A Year of Tuition Paid in Advance, a Month's Minimum Wage to Live On, and a Permit That Counts Half
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Chile on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
154 exceptions recorded across 56 countries · none match Chile to Romania · Residency as a student
The long-stay visa for studies, D/SD, is granted to students, trainees and school pupils. For a university student the documents are a letter of acceptance issued by the Ministry of Education for a full-time programme at an accredited or provisionally authorised institution, proof that tuition has been paid for at least one year of study, means of support of at least the guaranteed national minimum gross base salary per month for the whole period in the visa, a criminal record certificate, medical insurance with minimum cover of 30,000 euro, parental consent for a minor, and proof of knowing the language the programme is taught in - waived for the preparatory year of Romanian. The residence permit then runs for the whole length of the course plus three months, which is longer than almost anything else in the Ordinance, and the means test at extension drops to the minimum wage for six months rather than for the whole period. The sting is at the end: article 70(2)(a) bars a student permit holder from long-term residence outright, and article 71(1)(a)(iii) counts only half of the time spent studying towards the five years.
At a glance
- Tuition
- Paid for at least one year of study, before the visa
Article 45(2)(a)(ii) of Ordinance 194/2002.
- Money for the visa
- At least the guaranteed national minimum gross base salary, monthly
Article 45(2)(a)(iii) of Ordinance 194/2002, for the whole period written in the visa. The Ordinance names the benchmark rather than an amount.
- Money for the residence permit
- The same benchmark, for at least 6 months
Article 58(1)(a)(ii) of Ordinance 194/2002.
- How long the permit runs
- The whole length of the studies, plus 3 months
Article 58(1)(a) of Ordinance 194/2002, as amended by Emergency Ordinance 112/2023.
- Medical insurance
- Minimum cover of 30,000 EUR
Article 45(2)(a)(v) of Ordinance 194/2002, as amended on 27 April 2026 by Emergency Ordinance 32/2026.
- Long-term residence on a student permit
- Not available at all
Article 70(2)(a) of Ordinance 194/2002 excludes holders of the right of temporary residence for studies from long-term residence.
- How much study time counts later
- Half
Article 71(1)(a)(iii) of Ordinance 194/2002, in the five years of continuous residence long-term residence needs.
- Staying on to work after graduation
- Allowed without a new visa
Article 56(9)(a) of Ordinance 194/2002, which lets a student permit holder apply to extend residence for work after finishing their studies without obtaining a long-stay employment visa.
Requirements
- A letter of acceptance issued by the Ministry of Education for a full-time programme
- Proof that tuition has been paid for at least one year of study
- Means of at least the guaranteed national minimum gross base salary a month for the period in the visa, and for six months at extension
- Medical insurance with minimum cover of 30,000 euro and a criminal record certificate
- Proof of knowing the language the programme is taught in, except for the preparatory year of Romanian
Country-level policy
Emergency Ordinance 32/2026 came into force on 27 April 2026 and did three things at once. It repealed Title I of Ordinance 25/2014, which is the old work-authorisation regime - the aviz de angajare an employer used to obtain before a worker could apply. It created a new one in its place: a Shortage Occupations List approved by ministerial order, licensed placement agencies that file the application instead of the employer, an electronic platform called WorkinRomania.gov.ro, and an annual quota of newly admitted workers set by Government decision. And it gave itself a run-up. Article 48 says that Title I and the new single-application residence provisions apply until 7 August 2026 only so that employers can be registered, agencies licensed and the platform tested by simulating applications - so the regime that decides real cases begins on 8 August 2026. Article 49 keeps every application already lodged under the old law, and gives 180 days to use an authorisation already issued. Article 53 holds the 2026 quota at the figure in Government Decision 1,169/2025 until a new decision is made. And article 52 opens something that rarely appears in a statute: until 31 December 2026, foreigners who stayed on after an employment visa or single permit expired, and against whom no return obligation was established, may have their work residence extended without obtaining a new visa at all - provided they turned up at an immigration office within 60 days of 27 April 2026 to declare where they live.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Chile
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«a) în cazul studenţilor: (i) dovada de acceptare la studii eliberată de Ministerul Educaţiei, din care să rezulte că va urma o formă de învăţământ cu frecvenţă, la o instituţie de învăţământ superior de stat sau particulară, acreditată ori autorizată provizoriu potrivit legii; La data de 04-03-2021 sintagma: Ministerul Educaţiei Naţionale a fost înlocuită de Punctul 9, ARTICOLUL UNIC din ORDONANŢA DE URGENŢĂ nr. 14 din 3 martie 2021, publicată în MONITORUL OFICIAL nr. 223 din 04 martie 2021 (ii) dovada achitării taxei de studii pentru cel puţin un an de studii; (iii) dovada mijloacelor de întreţinere, în cuantum de cel puţin salariul de bază minim brut pe ţară garantat în plată, lunar, pentru întreaga perioadă înscrisă în viză;»The documents for a student. Point (vii) is the language condition and it carries its own exception for the Romanian preparatory year.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Romanian immigration authority, a structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, created by Emergency Ordinance 55/2007 out of the Authority for Foreigners and the National Office for Refugees. It administers the regime of foreigners and decides visas, residence extensions and long-term residence. Its Legislaţie page is also, in practice, the most reliable public source of the immigration statutes themselves: it serves consolidated PDFs of Emergency Ordinance 194/2002 on the regime of foreigners, Emergency Ordinance 102/2005 on free movement of Union, EEA and Swiss citizens, Ordinance 25/2014 on employment and secondment, Emergency Ordinance 32/2026 on access to the labour market, Law 122/2006 on asylum and the implementing decisions, at stable wp-content/uploads addresses. These are the only consolidated Romanian immigration texts reachable from outside the country, because the Ministry of Justice's legislative portal answers nothing.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It is not the publisher of record and the files say so. Every consolidated PDF it serves is produced by S.C. Centrul Teritorial de Calcul Electronic S.A. Piatra-Neamţ and carries that company's disclaimer above the first article: the content belongs exclusively to CTCE and is not a document of an official character, being intended for the information of users. The official text is the Monitorul Oficial al României, Partea I, issue cited in each amendment annotation. Each file also prints a validity window with an end date, and the Inspectorate does not replace the file when the window closes: the Emergency Ordinance 194/2002 copy read on 10 October 2026 states its validity as running from 27 April 2026 until 30 April 2026, and the Emergency Ordinance 102/2005 copy states 8 to 14 March 2024. It cannot be cited for anything outside the regime of foreigners - not for tax, not for health insurance, not for road traffic, not for citizenship, which is the National Citizenship Authority's - and it cannot be cited for administrative practice: fee schedules, the Shortage Occupations List and the annual labour contingent are ministerial orders and Government decisions published elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«(1) Străinii intraţi în România pentru studii pot solicita prelungirea dreptului de şedere, astfel: a) în cazul studenţilor, pe o perioadă egală cu durata totală a studiilor, plus 3 luni, dacă: La data de 15-12-2023 Partea introductivă a literei a) din alineatul (1) , Articolul 58 , Punctul 3. , Sectiunea 1 , Capitolul IV a fost modificată de Punctul 9., ARTICOLUL UNIC din ORDONANŢA DE URGENŢĂ nr. 112 din 14 decembrie 2023, publicată în MONITORUL OFICIAL nr. 1137 din 15 decembrie 2023 (i) sunt înscrişi la studii la o instituţie de învăţământ de stat ori particulară, acreditată sau autorizată provizoriu potrivit legii, forma de învăţământ cursuri cu frecvenţă; La data de 10-11-2018 Punctul (i) din Litera a) , Alineatul (1) , Articolul 58 , Punctul 3. , Sectiunea 1 , Capitolul IV a fost modificat de Punctul 35, Articolul I din LEGEA nr. 247 din 5 noiembrie 2018, publicată în MONITORUL OFICIAL nr. 941 din 07 noiembrie 2018 (ii) fac dovada mijloacelor de întreţinere, în cuantum de cel puţin salariul de bază minim brut pe ţară garantat în plată pentru o perioadă de cel puţin 6 luni;»The extension. For a student it is the whole length of the studies plus three months; for a pupil exchange it may not exceed one year; for an unremunerated trainee the conditions are a training agreement, a host undertaking and a degree from the last two years.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Romanian immigration authority, a structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, created by Emergency Ordinance 55/2007 out of the Authority for Foreigners and the National Office for Refugees. It administers the regime of foreigners and decides visas, residence extensions and long-term residence. Its Legislaţie page is also, in practice, the most reliable public source of the immigration statutes themselves: it serves consolidated PDFs of Emergency Ordinance 194/2002 on the regime of foreigners, Emergency Ordinance 102/2005 on free movement of Union, EEA and Swiss citizens, Ordinance 25/2014 on employment and secondment, Emergency Ordinance 32/2026 on access to the labour market, Law 122/2006 on asylum and the implementing decisions, at stable wp-content/uploads addresses. These are the only consolidated Romanian immigration texts reachable from outside the country, because the Ministry of Justice's legislative portal answers nothing.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It is not the publisher of record and the files say so. Every consolidated PDF it serves is produced by S.C. Centrul Teritorial de Calcul Electronic S.A. Piatra-Neamţ and carries that company's disclaimer above the first article: the content belongs exclusively to CTCE and is not a document of an official character, being intended for the information of users. The official text is the Monitorul Oficial al României, Partea I, issue cited in each amendment annotation. Each file also prints a validity window with an end date, and the Inspectorate does not replace the file when the window closes: the Emergency Ordinance 194/2002 copy read on 10 October 2026 states its validity as running from 27 April 2026 until 30 April 2026, and the Emergency Ordinance 102/2005 copy states 8 to 14 March 2024. It cannot be cited for anything outside the regime of foreigners - not for tax, not for health insurance, not for road traffic, not for citizenship, which is the National Citizenship Authority's - and it cannot be cited for administrative practice: fee schedules, the Shortage Occupations List and the annual labour contingent are ministerial orders and Government decisions published elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«a) titulari ai dreptului de şedere temporară pentru studii;»Our translation - not official
holders of the right of temporary residence for studies;
The first entry in the list of people to whom long-term residence is not granted.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Romanian immigration authority, a structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, created by Emergency Ordinance 55/2007 out of the Authority for Foreigners and the National Office for Refugees. It administers the regime of foreigners and decides visas, residence extensions and long-term residence. Its Legislaţie page is also, in practice, the most reliable public source of the immigration statutes themselves: it serves consolidated PDFs of Emergency Ordinance 194/2002 on the regime of foreigners, Emergency Ordinance 102/2005 on free movement of Union, EEA and Swiss citizens, Ordinance 25/2014 on employment and secondment, Emergency Ordinance 32/2026 on access to the labour market, Law 122/2006 on asylum and the implementing decisions, at stable wp-content/uploads addresses. These are the only consolidated Romanian immigration texts reachable from outside the country, because the Ministry of Justice's legislative portal answers nothing.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It is not the publisher of record and the files say so. Every consolidated PDF it serves is produced by S.C. Centrul Teritorial de Calcul Electronic S.A. Piatra-Neamţ and carries that company's disclaimer above the first article: the content belongs exclusively to CTCE and is not a document of an official character, being intended for the information of users. The official text is the Monitorul Oficial al României, Partea I, issue cited in each amendment annotation. Each file also prints a validity window with an end date, and the Inspectorate does not replace the file when the window closes: the Emergency Ordinance 194/2002 copy read on 10 October 2026 states its validity as running from 27 April 2026 until 30 April 2026, and the Emergency Ordinance 102/2005 copy states 8 to 14 March 2024. It cannot be cited for anything outside the regime of foreigners - not for tax, not for health insurance, not for road traffic, not for citizenship, which is the National Citizenship Authority's - and it cannot be cited for administrative practice: fee schedules, the Shortage Occupations List and the annual labour contingent are ministerial orders and Government decisions published elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«(iii) la stabilirea acestei perioade se iau în calcul jumătate din perioada de şedere în scop de studii;»Our translation - not official
in establishing that period, half of the period of residence for the purpose of studies shall be taken into account;
Four years of a degree count as two towards the five years of continuous residence.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Romanian immigration authority, a structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, created by Emergency Ordinance 55/2007 out of the Authority for Foreigners and the National Office for Refugees. It administers the regime of foreigners and decides visas, residence extensions and long-term residence. Its Legislaţie page is also, in practice, the most reliable public source of the immigration statutes themselves: it serves consolidated PDFs of Emergency Ordinance 194/2002 on the regime of foreigners, Emergency Ordinance 102/2005 on free movement of Union, EEA and Swiss citizens, Ordinance 25/2014 on employment and secondment, Emergency Ordinance 32/2026 on access to the labour market, Law 122/2006 on asylum and the implementing decisions, at stable wp-content/uploads addresses. These are the only consolidated Romanian immigration texts reachable from outside the country, because the Ministry of Justice's legislative portal answers nothing.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It is not the publisher of record and the files say so. Every consolidated PDF it serves is produced by S.C. Centrul Teritorial de Calcul Electronic S.A. Piatra-Neamţ and carries that company's disclaimer above the first article: the content belongs exclusively to CTCE and is not a document of an official character, being intended for the information of users. The official text is the Monitorul Oficial al României, Partea I, issue cited in each amendment annotation. Each file also prints a validity window with an end date, and the Inspectorate does not replace the file when the window closes: the Emergency Ordinance 194/2002 copy read on 10 October 2026 states its validity as running from 27 April 2026 until 30 April 2026, and the Emergency Ordinance 102/2005 copy states 8 to 14 March 2024. It cannot be cited for anything outside the regime of foreigners - not for tax, not for health insurance, not for road traffic, not for citizenship, which is the National Citizenship Authority's - and it cannot be cited for administrative practice: fee schedules, the Shortage Occupations List and the annual labour contingent are ministerial orders and Government decisions published elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«(1) Străinilor intraţi în România în scopul încadrării în muncă li se prelungeşte dreptul de şedere temporară în scop de muncă dacă prezintă contractul individual de muncă cu normă întreagă din care rezultă că salariul este cel puţin la nivelul salariului de bază minim brut pe ţară garantat în plată. În cazul lucrătorilor înalt calificaţi şi a străinilor care desfăşoară activităţi didactice, ştiinţifice sau alte categorii de activităţi specifice în cadrul instituţiilor de învăţământ superior de stat în baza deciziei rectorului şi cu avizul Ministerului Educaţiei şi Cercetării, salariul trebuie să fie cel puţin la nivelul câştigului salarial mediu brut.»What a graduate switching to work has to clear: a full-time contract at the minimum wage, or the average gross wage if the job is highly qualified.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Romanian immigration authority, a structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, created by Emergency Ordinance 55/2007 out of the Authority for Foreigners and the National Office for Refugees. It administers the regime of foreigners and decides visas, residence extensions and long-term residence. Its Legislaţie page is also, in practice, the most reliable public source of the immigration statutes themselves: it serves consolidated PDFs of Emergency Ordinance 194/2002 on the regime of foreigners, Emergency Ordinance 102/2005 on free movement of Union, EEA and Swiss citizens, Ordinance 25/2014 on employment and secondment, Emergency Ordinance 32/2026 on access to the labour market, Law 122/2006 on asylum and the implementing decisions, at stable wp-content/uploads addresses. These are the only consolidated Romanian immigration texts reachable from outside the country, because the Ministry of Justice's legislative portal answers nothing.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It is not the publisher of record and the files say so. Every consolidated PDF it serves is produced by S.C. Centrul Teritorial de Calcul Electronic S.A. Piatra-Neamţ and carries that company's disclaimer above the first article: the content belongs exclusively to CTCE and is not a document of an official character, being intended for the information of users. The official text is the Monitorul Oficial al României, Partea I, issue cited in each amendment annotation. Each file also prints a validity window with an end date, and the Inspectorate does not replace the file when the window closes: the Emergency Ordinance 194/2002 copy read on 10 October 2026 states its validity as running from 27 April 2026 until 30 April 2026, and the Emergency Ordinance 102/2005 copy states 8 to 14 March 2024. It cannot be cited for anything outside the regime of foreigners - not for tax, not for health insurance, not for road traffic, not for citizenship, which is the National Citizenship Authority's - and it cannot be cited for administrative practice: fee schedules, the Shortage Occupations List and the annual labour contingent are ministerial orders and Government decisions published elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The permit outlasts the course by three months and the exit into work is open without a fresh visa, but the time spent studying is worth half towards long-term residence and nothing at all while the student permit is current. A reader planning to settle should count the years on that basis from the start.
Tuition fees themselves are not in this Ordinance. Article 45(2)(b^1) gives foreigners of Romanian origin who hold a Romanian state scholarship or are exempt from tuition their own, lighter document list, which is the one place in the study provisions where origin changes the answer.
This record rests on Ordinance 194/2002 alone, as consolidated to 30 April 2026. The education legislation that governs admission, recognition of prior qualifications and fee levels was not read.
- administersOrdonanţa de urgenţă a Guvernului nr. 194/2002 privind regimul străinilor în România, formă consolidată
Inspectoratul General pentru Imigrări · consolidated to 2026-04-30
About this source
The Romanian immigration authority, a structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, created by Emergency Ordinance 55/2007 out of the Authority for Foreigners and the National Office for Refugees. It administers the regime of foreigners and decides visas, residence extensions and long-term residence. Its Legislaţie page is also, in practice, the most reliable public source of the immigration statutes themselves: it serves consolidated PDFs of Emergency Ordinance 194/2002 on the regime of foreigners, Emergency Ordinance 102/2005 on free movement of Union, EEA and Swiss citizens, Ordinance 25/2014 on employment and secondment, Emergency Ordinance 32/2026 on access to the labour market, Law 122/2006 on asylum and the implementing decisions, at stable wp-content/uploads addresses. These are the only consolidated Romanian immigration texts reachable from outside the country, because the Ministry of Justice's legislative portal answers nothing.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It is not the publisher of record and the files say so. Every consolidated PDF it serves is produced by S.C. Centrul Teritorial de Calcul Electronic S.A. Piatra-Neamţ and carries that company's disclaimer above the first article: the content belongs exclusively to CTCE and is not a document of an official character, being intended for the information of users. The official text is the Monitorul Oficial al României, Partea I, issue cited in each amendment annotation. Each file also prints a validity window with an end date, and the Inspectorate does not replace the file when the window closes: the Emergency Ordinance 194/2002 copy read on 10 October 2026 states its validity as running from 27 April 2026 until 30 April 2026, and the Emergency Ordinance 102/2005 copy states 8 to 14 March 2024. It cannot be cited for anything outside the regime of foreigners - not for tax, not for health insurance, not for road traffic, not for citizenship, which is the National Citizenship Authority's - and it cannot be cited for administrative practice: fee schedules, the Shortage Occupations List and the annual labour contingent are ministerial orders and Government decisions published elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source