Romania Visa from the UK: Appointments, Checklist & Fees

Do UK residents need a visa for Romania?

It depends on your passport, not where you live. British, Irish and EU/EEA citizens do not need a visa for short stays in Romania. Most other UK residents, for example Indian, Pakistani, Nigerian, Chinese or South African nationals living here on a work, study, family or settled status, need a Schengen visa and can apply from the UK.

Romania joined the Schengen area for air and sea travel on 31 March 2024 and became a full member, land borders included, on 1 January 2025. A Romanian visa now covers up to 90 days in any 180-day period across all 29 Schengen states, and a Schengen visa from another member state is valid for Romania.

If you are in the UK on a visitor visa, you are not resident here: a consulate can accept your application only exceptionally, with a good reason, so you should normally apply in your home country. ETIAS, the €20 authorisation for visa-exempt travellers such as British citizens, still has no launch date and never replaces a visa. Visa holders and visa-exempt visitors, British citizens included, now register face and fingerprints in the EU Entry/Exit System, fully operational since 10 April 2026; see EES and ETIAS for UK residents.

You prove UK status with a UKVI eVisa share code, not a BRP: our eVisa share code guide shows how. Apply to Romania only if it is your main destination (which country to apply to).

Romania visa appointments in the UK

You apply in person at a Romanian Consulate General: Manchester if you live in the counties in its published area, London otherwise. Romania does not use VFS Global, TLScontact or BLS International in the UK, so there are no visa centres, no service charge and no optional extras, and the form, document upload and appointment all run through the Romanian Foreign Ministry’s own e-Viza portal (evisa.mae.ro).

London

The Consulate General of Romania in London accepts short-stay visa applications in person, only with an appointment made on the e-Viza portal. It serves UK residents outside the Manchester consulate’s area, including Scotland and Northern Ireland: the Consulate General in Edinburgh’s visa page points applicants to the e-Viza portal and to the London consular section, and we could not confirm that Edinburgh takes visa applications itself. Use the exact address shown on your appointment confirmation and the consulate’s website, because the Embassy and the Consulate General are in separate buildings and directory listings online are not consistent.

Manchester

The Consulate General of Romania in Manchester also accepts visa applications, only with an appointment made on the e-Viza portal, and decides them when Romania is your only or main destination. Its published territorial competence covers the North West (Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire and Merseyside), the North East (Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Durham and North Yorkshire) and Yorkshire and the Humber. Earlier versions of its list also took in the East Midlands and the West Midlands county, so if you live in the Midlands check the current list on manchester.mae.ro before choosing a mission.

The consulates’ own pages sit behind a browser check, so if you live near a boundary, choose the mission the e-Viza portal offers for your address and contact the consulate if you are unsure.

How booking works on e-Viza

The e-Viza portal is the application form, the document upload and the gateway to your appointment, which is unusual: with most countries the form and the booking sit on different websites.

1. Create an account with an email address you check regularly, as all updates, including the decision notice, arrive there. Each traveller needs their own application, children included.
2. Complete the form online, choosing the right mission and the purpose that matches your evidence (tourism, visit, business, cultural and so on). Unfinished files are deleted after 30 days.
3. Upload your supporting documents. Each file can be up to 2 MB, in PDF, RTF, TXT or a common image format, with Latin characters in the file name. The portal recommends that documents not in English or Romanian are translated into one of them by an authorised translator.
4. Send the file for validation. Consular staff check it and either mark it as valid or ask for more information; answer and resend until it is validated.
5. Book your appointment. Only once your file is valid can you choose a slot from those available at your consulate. The appointment is made in your own name.

Because each consulate is a single small office, availability can tighten before Easter, the summer holidays and Christmas, and the consulates close on Romanian as well as some UK public holidays. Start as soon as your dates are firm, ideally 6 to 8 weeks ahead, and longer for July and August; the portal itself recommends lodging between 2 weeks and 3 months before travel.

Important: Your appointment is booked in your own name on the official e-Viza portal. Schengen Visa Support does not book, hold or supply appointments. We explain how the portal works, help you complete the form and booking correctly in your name, and make sure your file is ready for the day.

On the day

Bring your passport and a copy of its data page, your photo and the originals of every supporting document with a set of copies. You sign the application form in front of consular staff and pay the visa fee when you lodge; an application without the fee is not accepted at the counter. A consular officer, not a visa centre clerk, checks the file, so gaps tend to be raised there and then. Fingerprints are taken unless you gave them for a Schengen visa in the last 59 months. The 15-day decision period runs from the day you lodge in person, and the decision is sent by email. For general booking advice see our Schengen visa appointment guide.

Romania visa document checklist for UK residents

The consul decides on paper, so your documents must tell one consistent story: who you are, why you are going to Romania, who pays and why you will return to the UK. Romania’s checklist is standard Schengen, with two country-specific points: the notarised host invitation for private visits, and the IGI invitation procedure, which applies only to certain nationalities and has exemptions. The interactive checklist below lists every item; this section explains what each must show.

Your passport must have been issued within the last 10 years, be valid at least 3 months after you leave the Schengen area and have 2 blank pages. Your photo must be colour, 35x45 mm and no older than 6 months. The e-Viza form must match your documents exactly: dates, addresses and purpose. Your eVisa printout should show UK permission lasting beyond the trip: Romania’s consulates do not publish a UK-wide minimum we could verify, so aim for at least 3 months beyond your return and ask the consulate if yours is shorter.

Insurance must be in your name, give at least €30,000 of medical cover in every Schengen state and cover every day of the trip; see our travel insurance guide. Accommodation must cover every night, including any nights in Bulgaria, Hungary or elsewhere on the route. Bank statements should show the €50-a-day benchmark explained below.

Private visits need a notarised (authenticated) invitation from the person you are visiting, stating that they will cover the costs of removal if you do not leave Romania when your visa ends and, if they are providing them, your accommodation and keep. Including a copy of your host’s Romanian ID card or residence permit helps the consul link the invitation to a real address and person.

Employed

An employer letter on letterhead confirming your role, salary, start date and approved leave, plus 3 months of payslips that match the salary credits on your statements.

Self-employed

Your latest tax return or SA302, proof the business exists (Companies House or HMRC registration) and business statements alongside personal ones; see our self-employed guide.

Students

A letter from your college or university confirming enrolment and term dates, ideally showing the trip falls in a vacation, plus your own funds or a parent’s letter and statements (students guide).

Retired

Pension statements or award letters, with bank statements showing the pension arriving and any savings you rely on.

Sponsored

A sponsor in the UK gives a signed letter, their ID or eVisa status, proof of your relationship (marriage or birth certificate) and their last 3 months of statements. A host in Romania who covers your keep states this in their notarised invitation; that changes how the funds benchmark applies to you.

Children

A full birth certificate showing both parents, an application form signed by both parents or the legal guardian, and copies of their passports. Each child needs their own e-Viza application. Children aged 6 to 11 pay the reduced fee (children’s guide).

How much money do you need for a Romania visa?

Romania publishes a figure. The Romanian Border Police list proof of means of subsistence of €50 a day for the whole stay, and not less than €500, for tourist and business trips, and for private visits where your host does not cover your keep. For cultural, scientific, humanitarian and short medical stays the benchmark is higher, at €100 a day.

The Foreign Ministry also says tourists who have prepaid a full package covering at least accommodation and meals do not need to prove funds separately. Otherwise these are minimums on top of prepaid flights and hotels. The consul also looks at whether your income comfortably covers the trip and your UK outgoings: a steady salary or pension, no large unexplained deposits and a balance that does not dip to zero before payday. Our bank statements guide explains what consulates look for.

Romania visa fees from the UK

You pay only the visa fee: €90 for adults, charged in sterling at a rate the consulate sets from the previous month’s average exchange rate (the current figure is on the consulate’s consular fees page). There is no visa centre, so no service charge or optional extras are added.

Check the accepted payment method with your consulate before the day. The fee is not refunded if the visa is refused. Children under 6 and family members of EU citizens covered by free movement rules do not pay, and some nationalities pay a reduced fee under EU visa facilitation agreements. See our Schengen visa fee guide.

How long does a Romania visa take from the UK?

The consul normally decides within 15 calendar days of the day you lodge your application in person, extendable to 45 days in exceptional cases, for example if extra documents or checks are needed. The bigger variables are online validation of your file, appointment availability and, for anyone who needs one, an IGI invitation.

If you do need an IGI-approved invitation, IGI can take up to 45 days to decide (extendable by 15), and you must then apply for the visa within 30 days of approval. More on timings in our processing time guide.

Romania visa types for UK residents

Most UK residents need a uniform Schengen (C) visa, valid for up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen area. The purpose you choose on e-Viza decides the supporting documents.

Tourist. Hotel bookings and an itinerary, for Bucharest, Brașov and the Transylvanian towns, the Black Sea coast or the Danube Delta. Show €50 a day, unless you have prepaid a package covering accommodation and meals.

Visiting family or friends. Your host’s notarised invitation, covering removal costs and, where they provide them, your accommodation and keep. If your nationality is on Romania’s invitation-procedure list and no exemption applies, the host must also obtain an invitation approved by the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI); see the tips below.

Business. An invitation from the Romanian company or public authority setting out the purpose and stating that it will cover removal costs if you overstay, plus your UK employer letter confirming the trip; see our business visa guide.

Cultural, sports or scientific. Confirmation from the organiser, festival or institution. For cultural and scientific visits the Border Police benchmark is the higher €100 a day.

Medical treatment. The Romanian clinic’s confirmation of treatment, dates and costs, and proof you can pay.

Airport transit. Some nationalities need an airport transit (A) visa to change planes at a Romanian airport without entering Romania.

Students on holiday apply as tourists with their enrolment letter. Studying, working or staying longer than 90 days needs a Romanian national long-stay (D) visa, which has its own requirements and fee, and for some purposes an approval from Romanian authorities first.

Romania-specific tips

Romania suits well-prepared applicants because there is no middleman, but these points catch UK residents out with these consulates specifically.

• Check the IGI rule before anything else. Romania’s Foreign Ministry lists nationalities that need an IGI-approved invitation. For tourist, visit and business visas it also lists exemptions, including holders of a valid residence permit from a country whose citizens do not need a Schengen visa, which covers the UK. Bring proof of your UK status and confirm with the consulate before relying on the exemption; if the procedure does apply, your host must start it in Romania weeks before you can apply.
• Treat the portal as part of the application. What you type and upload on e-Viza is what the consul validates before you can even book; mismatched dates or blurry scans create delays.
• Get the host invitation notarised. A simple letter is not enough for a private visit: Romania asks for an authenticated invitation.
• Plan Moldova side trips. Moldova is outside Schengen, so Bucharest to Chișinău and back needs a double or multiple-entry visa. Say so in your cover letter.
• Count nights for Bulgaria combinations. Romania and Bulgaria trips are common; apply to whichever has more nights (Bulgaria visa from the UK).
• Use the right funds figure. €50 a day with a €500 floor; €100 a day for cultural, scientific or medical trips.
• Allow travel time to London if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, and check how the passport is returned.

Why Romania visas are refused (and how to avoid it)

Most refusals come from documents that do not support the trip as described.

• Funds below the benchmark: less than €50 a day (or €500 minimum), or a large unexplained deposit just before applying.
• Host invitation that does not match: not notarised, or different dates, address or relationship from the form.
• Wrong country: the itinerary shows more nights in Bulgaria, Hungary or elsewhere.
• Weak ties to the UK: no approved leave, a thin employer letter or no proof of study.
• UK residence too short: permission ending soon after the trip, with no explanation.
• Insurance below the rule: under €30,000, not valid across Schengen or missing days.

If you are refused, the standard form ticks the reasons and states how and by when you can challenge the decision. The window to challenge may be short, so read the form the day you receive it and contact the consulate if anything is unclear. You can also make a fresh application at any time that fixes the reasons ticked. Our refused Schengen visa guide explains how to choose, and we offer refusal reviews as part of our admin support.