Differences over non-resident status

The new regulations on the legal status of the non-residents seeking visas for brief stays on the Romanian territory for tourism, business, visiting, cultural activities or for medical treatment introduce new financial and bureaucratic barriers for a foreign investor looking to establish a small business in Romania. The law, in effect since Monday, says the citizens of the EU member countries, as well as those from Canada, Switzerland, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, Norway and the United States of America do not have to obtain long-term visas to do business in Romania. Under the circumstances, the investors from the neighbouring countries like Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland or Turkey may no longer do business in Romania, unless they come up with at least 100,000 euros. Furthermore, they also have to secure the approval of the Romanian Foreign Investments Agency granted only to those investors presenting a business plan, or if the business is likely to benefit the national economy and results in significant capital and technology inflows. The agency also requires the investors to create new jobs and be engaged in a similar type of business in their countries of origin. The Liberals requested the Government on Wednesday to withdraw this emergency ordinance and turn it into a draft law that can be modified, as its current version did not do any good to the Romanian economy.  PNL (National Liberal Party) spokesman Eugen Nicolaescu said the ordinance imposed extremely severe terms on certain investors and that the 100,000 euro was too restrictive, given that other countries in the region had set this requirement to only 25,000 euros. ZF