Moldova

Visa speed

A decision granting the right of temporary stay is taken within 30 calendar days of filing (art. 32(3) of Law 200/2010); for categories covered by labour migration legislation, separate time limits are set. The application is filed no later than 30 days before the right of presence expires. The right of temporary stay is granted for up to 5 years. The decision on permanent residence takes up to 90 calendar days (art. 46(3)).

Changing employer

The right of temporary stay for the purpose of work is granted and extended on the petition of a specific employer and on the basis of a decision by the body that regulates labour migration (art. 35–36 of Law 200/2010).

Visa types: Right of temporary stay for the purpose of work (on the employer's petition) · Highly qualified workers and persons in managerial positions · Occupations from the list of priority occupations · Foreign nationals employed in investment projects of national importance · Right of stay for founders and shareholders of companies with foreign investment · Information technology specialists

The visa and the right of residence are two different routes belonging to two different authorities: the long-term D visa is issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the right of residence is granted by the General Inspectorate for Migration (IGM), and each has its own fees, periods and lists of documents. A long-term D visa is required for citizens of the states in the list of law 257/2013; citizens of the states in the second list of the same law enter without a visa, and some of those listed are exempt from a visa if they hold a valid residence permit or a visa of the EU, Schengen, the United Kingdom, the United States or Canada. A visa is not always needed: founders and shareholders of legal entities with foreign investment, victims of human trafficking, victims of domestic violence and labour migrants apply without one. The consular fee for a long-term visa is 40 euros; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that an accompanying fee is charged on top of it where circumstances require. This amount is printed for every subtype of the D visa except the diplomatic and the service one, so it is not repeated in the records. The page on the subtypes does not name any decision period for the D visa at all. Payment for IGM services consists of two parts: the state duty under law 213/2023 and IGM's own tariff under government decision 896/2014. Production of the residence permit card is paid for by a third, separate rate depending on urgency — from 350 lei plus 50 lei for 20 working days to 1750 lei plus 50 lei on the day of application. For all bases for the purpose of work the duty is the same: 3600 lei for granting the right and 1800 lei for an extension, and on top of it the IGM tariff of 90 lei for a 15-day period. For the other bases the authority contradicts itself: the page for the service «Drept de ședere» names a state duty of 180 lei for family reunification, study, investment by a founder and by a shareholder, volunteer, humanitarian and religious activity and other justified cases, while the schedule of duties on the «Servicii și Tarife» page of the same site sets 450 lei for granting or extending the right of temporary residence and applies the 180 lei only to family reunification with a citizen of Moldova. IGM does not explain which rate applies, so such bases carry no numeric rate in the records. The IGM tariff on top of the duty: on a grant, 169 lei for 10 days or 90 lei for 30 days; on an extension, 178 lei for 10 days or 90 lei for 30 days. The period for examining an application for the grant or the extension of the right of temporary residence is the same for all the bases below: 30 calendar days; for EU citizens, foreign investors and labour immigrants — 15 days; at the applicant's request the period is shortened to 10 days with payment of the expedited tariff. Documents on employment bases are filed 15 calendar days before the lawful period of stay expires, on the other bases — 30 days, and by EU citizens — 15. Where a basis sets an income threshold, it is expressed as a multiple of the forecast average monthly salary in the economy for the current year: IGM does not publish the amount itself, so the records carry no numeric threshold. Highly qualified workers, persons in managerial positions, those employed in investment projects of national importance and holders of professions from the list of priority occupations obtain and extend the right of residence without a decision of the employment service. Heads of legal entities in the field of information technology and IT specialists are taken outside the general conditions for obtaining permanent residence (art. 45(6)). For founders and shareholders of companies with foreign investment the threshold is a share worth no less than 60 forecast average monthly salaries in the economy or the creation of at least 4 jobs (art. 36¹). The catalogue of services lives on the old domain old.igm.gov.md: on the new site igm.gov.md the «Servicii» section is filled with the internal services of the administering authority and contains no migration routes at all.

Permanent residence after

5 years

Citizenship after

10 years

Language

the state (Romanian) language at a level sufficient for participation in public life, plus knowledge of the Constitution; verified by examination

Dual citizenship

allowed

Absence limits: The right of permanent stay ceases where the person is absent from Moldova for more than 12 consecutive months; a justified absence does not in itself lead to termination, but after 6 years of absence the right is lost in any case. A new application may be filed after 12 months of continuous lawful temporary stay (art. 45 of Law 200/2010).

Citizenship Act 1024-XIV, art. 17: 10 years of lawful and permanent residence; 3 years for those married to a citizen of Moldova or living with parents or children who are citizens of Moldova; 8 years for stateless persons and recognised refugees; 5 years for those who lived in the country for that period before the age of 18. Knowledge of the Constitution and of the state language (by examination) and lawful means of subsistence are required. Art. 17(1)(g) formally requires renunciation of the previous citizenship, except where renunciation is impossible or cannot reasonably be required. An application is considered within up to 1 year, extendable by up to a further 6 months.

Document certification

apostille

The country is party to the 1961 Hague Convention: a degree or certificate is authenticated with a single apostille in the country that issued it.

Limit

no limit

Customs Service of Moldova: non-commercial movement covers dogs, cats, ferrets, rodents, rabbits, ornamental birds, reptiles, amphibians and ornamental aquatic animals travelling with their owner. An animal identification document (microchip), proof of rabies vaccination and a valid veterinary and sanitary certificate are required. Sector-specific requirements are set by the veterinary and sanitary norm on the non-commercial movement of pets; certificates are issued by ANSA, including through the public services portal. A limit on the number of animals, quarantine and a requirement for an antibody titre test on entry to Moldova are not described in the available official materials.

Life expectancy

71.3 years

Bread, 500 g

$ 0,53

Milk, 1 l

$ 1,19

Eggs, 12

$ 2,46

Chicken breast, 1 kg

$ 5,15

Cheese, 1 kg

$ 8,21

Rice, 1 kg

$ 1,24

Potatoes, 1 kg

$ 0,70

Apples, 1 kg

$ 0,96

Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 l

$ 1,74

Total

$ 22,2

The same set for every country, so the comparison is fair.

Rent, 1 bedroom

$ 429 a month

Rent, 3 bedrooms

$ 830 a month

Utility bills

$ 171 a month

Home internet

$ 9,96 a month

Monthly transport pass

$ 15,3 a month

Single transport ticket

$ 0,35

Petrol, litre

$ 1,47

Cold medicine

$ 5,86 for a week

Country averages. City prices, where collected, are shown above and are more precise.

Life expectancy

71,3 years2024

Homicides

2 per 100k2024

Road deaths

9,1 per 100k2021

Unemployment

1,5 %2025

Unemployment, ages 15–24

4,2 %2025

Inequality (Gini)

26,82023

Health spending per person

$ 452 a year

Air pollution, PM2.5

15 µg/m³2023

Access to clean water

92,7 %2024

Internet, fixed line

193 Mbit/s2026

Internet, mobile

73,1 Mbit/s2026

Governance

Political stability

below average · -0,3

Control of corruption

below average · -0,3

Rule of law

below average · -0,2

Government effectiveness

above average · 0,3

World Bank estimates on a −2.5 to +2.5 scale, higher is better.

Natural hazards

Earthquakes

6 out of 10

River floods

4,6 out of 10

Coastal floods

0 out of 10

Tropical cyclones

0 out of 10

Droughts

5,6 out of 10

Tsunamis

0 out of 10

Policy towards newcomers

Migrant integration, overall score

48 out of 100 · 2019

Family reunification

61 out of 100 · 2019

Permanent residence

69 out of 100 · 2019

Access to citizenship

42 out of 100 · 2019

Access to the labour market

48 out of 100 · 2019

Measures how favourable the law is towards newcomers, not one person's chances of getting a visa.

Each value carries the year it refers to. “Data lags behind” means this country's figure was collected noticeably earlier than the rest. Natural hazards use one 0–10 scale and are meant to be compared against each other.

Albania · Belarus · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Iceland · Kosovo · North Macedonia · Russia · Ukraine

Albania · Belarus · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Iceland · Kosovo · North Macedonia · Russia · Ukraine

All countries by region