Published in the Official Gazette on November 7, 2018, it entered into force on November 10, 2018.
Why is it important and what impact will it take?
The main purpose of the law is the modification and completion of the Government Emergency Ordinance no.194 / 2002 and the Government Ordinance no. (EU) 2016/801 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for research, education, vocational training, voluntary service, pupil exchange programs or educational projects and au pair work.
The most important amendments are:
- The reference salary changes from the previous variants to the minimum basic salary per country guaranteed in payment;
- Only 2 gross average salaries instead of 4 as required by previous legislation will be needed to apply and extend the right to work for highly qualified workers;
- Simplify the procedure for obtaining the work permits for permanent workers by eliminating the procedure for obtaining the certificate of recognition of studies from the Ministry of National Education;
- It regulates entry and stay for scientific research activities;
- It regulates the notion of au pair worker;
- Half the fees for obtaining work permits from € 200 to € 100, and from € 50 to € 25 respectively.
In Romania, the labor force crisis has greatly increased in recent years and according to some estimates, in the year 2017, about 70,000 thousand Romanians left the country to work in another EU country.
As a result, more and more Romanian or foreign companies, especially in the production sector and HoReCa, have come to refuse orders or even close their doors because they do not find enough employees.
There are some economic areas (such as Timisoara, Cluj, Bucharest) that suffer the most because of this labor shortage, companies in these parts of the country looking to implement some sort of solutions to solve their problems.
Thus, many companies have increasingly recruited to work outside the European Union to cover their vacancies.
Promulgation of the law no. 247/2018 will have a positive impact on the private environment, reducing the thresholds and simplifying the employment of foreigners in Romania.
At the same time, the changes will increase the contribution of third-country nationals, both in the deficient private sector (HoReCa, IT, automotive, construction, retail and service centers) and in the area of specialists and development researchers.
