Diploma Recognition and Qualification Matching for Highly Skilled Workers and ICT Permits in Romania: An Employer Compliance Guide

When a Romanian employer files a highly skilled worker case or an intra-corporate transferee (ICT) permit, the strength of the file rests as much on the candidate's paper trail as on the job offer itself. Immigration officers and the WorkinRomania platform are not simply confirming that a diploma exists. They are checking whether the qualification, the professional experience, and the position being offered tell one consistent story. When they do not, the file is delayed, sent back for clarification, or rejected outright, and the employer loses weeks it usually does not have.

This is not a bureaucratic formality that can be handled after the fact. Under Government Emergency Ordinance No. 32/2026, which restructured Romania's foreign labour market access rules and introduced the D/AM1 long-stay employment visa for highly skilled workers, employers remain responsible for ensuring that the foreign national's actual work corresponds to the COR occupational code stated in the individual employment contract. Qualification mismatches surface exactly at that intersection: a diploma in one field, an employment contract describing a different one.

Why Qualification Matching Matters More Under the New Framework

GEO 32/2026 replaced the previous employment authorisation and secondment permit system with a visa-based procedure run through the WorkinRomania.gov.ro platform. For D/AM1 highly skilled workers, employers no longer need a separate prior authorisation from the National Agency for Employment; registration on the platform is sufficient, and these positions are exempt from the shortage occupations list that governs D/AM2 quota-based hiring.

That simplification on the procedural side does not remove the substantive check on qualifications. Romania's earlier reform of the highly skilled worker route, Law No. 28/2024, which implemented EU Directive 2021/1883 on the EU Blue Card, introduced the requirement that applicants hold a higher education qualification and, in most cases, at least five years of professional experience in the same field as that qualification. For ICT specialists and leadership roles in information and communication technology, the threshold is at least three years of relevant professional experience within the seven years preceding the application. Professional experience had not previously been a formal requirement for highly skilled worker permits in Romania, so this was a deliberate tightening. Employers preparing 2026 filings should treat education and experience aligned with the role as the baseline expectation, and confirm current thresholds with counsel given how recently the framework has changed.

The Documents an Employer Should Verify Before Filing

Before submitting any highly skilled worker or ICT case, an employer's HR or global mobility team should independently confirm, not simply accept at face value, the following:

• That the candidate's degree title and field of study are recognisable and traceable to an accredited institution
• That the diploma has been through the correct authentication chain for its country of origin (apostille, consular legalisation, or none, depending on the issuing state)
• That a certified Romanian translation exists or can be produced for every study document
• That the candidate's CV and reference letters describe experience in the same field as the qualification, not an adjacent one
• That the job title, duties, and COR code in the draft employment contract are a plausible match for both the diploma and the experience on file
• For ICT trainees specifically, that an undergraduate degree is documented, since this category carries an explicit education requirement distinct from the specialist and manager sub-categories

A mismatch on any of these points is the single most avoidable cause of a stalled file. A candidate with a business administration degree proposed for a senior software architect role, or an engineering graduate whose entire professional history is in sales, invites exactly the scrutiny that leads to requests for further evidence or outright refusal.

How Diploma Recognition Actually Works

Where a formal recognition certificate is needed, rather than an internal HR verification, the competent authority is CNRED, the National Centre for Recognition and Equivalence of Diplomas, operating under the Ministry of Education. CNRED recognises foreign study documents for Romanian citizens, EU nationals, and third-country nationals alike, and issues recognition certificates that confirm a foreign diploma's equivalence to a Romanian one.

The practical process, for higher education diplomas held by third-country nationals seeking access to the Romanian labour market, involves:

• Submitting an individual application file, including the original study documents or certified copies and a certified Romanian translation
• Providing academic transcripts and course syllabi in translation, which is mandatory for regulated professions such as medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy
• Authenticating the diploma according to its country of origin: an apostille for diplomas from Hague Apostille Convention states, full consular legalisation for diplomas from non-signatory states, and a simplified route for online-verifiable Moldovan diplomas issued after 2008
• Paying the applicable evaluation fee
• Allowing approximately 30 days from registration of a complete file for CNRED to issue its decision, with longer timelines possible if the file is incomplete or requires further verification

Certificates are issued electronically through Romania's single-window digital services platform, or collected in person or by courier. Separately, professional experience and non-formal qualifications acquired abroad can be assessed through the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity and the National Authority for Qualifications, which matters for roles where the candidate's practical experience, rather than a university diploma, is the basis for the position.

Employers should also note an obligation under GEO 32/2026 that is easy to overlook: authorised employers must inform the foreign worker, at least ten days before arrival in Romania, about the procedures for recognising diplomas, certificates, and professional qualifications. This is a standing compliance duty and should be documented for each hire.

Building the Compliance File Before Submission

The practical lesson for HR and mobility teams is to treat qualification verification as a pre-filing gate, not a step to resolve reactively once a case has already been questioned. That means building, for every highly skilled worker or ICT candidate, a short internal file that cross-references the diploma, the authentication status, the experience record, and the proposed COR code and job description, before anything goes into WorkinRomania. Where a genuine gap exists between the candidate's academic background and the role, initiating CNRED recognition early, or restructuring the position description to reflect the candidate's actual demonstrable expertise, is far cheaper than absorbing a rejection and refiling months later.

How Nestlers Group Helps

Nestlers Group supports employers through exactly this pre-filing verification stage. Our diploma recognition service for Highly Skilled Worker, ICT, and secondee cases reviews a candidate's academic and professional documentation against the intended role before a file is submitted, flags qualification-job mismatches early, and manages the CNRED application, including translation coordination and apostille or legalisation requirements, where formal recognition is needed. This sits alongside our broader Single Permit management and work visa assistance services, our immigration route assessment work for employers deciding between D/AM1, ICT, and other categories, and our Global Mobility end-to-end management, which coordinates the full hire from qualification check through to residence permit and, where relevant, relocation support for the employee and their family.

Sources: Government Emergency Ordinance No. 32/2026 and PwC Romania tax and legal alert on GEO No. 32/2026 (2026); KPMG Romania Flash Alert on Law No. 28/2024 and EU Directive 2021/1883 (2024); Fragomen Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy insight on Romania's intra-corporate transferee rules; CNRED (National Centre for Recognition and Equivalence of Diplomas) official guidance on recognition of higher education study documents and on recognition of professional experience and qualifications acquired abroad; Mondaq summary of Romania's reset legislative framework for employment of foreigners under GEO No. 32/2026.