Choosing the Right Immigration Partner for Non-EU Hiring in Romania

Since Government Emergency Ordinance No. 32/2026 reshaped how non-EU workers are hired in Romania, employers have gained a genuinely faster route to authorisation through WorkinRomania.gov.ro, the digital platform now integrated into the hub.mai.gov system. Applications that once meant separate visits to ITM, ANOFM, and IGI counters can now move through a single online workflow. But faster does not mean simpler. The platform still requires precise, correctly sequenced documentation, and a single missing annex or mismatched detail can stall a D/AM1 or D/AM2 file for weeks.

That gap between speed and substance is exactly where employers get into trouble. Faced with a new platform, tight hiring deadlines, and no in-house immigration expertise, many HR teams turn to whatever advice is closest at hand: a colleague's shared experience, a thread in an online forum, a tip from another company's HR manager who "did it this way last time." It feels efficient. It is often the opposite.

Ionut Cirdei, Head of Immigration Unit at Nestlers Group (linkedin.com/in/ionut-cirdei-70b50415), has flagged this pattern directly in recent commentary on the WorkinRomania rollout. His warning is not about the platform itself, but about what employers bring to it.

Why Forum Advice Is a Compliance Risk, Not a Shortcut

Every immigration case in Romania sits inside its own combination of variables: the worker's nationality, the employer's ANOFM authorisation history, the specific permit category, the occupation's shortage-list status, and the documents already on file with IGI. A solution that worked for one company in one set of circumstances does not transfer cleanly to another.

"An additional risk comes from information picked up in online groups, forums, or from people without professional training," Cirdei said. "A solution that worked in one particular case doesn't automatically become a general rule."

This is the core problem with informal advice. It is usually accurate for the case it came from and unreliable for every other case it gets applied to. An HR manager who successfully registered a D/AM1 highly skilled worker last quarter may share the exact document checklist they used, unaware that the next hire falls under D/AM2 quota rules, requires ANOFM employer authorisation, and needs an entirely different sequence of filings. The advice was correct once. Applied generally, it becomes a liability.

What WorkinRomania Actually Rewards

The platform was built to cut processing friction, not to remove the underlying compliance requirements. Every field submitted through WorkinRomania still has to match the underlying legal basis for the hire — the correct permit category, the employer's quota position under the 90,000-place national allocation, the bilingual contract template mandated under Order 655/2026, and the supporting evidence IGI and ANOFM expect to see behind each application.

"Our message is simple," Cirdei said. "WorkinRomania can bring real efficiency, but the result will always depend on the quality of the documents and information behind it."

In practice, that means the platform is only as good as the file an employer feeds into it. A clean, correctly assembled application moves through in a predictable timeframe. An application built on assumptions borrowed from someone else's case, or on outdated guidance from before GEO 32/2026, tends to bounce back with requests for clarification, corrected annexes, or resubmitted evidence — each round adding weeks to a hiring timeline that was supposed to be shortened.

What Separates a Professional Partner From Informal Help

The difference between a compliance-first partner and an ad hoc source of advice comes down to a few concrete practices, not general reassurance.

• Document verification before submission, not after rejection. A professional team reviews every application against the specific permit category and the employer's authorisation status before it reaches WorkinRomania, catching mismatches that would otherwise trigger a formal query from IGI or ANOFM.
• Deadline tracking across multiple institutions. Non-EU hiring in Romania touches IGI, ANOFM, and ITM on different timelines. A partner tracks all three in parallel so a delay at one institution doesn't cascade into a missed registration window at another.
• Direct working relationships with IGI and ANOFM. Understanding how a given regional office interprets a requirement, or what supporting evidence a caseworker typically asks for, comes from ongoing contact, not from a one-time forum post.
• Awareness of case-specific variables. Nationality, occupation, shortage-list status, and prior authorisation history all change which rules apply. A professional review accounts for these variables case by case rather than applying a template from an unrelated hire.
• Continuity when regulations shift. GEO 32/2026 will not be the last update to Romania's non-EU hiring framework. A partner that follows regulatory changes as they happen keeps an employer's process current, rather than leaving them to discover a rule change after a rejected application.

None of this replaces the platform. It is what makes the platform work as intended.

How Nestlers Group Supports Employers Choosing a Compliant Path

Nestlers Group's Immigration Advisory team conducts eligibility assessments and document preparation before any file reaches WorkinRomania, checking each case against the correct permit category, the employer's ANOFM authorisation position, and the specific evidence IGI expects for that occupation and nationality combination. The Work Permit and Visa Support team then manages the D/AM1 or D/AM2 application through to permit collection, maintaining direct contact with IGI and ANOFM throughout so that queries are resolved quickly rather than sitting in a queue. For employers who need the surrounding compliance handled as well, the Payroll and HR Compliance team registers contracts with ITM, files the required social security notifications, and keeps ANOFM quota tracking current against the 90,000-place national allocation. Employers weighing a shortcut against a properly built file are, in effect, choosing between one round of correct paperwork and several rounds of correction. Nestlers Group's role is to make sure it only takes one.

Sources: Government Emergency Ordinance No. 32/2026, Official Gazette No. 335, 27 April 2026; WorkinRomania.gov.ro platform documentation; Order 655/2026 on bilingual employment contract templates; Ionut Cirdei, Head of Immigration Unit, Nestlers Group, video commentary on WorkinRomania rollout, 2026; ANOFM quota and employer authorisation guidance, 2026.