employment contract, registering it in REGES-Online, and filing CAS, CASS, and income tax, so you can hire without setting up a local entity.

2. How much does an employer of record in Romania cost?

EOR service fees in Romania generally run from around $99 to $600 per employee each month, depending on the provider. On top of that, employer statutory costs are low by EU standards, mainly the 2.25% labor insurance contribution (CAM) on gross salary.

3. Can a foreign company hire in Romania without a local entity?

Foreign companies can typically hire in Romania through an EOR without registering with the National Trade Register Office, since the EOR holds the legal employment relationship and registers each contract in REGES-Online. Setting up your own entity usually takes weeks to several months by comparison.

4. What compliance risks should employers know about in Romania?

Employment contracts must be in Romanian and registered in REGES-Online before the first working day, and late registration can trigger fines up to RON 20,000 per employee. Misclassifying a contractor who works set hours under your direction also risks back-dated contributions and penalties.

5. Is an EOR or a local entity better for hiring in Romania?

It usually depends on scale and timeline. An EOR generally suits smaller or early-stage teams, since it avoids the weeks-to-months of registering an entity with the National Trade Register Office. A local entity tends to make sense once headcount justifies running Romanian payroll and D112 filings in-house.

6. How long does it take to onboard an employee in Romania through an EOR?

Onboarding through an EOR in Romania generally takes a few days to two weeks, once the Romanian-language contract is signed and registered in REGES-Online before the start date. Hiring a non-EU national who needs a work visa and permit usually extends that timeline considerably.