EU citizens register land like Romanians. Non-EU buyers register an apartment or building, but not land directly in their name.
A foreigner without a Romanian personal number gets a tax ID from ANAF. The notary will not sign without it.
Route, NIF, independent lawyer, extract, preliminary contract, final contract before a notary, registration in your name.
A current extract is ordered on the ANCPI website for 20 lei (2026). It shows who owns the property and what is registered on it.
No residency, visa or local bank account is a condition for buying. Signing at the notary is in person, or by power of attorney.
Buying property in Romania as a foreigner: the short answer
Yes. Foreigners, including Israelis, can buy an apartment or a villa in Romania and register it in their own name, with no residency and no local company. The one meaningful restriction concerns land: non-EU citizens do not register land directly in their own name, so with a villa you choose a route such as a superficies right. The deal itself is signed before a Romanian notary and registered in your name in the land register.
That is the answer I give in almost every first conversation. In this article I break it down into seven steps, in the order they actually happen.
Who may buy what in Romania
The rule is set by Law 312/2005, Romania's law on the acquisition of land by foreigners:
| Who you are | Apartment or building | Land |
|---|---|---|
| Romanian citizens | Yes | Yes |
| EU and EEA citizens | Yes | Yes, on the same terms as Romanians |
| Citizens of other countries (e.g. Israel) | Yes | Not directly. Superficies, a Romanian company or another route |
In an apartment block you will barely notice it. With a villa, it is the central decision of the deal. We set out the three routes, and exactly what each one gives you, in our article on land ownership in Romania.
And what is not required: Romanian residency, a visa or a local bank account are not conditions for buying.
7 steps to buying property in Romania as a foreigner
- Define the goal and the route. Apartment or villa, to live in or to invest, and which route the land will be registered under. This decision comes before choosing the property.
- Get a Romanian tax number (NIF). A foreigner without a Romanian personal number receives a tax identification number from the ANAF tax authority. The notary will not sign without it. You can apply yourself or through a representative.
- Hire an independent lawyer. Not the seller's and not the developer's. They check the extract, the seller and the documents.
- Order a current extract. An extract from the land register (Extras de Carte Funciară) shows who owns the property and what is registered against it. It is ordered on the ANCPI website and costs 20 lei (as of 2026).
- Sign a preliminary contract. For an off-plan unit, under Law 207/2025, the preliminary contract is signed before a notary and advances go into a dedicated project account, capped by construction stage.
- Sign the final contract before a notary. Signing is in person, not remote. If you cannot attend, you give a power of attorney.
- The property is registered in your name. The notary sends the deal to the land register, and you receive an extract showing you as the owner.
The notary: the central figure in the deal
In Romania, a transfer of real estate is made by a notarial deed. The notary identifies the parties, orders a special extract for the signing, checks that the seller has paid local taxes, collects taxes and fees, and files the registration.
One point worth knowing in advance: the contract is drawn up in Romanian. If you do not understand Romanian, you sign in the presence of an authorised translator, who signs the deed together with the notary. We cover every stage in our guide to the notary in Romania.
You do not have to fly: power of attorney
If you cannot attend the signing, you can give a notarial power of attorney to your lawyer or another person. A power of attorney signed abroad needs an apostille and a certified translation into Romanian, and it must be in the same form as the contract, meaning notarial. The full guide is in our article on power of attorney for a Romanian deal.
Money, financing and paperwork
In a Romanian deal the money moves by bank transfer, and it is worth preparing proper documentation of the source of funds in advance. The notary and the bank will ask for it.
You can also finance part of the deal with a mortgage from a Romanian bank, on terms that differ from those for residents. And the costs on top of the price, VAT, notary and registration, are gathered in our guide to buying costs.
Israeli buyers do not end up in Bucharest by chance. An ynet report by Hila Tzion (in Hebrew) described the price gap with Israel.
What separates a good deal from a problematic one is the order: route, NIF, lawyer, extract, and only then signing.
From the field: the sellers who never brought the documents
Attorney Ilan Leibovitch recalls:
A client had visited Bucharest several times in a year, studied the neighbourhoods and met quite a few brokers, but had still not found an apartment that fit his goals. A few weeks after we met, a broker I had recommended found a three-room apartment in a central location: an old building with no earthquake collapse risk, renovated a few years earlier, at a price within his budget.
Our local partner started a preliminary check while the client negotiated. A few defects came up, and the sellers, a group of Israelis who had bought the apartment together, moved slowly and without flexibility. The client decided to buy anyway and gave in on all their demands. All that remained was for the sellers to complete their documents and certificates before the contract was signed.
One week passed, then another, and the answer was always “a few more days”. After a month the client started looking for an alternative, and after two months, with the documents still missing, he bought a different apartment. From what I understood from the broker, the sellers had not agreed among themselves on the price, and one of them never supplied his documents.
When a property has several sellers, ask at the very start whether all of them agree to the deal and whether all the documents are available. It is a one-day question that can save two months of waiting.
4 common mistakes foreign buyers make
- Choosing the property before choosing the land route. With a villa, it is the other way round.
- Relying on the other side's lawyer. They work for whoever hired them.
- Paying before there is a clean extract. No advance before the extract is checked.
- Discovering at the last minute there is no NIF or power of attorney. Both take time, so start them early.
In our project in Balotești, for example, buyers are registered under a superficies right, and the price includes the transaction costs up front. But this holds for any property: you choose the route before signing, not after.
Frequently asked questions
Can an Israeli buy an apartment in Romania?
Yes. An Israeli can buy an apartment or a building and register it in their own name in the land register, without residency and without a Romanian company. The restriction concerns registering land directly in the name of a non-EU citizen.
Do I need Romanian residency to buy property?
No. Residency is not a condition for buying. What you do need is a tax identification number (NIF), a valid passport, and either attendance at the notary or a power of attorney.
What is a NIF and why do I need it?
It is a tax identification number issued by ANAF to foreigners who do not have a Romanian personal number. The notary records it in the contract, and it is also used for the annual property tax and for future filings.
Can I buy property in Romania without travelling?
Yes. A lawyer can do the checks remotely, and a representative can sign before the notary on the basis of a notarial power of attorney with an apostille and a certified translation.
How do I know the property really belongs to the seller?
Order a current land register extract. Part II shows the owner, and Part III shows mortgages and seizures. An independent lawyer checks that it matches the actual seller.
How long does the deal take?
It depends on the property and the financing. For a finished property without a mortgage, once the checks are done, the signing at the notary itself takes a few hours. The mortgage, the NIF and the power of attorney are what set the timeline.
The bottom line
Buying property in Romania as a foreigner is an orderly process, not an adventure. There is a law that sets who registers what, a notary who runs the deal, and a land register where your right is recorded.
What separates a good deal from a problematic one is the order: route, NIF, lawyer, extract, and only then signing.
If you are looking at a property in Romania right now, with us or anywhere else, book a half-hour call with me. We will go through the seven steps together and see what you already have and what is still missing.
Moti Azulay, Compass Group Romania
Sources and data: Romanian legislation portal: Law 312/2005 on the acquisition of land by foreigners · Romania's National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) · National Agency for Cadastre and Land Registration (ANCPI) · National Union of Romanian Notaries (UNNPR) · ynet, Hila Tzion (in Hebrew).
This article is for general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Before any deal, consult an independent lawyer.
Now you know more.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult local professionals before any transaction.
