Romania Payroll Setup for Non-EU Workers: 2026 Guide

# Payroll Setup for Non-EU Workers in Romania: What Employers Must Do Before Day One

Hiring a non-EU worker in Romania does not end once a work permit is approved. Before that employee can legally start, the employer must complete a separate set of payroll and registration obligations, and getting the sequence wrong now carries real financial risk. Since 1 January 2026, failing to register an employee before their first working day carries a fine of RON 40,000 per worker, with a cumulative cap of RON 1 million per employer. For companies bringing on several non-EU hires at once, the margin for administrative error has effectively disappeared.

Register the Employee Before Day One, Not After

Romania replaced its long-standing REVISAL system with REGES-Online, the digital employee register administered by the Labour Inspectorate. Use of REGES-Online became mandatory for all employers from 1 October 2025, and the transitional deadline for migrating existing contract data closed on 31 December 2025. Every employer operating in Romania, regardless of the size of its workforce, must now use this platform exclusively.

The rule that matters most for non-EU hiring: the employment contract must be registered in REGES-Online no later than one day before the employee's official start date. There is no grace period. An employer can either designate an authorised internal user to submit the registration or engage a registered payroll or employment services provider to do it on their behalf, but the obligation, and the fine if it is missed, sits with the employer.

For non-EU workers specifically, this registration step only becomes possible once the underlying work authorisation is in place. That means the practical payroll timeline runs backward from the intended start date: work permit approval, then contract signature, then REGES-Online registration at least one working day before the employee begins.

Confirm the Work Authorisation Category First

Payroll setup depends on which authorisation category the employee holds under GEO 32/2026 (Government Emergency Ordinance No. 32/2026, Official Gazette No. 335, 27 April 2026):

• D/AM1 covers highly qualified workers, specialists, professional athletes, and certain exempted categories such as full-time employees from Moldova, Ukraine, and Serbia. It is registration-only, with no quota or shortage-occupation restriction.
• D/AM2 covers general labour hires against the national quota, currently set at 90,000 places, and requires full ANOFM authorisation before the worker can be registered for payroll.

Employers should confirm which category applies before setting up payroll, since D/AM2 hires require the employer to already meet ANOFM's authorisation conditions: 24 months of prior economic activity, an average of 50 employees in the preceding year, and a EUR 1,000 financial guarantee per worker. Getting this sequencing wrong is one of the most common reasons non-EU hires stall between permit approval and their intended start date.

All of these procedures move to the WorkinRomania.gov.ro platform, managed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, once it becomes fully operational on 8 August 2026. Employers should expect a short transition period around that date and confirm which system, the current one or the new platform, governs their specific application.

Set Contributions and Wage Levels Correctly From the Start

Romanian payroll runs on two mandatory employee-side social contributions: CAS (pension insurance) at 25% of gross salary, calculated up to a ceiling of 24 times the national gross minimum wage, and CASS (health insurance) at 10% of gross income. On the employer side, the main obligation is CAM (labour insurance contribution) at 2.25%; employers generally do not pay CAS for normal working conditions.

Non-EU employees are enrolled in the same contribution system as domestic hires once they hold a valid employment contract, there is no separate, reduced scheme. What differs is the paperwork trail: non-EU workers typically need additional documentation to confirm eligibility for enrolment, and any bilateral social security agreement between Romania and the worker's home country should be checked before contributions are finalised, since it may affect how prior contribution periods are treated.

Wage levels also need to be confirmed against the current minimum before payroll runs. The national gross minimum wage was RON 4,050 through 30 June 2026, rising to RON 4,325 from 1 July 2026. For D/AM1 highly qualified roles, the applicable salary threshold is typically well above minimum wage and should be checked against the specific occupation category, since underpaying relative to the required threshold can jeopardise the underlying work authorisation, not just create a wage dispute.

Build the Compliance Calendar, Not Just the Onboarding Checklist

A single missed registration date is what triggers the RON 40,000 fine, so the practical fix is a calendar that works backward from the intended start date:

• Confirm work authorisation category and, where relevant, ANOFM quota availability
• Finalise the employment contract in the format required for non-EU hires, including any mandatory bilingual template requirements
• Submit REGES-Online registration at least one working day before the start date
• Set up CAS/CASS contributions and CAM at the correct gross salary level
• Confirm ITM notifications required for posted or seconded workers, where applicable

Employers managing multiple non-EU hires across different authorisation categories often find it more efficient to run this calendar centrally rather than per-hire, since D/AM1 and D/AM2 timelines diverge significantly once ANOFM authorisation is involved.

How Nestlers Group Supports Payroll Compliance for Non-EU Hires

Nestlers Group's Payroll and HR Compliance team manages REGES-Online registration, monthly payroll processing, and CAS, CASS, and CAM calculations for non-EU employees, coordinating each registration so it lands within the mandatory pre-start-date window. Where a company does not yet have a Romanian legal entity, our Employer of Record service allows the business to hire non-EU staff without establishing one, with Nestlers acting as the legal employer of record for contract, payroll, and work authorisation purposes.

Our Work Permit and Visa Support team works alongside payroll to sequence D/AM1 and D/AM2 applications through WorkinRomania.gov.ro so that authorisation, contract signature, and registration line up correctly against the employee's intended start date, reducing the risk of last-minute delays or missed compliance deadlines.

Sources: GEO 32/2026 (Official Gazette No. 335, 27 April 2026); REGES-Online mandatory registration requirements, Romanian Labour Inspectorate (effective 1 October 2025, transition deadline 31 December 2025); Romania Insider, "OUG 32/2026: The Compliance Traps That Now Fine Romanian Employers Per Foreign Worker" (2026); Romanian social contribution rates (CAS, CASS, CAM), TaxRavens (2026); Romania minimum gross wage schedule, effective 1 January and 1 July 2026; WorkinRomania.gov.ro platform launch announcement, Ministry of Internal Affairs (8 August 2026).