Author
In Romania, asylum applications are registered by IGI-DAI within 3 working days if submitted directly to IGI and within 6 days if filed with other authorities such as the Border Police, police staff in detention centres, or the National Administration of Penitentiaries within the Ministry of Justice.[1] In cases of high number of applications, registration can take up to 10 working days.[2]
At border crossings, detention centres, or units subordinated to the National Administration of Penitentiaries within the Ministry of Justice, applications are recorded in special registers before being sent to the Regional Centres for Asylum applicants, along with any relevant documents.[3] At the border, applicants fill out a form in a language they understand, receive information on their rights via an interpreter, and their application is sent to IGI-DAI.[4] If submitted at an airport or land border, the application is accompanied by details such as arrival time, documents, and accompanying persons.[5]
In 2024 IGI-DAI mentioned that only few asylum applicants have their claim assessed in border procedures, as this can be applied only for those applying for asylum at border crossing points. Those who apply for asylum after being apprehended in the context of an irregular crossing are instead brought to centres on the territory.[6] This is also reflected in the low number of cases processed under the border procedure, with only 45 applications examined in this framework in 2023 and 24 in 2025.
There is no legal time limit for filing an asylum application, and authorities cannot reject an application solely due to the fact it was submitted late.[7] Once an application is registered in IGI-DAI’s database, the applicant is fingerprinted, photographed, and issued a temporary identity document, which is periodically renewed.[8]
For unaccompanied minors, applications are recorded in a special register, but they can only be formally lodged after a legal representative is appointed. If a minor applies through an authority other than IGI-DAI, they are immediately transferred to a competent Regional Centre.[9]
In 2024, there were 2467 asylum applications, marking a 76% decrease compared to the previous year.[10] In 2025, there was a total of 1199 asylum applications, marking a 48.6% decrease compared to 2024.[11]
There were no cases where IGI-DAI refused to have the asylum application lodged. Applicants receive a plastic temporary identity document containing a photograph, personal details and a registration number, similar to a residence permit, which replaced the previous paper format in 2021.[12]
EUAA involvement
In March 2022, the EUAA signed its first operational plan with Romania, within the context of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and subsequent displacement. A new operating plan was signed in December 2022 to cover the year 2023.[13] In December 2023, the 2023 operational plan was amended and extended until 31 December 2024.[14] In December 2024, the EUAA and Romania agreed on an operational plan for 2025-2026, with support in temporary protection, asylum procedures and reception.[15]
In 2025, the EUAA deployed 56 experts in Romania,[16] mostly external experts (38) and Member State experts (16). The majority of these experts were access to asylum procedures expert (17), asylum registration experts (16), junior asylum registration experts (15) and case experts (9) as well as other programme and support staff.[17]
As of 15 December 2025, there were 30 EUAA experts present in Romania, out of which 17 were access to asylum procedures experts, 5 asylum procedures experts, 3 asylum registration experts, 2 roving team, 2 reception and site management experts and one programme and project management expert.[18]
In 2025, the number of lodged asylum applications registered with the support of EUAA personnel in Romania decreased to 219 (down from 933 in 2024). 79% of these related to the same 10 citizenships, mainly of nationals from Syria (85), Sudan (31) and Palestine (11).[19]
In 2025, the EUAA carried out 30,953 registrations for temporary protection in Romania, an increase from 23,820 in 2024.[20] Nevertheless, Romania remained by far the country where the EUAA registered the highest number of persons under temporary protection in 2024. This total includes both new TPD registrations (71% of the total) and registrations of beneficiaries concerning extensions of protection (29%).
In 2025, the EUAA delivered 19 training sessions to a total of 203 local staff members.[21]
[1] Article 36^1(2) Asylum Act, citing Article 35 Asylum Act.
[2] ibid.
[3] ibid. Article 38(5) citing Article 35.
[4] Information provided by Border Police, 27 August 2018.
[5] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 21 August 2018.
[6] Meeting with the General Inspectorate for Immigration – Asylum and Integration Directorate during ECRE fact-finding visit to Romania, 18 March 2025.
[7] Article 36(3) Asylum Act. Article 13(3) Asylum Act.
[8] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 21 August 2018.
[9] Article 39(3) – (4) Asylum Act. Information provided by IGI-DAI, 21 August 2018.
[10] ibid., January 2025.
[11] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 02 March 2026.
[12] A template can be found here.
[13] EUAA, Operational Plan 2023 agreed by the European Union Agency for Asylum and Romania, December 2022, available here.
[14] ibid.
[15] ibid.
[16] EUAA personnel numbers do not include deployed interpreters by the EUAA in support of asylum and reception activities.
[17] Information provided by the EUAA, 05 March 2026. In the course of 2025, 16 persons were deployed in Romania under two different profiles. These cases are reported separately under each category.
[18] Information provided by the EUAA, 05 March 2026.
[19] ibid.
[20] ibid.
[21] ibid.