How to get moldovan citizenship – Grounds and required documents

As an introduction, it should be noted that at the moment, we are seeing an significant increase in migration processes around the world.

The reason for all this, among other things, is the relocation of citizens to other countries in connection with professional activities, doing business, for family reasons, marriage with a citizen of another country as example , etc.
This process naturally affects the Republic of Moldova as well. Accordingly, a person who decides to move to Moldova will sooner or later think about obtaining citizenship, since citizenship provides a number of advantages for living in the country.

Moldova is an actively developing country, therefore, economic and migration processes are developing very quickly, and thus, Moldovan citizenship becomes more attractive to an increasing number of people.
Obtaining Moldovan citizenship gives you the opportunity to experience all the benefits of living in the country and to be a full member of the Moldovan society.
In addition, having obtained citizenship of Moldova, you automatically get the right to travel freely to 122 countries of the world and stay on the territory of these countries for 3 months every six months.

What is moldovan citizenship

In general terms, citizenship is a legal relationship between a person and the state, expressed in the totality of their mutual rights, duties and responsibilities.
Moldovan citizenship, in turn, determines a permanent political-legal relationship between the person and the country, a relationship that gives rise to mutual rights and obligations.
If the person holds Moldovan citizenship, it is preserved both on the territory of the country and abroad.
An identity card (ID card), passport, birth certificate (if we are talking about a child) or a certificate issued by the competent authorities of the country, are the documents that confirms citizenship of Moldova.

Moldova citizenship requirements

A foreigner can obtain Moldovan citizenship if fulfil the following requirements:

By birth

In order for a child to be recognized as a citizen of the Republic of Moldova, the following requirements must be met:
a) born of parents, both or one of whom, at the time of the child’s birth, is a citizen of the Republic of Moldova;
b) born on the territory of the Republic of Moldova to stateless parents or beneficiaries of international protection;
c) born on the territory of the Republic of Moldova to parents who have the citizenship of another state, or one of whom is stateless or a beneficiary of international protection, and the other is a foreign citizen – if, at the time of submitting the application, at least one of the parents has the right of residence or benefits from international protection granted by the competent authorities of the Republic of Moldova or is recognized as stateless by the competent authorities of the Republic of Moldova, as well as if the child meets the legal conditions to be recognized as stateless.

By recognition

Persons who have expressed their desire to become citizens of the Republic of Moldova and meet the following requirements are recognized as citizens of the Republic of Moldova:
a) persons born abroad who have at least one of their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents born on the territory of the Republic of Moldova;
b) the people who until June 28, 1940 lived in Bessarabia, in the North of Bucovina, in Herţa county and in R.A.S.S.M., their descendants;
c) persons deported or refugees from the territory of the Republic of Moldova starting with June 28, 1940, as well as their descendants;
d) persons who on June 23, 1990 lived legally and habitually on the territory of the Republic of Moldova and who continue to live today.

By adoption

The stateless child automatically acquires the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova through adoption if the adoptive parents (adoptive parent) are citizens of the Republic of Moldova.
On the citizenship of the stateless child adopted by spouses, one of whom is a citizen of the Republic of Moldova, and the other a foreign citizen, the adoptive parents decide by mutual agreement. If the adoptive parents do not agree, the court will decide on the child’s belonging to the Republic of Moldova, taking into account his interests. In the case of a child who has reached the age of 14, his consent, authenticated by a notary, is required.
The foreign citizen child adopted by spouses, both or only one of them being a citizen of the Republic of Moldova, or one being a citizen of the Republic of Moldova and the other foreign citizen or stateless, can become a citizen of the Republic of Moldova if he renounces the citizenship of the foreign state, except for the cases provided by the international agreements to which the Republic of Moldova is a party.

By recovery

The person who previously had the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova can regain it upon request, keeping, if he wishes, his foreign citizenship.

By naturalization

Citizenship of the Republic of Moldova can be granted upon request to a foreign citizen or a stateless person with a legal residence on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, who complies with the provisions of the Constitution, has passed the test to assess the level of knowledge of the Romanian language and has legal sources of income, in compliance with one of the following requirements:
a) resides on the territory of the Republic of Moldova for at least the last 10 years. For stateless persons, refugees and beneficiaries of humanitarian protection and political asylum, the respective term is 8 years;
b) resides on the territory of the Republic of Moldova for 5 years before reaching the age of 18;
c) is married to a citizen of the Republic of Moldova for at least 3 years and has been continuously domiciled on the territory of the Republic of Moldova for the last 3 years;
d) has resided on the territory of the Republic of Moldova for the last 3 years with parents or children (including adoptive parents or adopted children) citizens of the Republic of Moldova.

Documents needed to obtain moldova citizenship

Depending on the grounds on which you want to obtain Moldovan citizenship, the list of required documents may be different, but in general, the following documents are required:
a) the application; (depending on the grounds for obtaining citizenship, it can be addressed both to the President of the country, as well as to the Public Services Agency)
a1) identity document;
a2) civil status certificates (vital records). Depending on the grounds of the application, these may be marriage certificates, divorce certificates, birth certificates, etc.
a3) documents confirming legal and permanent residence;
a4) police clearance certificate;
b) autobiography;
c) a certificate from the place of residence of the applicant indicating the composition of his family;
d) confirmation of payment of the state duty or consular fee, as well as the established tariff for the provision of services;
e) four photos 4.5×3.5 cm;
g) other documents. (In some cases, employees of the Public Services Agency may request additional documents)

The listed above documents must be provided in Romanian.

Where to submit documents for obtaining moldovan citizenship

If you submit an application for the granting or recovery of Moldovan citizenship, the application it is addressed to the President of the country and must be submitted in person or through a representative, who will represent your interests on the basis of powers given by power of attorney (POA).
The application accompanied by the set of necessary documents is submitted to the territorial structure of the Public Services Agency within the radius of which you are domiciled or, if desired, directly to the Public Services Agency. If you legally and permanently reside abroad, the application is submitted to the diplomatic mission or consular office of the Republic of Moldova, or to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.

If you submit an application for the recognition of the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova, it is addressed to the Public Services Agency. Application can be submitted in person, or through an representative, on basis of a power of attorney authenticated by a notary, to the territorial office of the Agency, within the range of your residence or, on your decision, directly to Public Services Agency. If you are legal and permanently domiciled abroad, the application can be submitted to the diplomatic mission or consular office of the Republic of Moldova, or to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.

How long does it take to get moldovan citizenship after you apply?

Applications for granting and recovery the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova are examined within a period of up to one year, and the term for examining requests for the recognition of citizenship cannot exceed 6 months.
In the case of examination of requests for the granting of citizenship through naturalization, the term can be extended by no more than 6 months.

The above terms start to run from the date of submission of all the necessary documents for the granting, recognition or recovery of Moldovan citizenship.

When do you become a citizen of the republic of Moldova

If, as a result of the positive examination of the application regarding the granting, recognition or recovery of citizenship, the corresponding decree of the President was signed, the person referred to in the decree, within 6 months from the date of its entry into force, will take the oath of allegiance to the Republic of Moldova in front of the district chairman or the mayor of the municipality or, as the case may be, in front of the head of the diplomatic mission or the consular office of the Republic of Moldova.
The citizenship of the Republic of Moldova is acquired on the date of taking the oath.

Legal aid in procedure of obtaining moldovan citizenship

You can contact us if you need to:

– get advice from a lawyer on issues related to the grounds for obtaining citizenship of Moldova, as well as the documents required to start the procedure;
– apply to the authorized bodies to obtain civil status documents, vital records and archival certificates by power of attorney on your behalf;
– represent your interests in court in order to restore civil status documents;
– represent your interests in court to establish facts of legal significance, such as kinship ties, the fact of birth, marriage or divorce, death, etc.;
– registration in the civil status registry of Moldova of documents issued outside of Moldova after August 17, 2001, such as birth, marriage, divorce certificates;
– obtain a certificate of non-conviction (criminal clearance certificate) in the Republic of Moldova;
– obtain copies of court decisions;
– certify (appostile) all necessary documents;
– prepare and submit on your behalf a application and all documents for obtaining Moldovan citizenship.

Why to choose us

Unlike many private businesses that propose citizenship services, we are licensed attorneys. This means that as professionals we have the necessary knowledge and experience in this area.
The lawyer can initially foresee situations, in which it will be necessary to appeal certain actions or inactions of the authorities, appeal their decisions in courts, restore the necessary document in court or establish a fact that has legal significance, which private enterprises cannot do.
In addition to the above, you should note that, besides to all other legislative acts regulating the relationship between subjects of law, the relationship between lawyers and the client, are also regulated by the Law of the Republic of Moldova on Advocacy.

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