Romanian citizenship language requirement: B1, who is exempt, and the 2027 deadline

Applications to be granted or to regain Romanian citizenship under Articles 8, 10 and 11 of Legea 21/1991 (Law 21/1991, the Romanian citizenship law) require a certificate showing Romanian at B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The requirement was introduced by Legea 14/2025. The deadline for filing the certificate was then extended by one year through OUG 16/2026, a government emergency ordinance published on 13 March 2026, so it now runs to March 2027. If the certificate is not filed by then, the application is rejected. Three groups are exempt: former Romanian citizens themselves, applicants aged 65 or over, and children included in a parent’s application. Descendants applying in their own right are not exempt.

This last point is the one most readers need. If you are, for example, a grandchild applying under Article 10 or a great-grandchild applying under Article 11, the certificate is part of your application.

What level of Romanian does B1 mean?

B1 is an intermediate level rather than fluency. On the Common European Framework scale it sits in the middle: at B1 you can manage the situations of everyday life, follow a straightforward conversation on familiar subjects, describe events and explain a plan. It does not require the kind of Romanian used in legal or professional settings.

For an adult starting from the beginning and studying regularly, reaching B1 usually takes months rather than weeks. It tends to take less time for people who already know Italian, Spanish, French or Portuguese, because Romanian is a Romance language and much of its vocabulary and grammar will look familiar.

The certificate does have to show B1 or higher. A certificate at A1 or A2 is below the required level, so for the purposes of the application it counts the same as having no certificate.

The deadline and why it was extended

When Legea 14/2025 introduced the requirement, it included a transitional period. Applicants could lodge their file first and supply the language certificate later, within a year.

That period was due to end in March 2026. It was extended because the institutions that issue these certificates could not examine everyone who needed to be examined in time: many of them hold sessions only in person, and demand was higher than their capacity. On 13 March 2026 the government published OUG 16/2026, which extended the period by a further year.

A note on the exact date. Official sources give the final day as either 14 or 15 March 2027, depending on how the two-year period is counted from the date the law came into force. In practice this difference does not change much, because the safest plan is to have your certificate well before the final week. An examination session booked in good time matters more than knowing which of the two days is the last one.

Some English-language guidance still refers to the original March 2026 deadline. That information is now a year out of date, and a reader relying on it might wrongly conclude that the window has already closed.

Who is exempt, and how the exemption is commonly misread

Three groups do not have to provide the certificate:

• Former Romanian citizens themselves, meaning the person who once held Romanian citizenship and is now applying to regain it.
• Applicants aged 65 or over at the time of filing.
• Children included in a parent’s application.

The first group is the one that is most often misunderstood. The exemption belongs to the person who was a citizen, not to the family line that descends from them. This means that a grandchild or great-grandchild who applies in their own right under Article 10 or Article 11 is not in any of the three groups and needs the certificate.

It is easy to read “former citizens are exempt” and assume the phrase also covers their descendants, so it is worth being clear that it does not.

How can you take the B1 exam from abroad?

The certificate has to be issued by an accredited body: the Institute of the Romanian Language, the Romanian Cultural Institute, or an accredited Romanian university. A certificate from a language school that is not accredited will not be accepted, even if the teaching itself was good, so it is worth checking the issuing body before you enrol.

From the United States or Israel there are two practical options. The Institute of the Romanian Language runs sessions that can be taken from home over a video link, and for most applicants abroad this is the most convenient choice. Romanian Cultural Institute branches also hold examinations, usually together with a local university; in the United States the nearest branch is in New York. Not every branch holds examinations every year, and sessions depend on each branch’s resources. In practice, therefore, the main limit is the availability of session dates rather than the distance.

This is also the reason the deadline was extended in the first place. Because examination capacity was the problem, it makes sense to book a session early rather than count on there being places near the end.

What if your application is already lodged?

The transitional period was designed for exactly this situation. Your application remains valid, and the certificate is supplied within the period. The application ends only if the period passes without the certificate being filed.

If someone is handling your file, it is a good idea to confirm with them the date by which your certificate needs to be submitted and to keep it in your own calendar as well. This is the one date in the process where the consequence follows automatically, without any further decision, so it helps if everyone involved has it written down.

Where the language requirement fits in the wider picture

The language requirement applies to applications. It does not apply when there is nothing to apply for: if the chain of citizenship in your family was never broken, you are already a Romanian citizen, and the procedure is confirmation of a status you already hold, with no exam involved.

For this reason the order of steps matters. Before enrolling in a course, it is worth finding out which of the three positions applies to you, as explained in Article 10 or Article 11, or neither. Studying for B1 can take the better part of a year, so it is sensible to know whether you need it before you begin.

Where to start

If your route is Article 10 or Article 11 and you are under 65, you will need the certificate, and the remaining time is limited. A practical approach is to book an examination session first and then assemble the file, because the two can run in parallel and the family documents usually take longer to obtain than expected. When the file is ready, it is submitted in person, either in Bucharest or at a Romanian consulate.

While you are studying, we can tell you which records your case needs and what obtaining them costs. The language preparation and the document work do not depend on each other, so neither has to wait for the other to be finished.