Tax residence in Romania for Indian taxpayers

Romania treats you as resident if you have a domicile there, if your centre of vital interests is in Romania, or if you are present there for more than 183 days in any 12 consecutive months ending in the calendar year — any one test is enough. India counts days over its tax year of 1 April – 31 March: 182 days, or 60 days plus 365 days in the four preceding years. If both countries claim you, Art. 4(2) of the India–Romania DTAA signed on 8 March 2013 decides: permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, then mutual agreement. Both countries relieve double tax by credit (Art. 23).

Check your status: India and Romania

Free, no sign-up, about 3 minutes. Conclusion under Indian income-tax law, compared with the law of Romania and the tax treaty.

When Romania treats you as a tax resident

The first criterion of the Fiscal Code is a domicile in Romania — the address declared as the main home and recorded in the Romanian identity card. It is a formal criterion: you keep it while living abroad until you officially establish your domicile abroad.

Even without a domicile in Romania you are resident if the centre of your vital interests — family, work, business, assets — is in Romania.

The threshold is checked over any 12 consecutive months ending in the year concerned, not only the calendar year; you must exceed 183 days (184 or more).

Romanian citizens working abroad as officials or employees of the Romanian State are resident regardless of the days spent abroad.

You have a domicile in Romania — you are a Romanian tax resident (art. 7 pct. 28(a) of the Fiscal Code) and owe tax on income from all sources, in Romania and abroad. If you have moved to a State with which Romania has a treaty, you remain resident until the date your residence changes, which you prove with the departure questionnaire and a certificate of residence from the other State (art. 59(5)).
The centre of your vital interests is in Romania — you are a Romanian tax resident (art. 7 pct. 28(b) of the Fiscal Code) and owe tax on income from all sources. The conclusion depends on ANAF's overall assessment of your personal and economic relations.
You were present in Romania for more than 183 days in a 12-month interval ending in this year — you are a Romanian tax resident (art. 7 pct. 28(c) of the Fiscal Code), taxed on income from all sources from the first day of arrival (art. 59(2^1)). If a State with which Romania has a treaty also treats you as resident, dual residence is settled under the treaty (art. 1(3)), and residence in the other State is proven with a certificate of tax residence (art. 59(6)).
You are a Romanian citizen working abroad as an official or employee of the Romanian State — you are a Romanian tax resident (art. 7 pct. 28(d) of the Fiscal Code), whatever the number of days spent abroad.

When you are a nonresident

You have no domicile in Romania, your centre of vital interests is not there and you did not exceed 183 days in 12 months — you are a non-resident. Romania taxes only your income from Romania (for example pay for work done in Romania, rent from property in Romania).
Formally you meet no residence criterion, but it is not clear where the centre of your vital interests is. ANAF may consider that it is in Romania — then you would be resident. Keep evidence of your family, home, work and assets in the other country.

Where the rules of Romania clash with Indian tax rules

Collision: a Romanian domicile keeps you resident in Romania. Romania treats you as resident as long as your domicile — the address recorded in your Romanian identity card — is in Romania, even if you live and work in India; it ends only when you officially establish your domicile abroad (a Romanian passport stating a domicile abroad) or prove a change of residence with the departure questionnaire and a certificate of residence from India (art. 59(5) of the Fiscal Code). If India also treats you as resident, Art. 4(2) of the India–Romania DTAA (2013) decides: permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, then mutual agreement.
Collision: centre of vital interests in Romania. Without a Romanian domicile and with fewer than 183 days, closer personal and economic ties with Romania (family, a Romanian employer, business, real estate, bank accounts) still make you resident in Romania (art. 7 pct. 6 and pct. 28(b) of the Fiscal Code); ANAF assesses them as a whole, giving priority to personal ties. If India also treats you as resident, Art. 4(2) of the treaty decides; where you have a permanent home in both countries, the centre of vital interests is the next test.
Collision: more than 183 days in Romania in any 12 months. More than 183 days in Romania in any 12 consecutive months ending in the year make you resident in Romania from the first day of arrival (art. 7 pct. 28(c), art. 59(2^1) of the Fiscal Code). Because the window is rolling and the India tax year runs on different dates, you can at the same time be resident in India — typically in the year you move. A permanent home available only in India still makes you a resident of India under Art. 4(2) of the treaty; Romania can then tax only Romanian-source income, such as pay for work in Romania beyond the limits of the employment article. Within 30 days after reaching 183 days of presence, file the arrival questionnaire with ANAF (OMFP 1099/2016).

What else to know

Which treaty applies: the India–Romania DTAA (2013). The India–Romania Agreement signed at New Delhi on 8 March 2013 (in force 16 December 2013; effect in India from 1 April 2014, in Romania from 1 January 2014) replaced the 1987 Convention. Residence tie-breaker: Art. 4(2) — permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, then mutual agreement; a person liable to tax in a State only on income from sources there is not its resident (Art. 4(1)). Employment: Art. 15 (183 days in any 12-month period); private pensions: Art. 18 — State of residence only; relief: Art. 23 — credit in both countries; MAP: Art. 25 (3 years).
Different counting periods: a rolling 12 months in Romania. India counts your days over its tax year (1 April – 31 March); Romania treats you as resident with more than 183 days in Romania in any 12 consecutive months ending in the calendar year, counting the days of arrival and departure, or with a domicile or the centre of vital interests in Romania whatever the days. The 183-day limit for salary in Art. 15(2)(a) of the India–Romania DTAA counts any 12-month period commencing or ending in the fiscal year concerned (for India the financial year beginning on 1 April, for Romania the calendar year — Art. 3(1)(l)). Check every 12-month window, not just one year.
How India and Romania relieve double taxation. If India is your state of residence, you report Romanian income in your Indian return and deduct the Romanian tax paid on it, up to the Indian tax attributable to that income (Art. 23 of the DTAA); claim it with Form No. 44 (rule 76 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026), with proof of the Romanian tax. If Romania is your state of residence, Romania credits the Indian tax on Indian income against Romanian tax, up to the Romanian tax on that income, per country and type of income (Art. 23; art. 131 of the Fiscal Code); foreign income is declared in the Romanian single return by 25 May of the following year.
Working in Romania while resident in India. Pay for work physically done in Romania is Romanian-source income. If India is your treaty residence, Romania does not tax it only if all three conditions of Art. 15(2) are met: not more than 183 days in Romania in any 12-month period commencing or ending in the fiscal year concerned; an employer that is not resident in Romania; and pay not borne by a Romanian permanent establishment or fixed base. Otherwise the Romanian payer withholds 10% income tax (plus social contributions under Romanian rules) on the pay for Romanian work days, and India gives credit under Art. 23.
Certificates of residence and treaty rates in Romania. To benefit from the treaty in Romania — for example a reduced withholding rate on Romanian dividends, interest or royalties — give the Romanian payer a certificate of tax residence issued by the India tax authority; it is valid for the year(s) for which it is issued, and the Romanian rate may not exceed the treaty rate (arts 59(6) and 230(1) of the Fiscal Code). If you are resident in Romania, ANAF issues a Romanian certificate of tax residence on request (OMFP 1099/2016, art. 13(3)).
Year of the move: Romania can split the year. A person without a Romanian domicile becomes resident in Romania from the day of arrival (183-day test) or from the declared date the centre of vital interests moves, and remains resident until departure (art. 59(2), (2^1) and (4) of the Fiscal Code); a person with a Romanian domicile remains resident until the date the change of residence is proven (art. 59(5)). India decides your status for its whole tax year. Where both countries treat you as resident for the same period, the treaty decides for that period.
Romanian State official posted abroad. A Romanian citizen working abroad as an official or employee of the Romanian State is resident in Romania whatever the days spent abroad (art. 7 pct. 28(d) of the Fiscal Code). If India also treats you as resident, check the government service article of the treaty for salaries paid by the Romanian State and the treaty's tie-breaker.
Social security: no India–Romania agreement. Romania is not on EPFO's list of countries with which India's social security agreements operate, and India is not on the CNPP list of Romania's bilateral agreements; EU Regulation 883/2004 does not apply to India. There is no certificate of coverage, so Romanian social contributions (CAS 25%, CASS 10% for employees) may be due on Romanian work while EPF contributions continue in India.

How dual residence is resolved

If both countries treat you as a resident, Art. 4(2) of the treaty applies: Agreement between the Republic of India and Romania for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income — signed at New Delhi on 8 March 2013. The tests are applied in order — permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, and finally mutual agreement between the tax authorities.

Terms you will come across in Romania

domiciliu: domicile — the main home declared and recorded in the Romanian identity card; it makes you resident whatever the days
centrul intereselor vitale: centre of vital interests — family, a Romanian employer, business, property and bank accounts, assessed as a whole
chestionarul la sosire: arrival questionnaire, filed with ANAF within 30 days after 183 days of presence are reached
Declarația unică: the single return in which foreign income is declared, by 25 May of the following year
certificat de rezidență fiscală: certificate of tax residence, needed for treaty rates on Romanian income
ANAF: the Romanian tax administration; it issues Romanian certificates of residence on request

Questions

Can I be resident in Romania with fewer than 183 days there?

Yes. A domicile in Romania or a centre of vital interests there makes you resident whatever the days; the day test needs more than 183 days in any 12 consecutive months ending in the calendar year. If India also treats you as resident, Art. 4(2) of the India–Romania DTAA decides.

My Indian employer sends me to Romania. Does Romania tax my salary?

Not if India is your treaty residence and all three conditions of Art. 15(2) are met: no more than 183 days in Romania in any 12-month period commencing or ending in the fiscal year concerned, an employer not resident in Romania, and pay not borne by a Romanian permanent establishment or fixed base. Otherwise Romania taxes the pay for Romanian work days at 10%, and India gives credit for that tax (Art. 23), claimed with Form No. 44.

Is there an India–Romania social security agreement?

No. Romania is not on EPFO's list of India's agreements, so there is no certificate of coverage; Romanian contributions (CAS 25%, CASS 10% for employees) may be due on Romanian work while EPF contributions continue in India.

Sources

Legislation and official guidance

art. 7 pct. 28 of the Fiscal Code (Codul fiscal, Law No. 227/2015) — A resident individual is any person who meets at least one of these conditions: (a) has a domicile in Romania; (b) the centre of vital interests is located in Romania; (c) is present in Romania for one or more periods exceeding in total 183 days in any interval of 12 consecutive months ending in the calendar year concerned; (d) is a Romanian citizen working abroad as an official or employee of Romania in a foreign State.
arts 87 and 91 of the Civil Code (Law No. 287/2009) — An individual's domicile is where he or she declares the main home to be (art. 87); domicile and residence are proven by the entries in the identity card (art. 91(1)). The residence is the place of the secondary home (art. 88).
art. 34 of Law No. 248/2005 on the free movement of Romanian citizens abroad — A Romanian citizen who has established a domicile abroad may request an ordinary passport stating the State of domicile; on return to Romania the mention of the domicile abroad is cancelled (art. 36).
art. 7 pct. 6 of the Fiscal Code — The centre of vital interests is the place with which a person's personal and economic relations are closer. Personal relations: the family (spouse, children, dependants), membership of charitable or religious organisations, cultural activities. Economic relations: employment with a Romanian employer, business activity in Romania, real estate and bank accounts in Romania, etc.
ANAF — Cluj Regional Directorate, information note on the tax residence of individuals (18.06.2026) — Residence exists if at least one of the four conditions is met; the centre of vital interests is assessed as a whole, with priority for personal relations; the 183-day threshold is checked over any rolling 12-month interval ending in the year concerned, the days of arrival and departure usually being counted.
art. 59(2), (2^1) and (3) of the Fiscal Code — A non-resident who becomes resident through the centre of vital interests (art. 7 pct. 28(b)) owes tax on income from all sources from the first day on which he or she declares that it is in Romania (para. 2); one who becomes resident by exceeding 183 days (point (c)) — from the first day of arrival in Romania (para. 2^1). Para. 3: persons who prove that they are residents of a State with which Romania has an applicable double tax treaty are excepted from para. 2.
art. 59(1) of the Fiscal Code — Income tax applies to: Romanian residents with a domicile in Romania — on income from any source, in and outside Romania; other residents — on income from any source from the date they become resident; non-residents — only on income from Romania (permanent establishment, dependent activity in Romania, other income from Romania).
art. 59(5) of the Fiscal Code — A Romanian resident with a domicile in Romania who proves a change of residence to a State with which Romania has a double tax treaty continues to owe tax on income from all sources until the date of the change; he or she files the departure questionnaire 30 days in advance and proves tax residence in the other State.
art. 1(3) of the Fiscal Code — Where a provision of the Fiscal Code conflicts with a provision of a treaty to which Romania is a party, the treaty provision applies.
art. 59(6) of the Fiscal Code — Residents of States with which Romania has treaties prove their tax residence with a certificate of residence issued by the competent tax authority of the foreign State (or another authority empowered to certify residence); the certificate is valid for the year(s) for which it is issued.
Order of the Minister of Public Finance No. 1099/2016 (Official Gazette No. 577 of 29.07.2016) — Approves the arrival questionnaire (annex 1), the departure questionnaire (annex 2) and ANAF's notifications (annexes 3 and 4). Arrival questionnaire: within 30 days after 183 days of presence are reached (art. 14); departure: 30 days in advance (art. 19); ANAF answers within 30 and 15 days respectively. Order of criteria for dual residence: domicile/permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, mutual agreement procedure (art. 9), with the OECD Commentary on Article 4 (art. 10). Certificate of residence on request (art. 13(3)).
art. 7 pct. 27 of the Fiscal Code — A non-resident individual is one who does not meet the conditions of point 28, as well as a foreign citizen with diplomatic or consular status in Romania, a foreign official or employee of an international body registered in Romania or of a foreign State in Romania, and their family members.
Art. 4(2) India–Romania DTAA (2013) — Individual resident of both States: (a) resident only of the State in which he has a permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent home in both States, of the State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests); (b) if the centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if he has no permanent home in either State, of the State in which he has an habitual abode; (c) habitual abode in both or in neither — the State of which he is a national; (d) national of both or of neither — the competent authorities shall endeavour to settle the question by mutual agreement.
Income-tax Act, 2025, s. 159 — The Central Government may enter into agreements for relief from double taxation and avoidance of double taxation; where an agreement applies, the Act applies only to the extent more beneficial to the assessee (s. 159(4)). A non-resident may claim treaty relief only with a certificate of residence from the other country's government and the prescribed documents and information (s. 159(8)).
Income-tax Act, 2025, s. 6(1)–(2) — Residential status is determined for each tax year. An individual is resident in India in a tax year if in India for 182 days or more in that year, or for 60 days or more in that year and 365 days or more in the four years preceding it.
Art. 15(2) and Art. 3(1)(l) India–Romania DTAA (2013) — Remuneration of a resident of one State for employment exercised in the other State is taxable only in the first State if (a) the recipient is present in the other State for a period or periods not exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in any 12-month period commencing or ending in the fiscal year concerned, (b) it is paid by, or on behalf of, an employer who is not a resident of the other State, and (c) it is not borne by a permanent establishment or fixed base which the employer has in the other State. «Fiscal year»: for Romania the calendar year, for India the financial year beginning on 1 April.
Art. 23 India–Romania DTAA (2013) — The State of residence allows as a deduction from the income tax of its resident an amount equal to the income tax paid in the other State; the deduction shall not exceed that part of the tax, as computed before the deduction, which is attributable to the income which may be taxed in the other State. The rule is the same for both States.
Income-tax Rules, 2026, rule 76; Forms No. 44 and 45 — A resident gets credit for foreign tax in the tax year in which the income is taxed in India; credit is the lower of the Indian tax on that income and the foreign tax, per source and per country. Form No. 44 with a certificate of income and tax and proof of payment, within 12 months from the end of the tax year if the return was filed on time.
art. 131 of the Fiscal Code — The foreign tax credit or exemption is granted if the treaty concluded by Romania with the State where the tax was paid applies, the tax was actually paid (proof: a document of the foreign authority or the payer) and the income falls within a category of art. 61. The credit may not exceed the Romanian tax on the foreign income and is computed per country and per type of income; foreign currency is converted at the annual average rate of the National Bank of Romania. Income exempt under a treaty is declared in the single return.
art. 230(1) and (7) of the Fiscal Code — For a resident of a State with which Romania has a treaty, the rate of tax on income derived from Romania may not exceed the treaty rate; the more favourable rate applies. The questionnaires for establishing tax residence on arrival in and departure from Romania are set by norms (Orders of the Minister of Public Finance Nos 583/2016 and 1099/2016).
EPFO — International Workers: Social Security Agreements — India's social security agreements operate with Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, France, Denmark, Korea, the Netherlands, Hungary, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Norway, Austria, Canada, Australia, Japan, Portugal, Brazil and Quebec. Romania is not on the list.
National House of Public Pensions (CNPP) — bilateral agreements — CNPP list of States with which Romania has signed bilateral social security agreements: the United States, Canada, Chile, Israel, Quebec, Albania, Korea, North Macedonia, Moldova, Turkey, Serbia and Uruguay.
art. 64(1) of the Fiscal Code — The income tax rate is 10% for income from independent activities, salaries, letting of property, investments, pensions, agricultural activities, prizes and other sources, except the rates expressly provided in Title IV.
art. 97(7) of the Fiscal Code — Income in the form of dividends is taxed at 16% of its amount, the tax being final.
art. 138(a) and art. 156 of the Fiscal Code — Pension contribution (CAS) — 25%; health contribution (CASS) — 10%, for employees and other persons liable under the law.
art. 130 of the Fiscal Code — Residents owe tax on foreign income, determined under the rules of each category of income; foreign pensions have a special regime (para. 2^1); foreign income of a kind that is non-taxable/exempt in Romania gets the same treatment (para. 3); income is declared in the single return by the deadline of art. 122(3), and the tax is computed and paid by the same deadline, taking account of the treaty method (para. 4).
art. 122(3) of the Fiscal Code — The single return on income tax and social contributions is filed for each tax year by 25 May inclusive of the year following the year in which the income was derived.
Art. 4(2)(a) India–Romania DTAA (2013) — Resident only of the State in which he has a permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent home available to him in both States, resident only of the State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests).
Art. 4(2)(b) India–Romania DTAA (2013) — If the State in which he has his centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if he has not a permanent home available to him in either State, he is deemed a resident only of the State in which he has an habitual abode.
Art. 4(2)(c)–(d) India–Romania DTAA (2013) — Habitual abode in both States or in neither — resident only of the State of which he is a national; national of both States or of neither — the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavour to settle the question by mutual agreement.

Updated 04/11/2026. The result is for information only and is not tax or legal advice. Tax authorities and courts may interpret the rules differently, including because of circumstances not covered here, and the law changes. Consult a qualified adviser before making decisions.

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