How many Romanian citizens currently live outside the country’s borders? – a question that the Romanian state cannot answer with precision. What is certain is that Romania leads the list of European countries whose citizens are residents of another EU country. Overall, the demographic losses are massive, with some estimates indicating up to 9.7 million Romanians living abroad (including historical communities).
For citizens in the diaspora, consular services often become the main, if not the only, point of contact with the Romanian authorities, and the quality of these services directly influences the perception of the efficiency and trust of the state.
Romania has a consular presence in 90 countries: 90 consular sections, 54 consulates general, 6 consulates, 3 consular offices and a consular agency serve one of the largest communities of Romanian citizens living abroad. The challenges are also directly proportional to the number of Romanians served: extended waiting times, a mismatch between available resources (staff, infrastructure) and the real needs of the diaspora, and a state-citizen interaction perceived as difficult.
The digitalization of consular services therefore appears as a natural step in the evolution of relations between the state and the citizen, a way in which the state can reaffirm its presence and responsibility towards its citizens. Digitalization remains an underused tool by the Romanian state in its relations with its citizens abroad. Although the e-consulate platform has existed since 2016, the usage scenarios are limited and do not exempt Romanians from physical travel. An approach that, for those in the country, would mean half an hour in traffic, for some Romanians in Australia, Canada, the USA, Africa or Asia translates into dozens of hours of travel.
In a 2025 newsletter edition (Romania on the digital map of the world: in the center or on the periphery?) we wrote about digital diplomacy, the role of communication on social networks and digital soft power. Today we turn our attention to the administrative side of consular services.
How can Romania dissolve, with the help of new technologies, both administrative and geographical barriers?
The relationship between diasporas and the Romanian state has remained complicated and marked by the traumas of the communist regime: until now, declaring residence abroad led to the withdrawal of the identity card, significantly hindering these Romanians from completing administrative procedures. Soon, Romanians will be able to obtain (including at consulates) electronic identity cards with residence abroad, an aspect that comes with a double benefit: resolving an injustice and providing holders with electronic identity – an extraordinary opportunity to rethink consular services, thus eliminating non-essential trips to consulates.
How can Romania dissolve, with the help of new technologies, both administrative and geographical barriers?
The relationship between the diaspora and the Romanian state has remained complicated and marked by the traumas of the communist regime: until now, declaring residence abroad led to the withdrawal of the identity card, significantly complicating the administrative procedures for these Romanians. Soon, Romanians will be able to obtain (including at consulates) electronic identity cards with residence abroad, an aspect that comes with a double benefit: resolving an injustice and providing holders with electronic identity – an extraordinary opportunity to rethink consular services, thus eliminating non-essential trips to consulates.
I. Identity for Romanians in the diaspora
From an administrative point of view, until recently, declaring residence abroad led to the loss of the identity card, which was replaced by a passport of a Romanian citizen with residence abroad (CRDS). If we look strictly through the institutional lens, the only official Romanian document that indicates the number of Romanians with residence in the diaspora is the CRDS passport. A little over 1.2 million Romanians are in this category, an official figure that remains far from the reality on the ground. This figure indicates that Romanians, although abroad, choose to keep their identity cards with residence in Romania, an aspect that will be discussed below.
In 2021, data submitted by local authorities in destination countries showed that the size of the community of Romanian citizens settled abroad was approximately 5.7 million people. Furthermore, in the United Kingdom alone, data from March 2023 showed that 1,479,460 Romanians had submitted applications for the EU Settlement Scheme.
In practice, Romanians’ refusal to officially declare where they live happens for two reasons:
- Limited access to certain procedures with the CRDS passport. According to the legislation, the passport is a travel document, not an identity document, which leads to the refusal of some public or private institutions to accept this document for various procedures;
- Percepția că nu există vreun beneficiu real pe care-l pot obține dacă fac acest demers (ba din contră).
In 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled firmly: Romania cannot refuse to issue an identity card to its citizens simply because they have established their residence in another Member State. Romania’s arguments, based on administrative difficulties regarding the registration of residence abroad, were rejected as irrelevant. The Court’s message is clear: the status of European citizen cannot be fragmented, and freedom of movement cannot be limited by national bureaucratic barriers.
The beginning of 2025 brought a compromise on this subject: Romanian citizens in the Diaspora can apply for electronic identity cards without domicile in Romania. For this, it is necessary to present a simple electronic or temporarily valid passport indicating the country of domicile, or official documents issued by foreign authorities attesting residence in that country, accompanied, if necessary, by authorized translations into Romanian. Also, the applicant must have a validated account in the HUB Service Platform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with the exception of minors under 18 years of age, for whom this condition does not apply. The detailed procedure and the complete list of required documents are to be regulated by methodological norms.
With the exception of having an account in the HUB Service Platform, which must be reanalyzed considering that the account validation is done through Ghișeul.ro or through ROeID, requiring a Romanian bank card and a valid identity document or passport or by going to a Romanian Police counter, taking into account the fact that a significant number of people residing abroad no longer have bank accounts in Romania and do not travel frequently to the country (the US diaspora, for example), the change is welcome.
The new provisions have the potential to transform the electronic identity card into the tool through which the Romanian state closes the gap that has been created between the Diaspora and their country of origin.
II. Electronic identity, the key to better consular services
If we say CEI, we also say associated electronic identity: exactly the element whose lack seems to be holding us back.
Although we have primary legislation that could form the basis for digital consular services, at the secondary legislation level we find a less ambitious vision. Order no. 200 of February 6, 2024 provides that the consular services for which applications can be submitted electronically, with authentication via ROeID, are the following:
- verification of the authenticity of the Romanian driving license;
- issuance of a criminal record certificate;
- issuing specific documents requested by local authorities within the framework of various administrative procedures, exclusively for situations where physical presence at the MD/OC headquarters is not required or original supporting documents are not required.
So, almost nothing is digitized.
One reason could be the lack of a secure authentication method. As we mentioned in a previous working paper, the security level of ROeID identification (substantial, not high) is usually the reason cited to limit the expansion of some electronic services. In other words, if the state cannot know for sure who you are, the range of services it makes available to you digitally is limited.
Currently, identification on the e-consulate platform is based on the creation of a simple account, strictly based on an e-mail address and a chosen password. There is no form of verification of the applicant’s identity, no mechanism to link the legal identity to the account thus created. The result is the following: the e-consulate platform serves only as a platform for appointments at consulates and pre-validation of the documents required for the requested procedure, despite the fact that it already proposes a complex flow.
MAE, Example of application for birth certificate transcription
The result of completing these complex forms and uploading all documents does not exempt the citizen from going to the consulate, but only confirms that he or she has all the necessary documents so as not to make another trip to the consulate.
III. What does the CEI change for Romanians in the diaspora?
First, if we are talking strictly about the physical document, it eliminates the discrimination they were subjected to (see the previously mentioned cause). In addition to the passport, diasporas will also have electronic identity cards: which, in itself, is an important step.
Secondly, the CEI is the physical support for electronic identity, a tool through which the person’s identity becomes one that can be used not only physically, but also online (hence the notion of a useful document, which simplifies interaction with the Romanian state, also comes into play).
Based on this card, the person creates his or her digital identity wallet. This step usually involves the use of an application where the identity is “imported” into the digital environment. It is confirmed that the wallet belongs to the holder.
When the person wants to access the e-consulate platform, they no longer start by creating a classic account, but by authenticating with the digital wallet: basically, they select the authentication option, and the system requests confirmation of identity via the wallet (through an approval in the application).
After authentication, the platform automatically recognizes the user’s identity, without the need to repeatedly upload documents for verification. At this point, the consular procedure effectively begins. Because the identity is already confirmed at the beginning, there is no longer a need to physically appear at the consulate for many types of services. The system can process applications entirely online, the citizen will have a free qualified electronic signature with which they will be able to sign (if needed) and the response or issued documents can also be transmitted digitally, starting from the simple idea that the state knows who you are.
Bonus: The digital identity wallet will also be able to be used to access services from other countries: a Romanian with a digital identity wallet issued by Romania will also be able to connect to electronic platforms in the European country where he or she lives.
IV. An impactful pilot project
Once the issue of accessible identity is unblocked, attention must turn to transforming procedures. Consulates themselves only comply with normative acts according to which institutions in the country operate (ANC for citizenship, DGEP and associated local structures for civil status, identity documents, etc.).
Diaspora could also serve as a pilot project for the complete digitalization of some procedures.
E-consulate platform, List of consular procedures
If we look at services that can be digitized with priority, we mention: duplicates of civil status documents, multilingual extracts and certificates of civil status, travel documents, residence certificates and, in general, any procedure that involves issuing a certificate, duplicate or proof. Most of the procedures mentioned do not involve extensive decision-making processes, but essentially involve identifying an existing record in an official register and reproducing it.
Another procedure that would be a good candidate for digitization is the travel document, for which we already have an unimplemented regulatory framework (through Law no. 380/2023).
V. Action directions
- The implementation of the issuance of the electronic identity card also at the consulate level, with the possibility of obtaining it simultaneously with the passport, must be accompanied by an active promotional campaign, so that every citizen benefits from both physical and electronic identity.
- Launching the identity wallet, integrating authentication with it into the e-consulate platform and promoting adoption among the diaspora, an aspect that requires the direct involvement of consular staff, who will have the role of supporting and encouraging its download and use.
- In parallel, these measures must be supported by the development of a new legislative and operational framework, adapted to digital realities, which should include modernized procedures and redesigned administrative flows through a coordination mechanism at the central level, in the form of an inter-institutional committee (around the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or at the governmental level, through the Committee for Reducing Bureaucracy and e-Government).
Building on the foundations of the e-consulate platform, Romania can set a new standard in consular services in the European space and beyond. Exempting consular staff from a series of procedures would mean time gained for addressing more sensitive consular assistance situations and would leave room for something Romanians have long expected from the state: proactivity and care.
