Do you employ foreign workers? The 4 reports to IGI you must not miss

Status as of 29.10.2026: The rules below are those in force after OUG 32/2026, applicable from 27.04.2026. Accommodation is declared online, free of charge, in the IGI application at portaligi.mai.gov.ro/inregistrarestraini.

An employer who has foreign workers and provides their accommodation must send four types of notifications to the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI), each with its own deadline. The best known, the accommodation declaration, carries the smallest fine: 400–800 lei. The most expensive are the ones most often forgotten: reporting a worker's departure and unjustified absences, where the fine reaches 15.000–30.000 lei. This article explains what must be reported, to whom, by what deadline and how, with a table you can keep at hand.

In brief

1. Declaring accommodation

Who has the obligation. Anyone who hosts a citizen of a country outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland: hotels, guesthouses, private individuals who rent out property and companies that provide accommodation to foreign employees. The foreign worker has the same obligation for their own stay (art. 12 alin. 1 of OUG 194/2002).

Deadline. 3 days from the date of hosting. At hotels and other tourist establishments, the management transmits the data within 24 hours (art. 12 alin. 2).

How to do it. The simplest way is online, in the free IGI application: portaligi.mai.gov.ro/inregistrarestraini. It can be used with or without an account, by simple notification. You fill in the host's details, the foreigner's details (surname, first name, citizenship) and the period of accommodation. The law has expressly allowed this channel since 22.03.2024 (art. 12 alin. 4). Alternatively, the notification can be sent by e-mail or by written letter to the police or IGI unit in the county.

Fine. 400–800 lei, for both the host and the foreigner (art. 134 pct. 3 and art. 135 alin. 1 lit. a of OUG 194/2002).

Practical tip. If you move workers to different housing, declare the new accommodation within the same 3-day deadline.

2. Termination or suspension of the employment contract

Two laws overlap here, with the same deadline of 5 working days:

• OUG 194/2002, art. 13 alin. (6): the host entity, i.e. the employer, informs the territorial IGI unit about the termination or suspension of the legal relationship with the foreigner within 5 working days of the date of the event. The fine is 15.000–20.000 lei for each person identified (art. 134 pct. 5^1 and art. 135 alin. 1 lit. b^1, as amended by OUG 32/2026).
• OUG 32/2026, art. 7 alin. (1) lit. e): the employer notifies IGI and the placement agency about the termination of the individual employment contract within 5 working days of becoming aware of it. A breach is punished with 15.000–30.000 lei.

A single, properly prepared notification, sent on time to IGI and to the placement agency, covers both obligations. Every form of termination counts: resignation, dismissal, mutual agreement, expiry of a fixed-term contract or termination by operation of law.

Why it matters so much. A worker who has left has 90 days to find a new employer. Your notification shows IGI the date from which this period runs and proves that the company has fulfilled its obligation.

3. Unjustified absence for more than 3 consecutive working days

If a foreign worker fails to report for work, without reason, for more than 3 consecutive working days, the employer notifies IGI and the placement agency within 5 working days of becoming aware of it (art. 7 alin. 1 lit. e of OUG 32/2026). The fine for failing to notify is 15.000–30.000 lei.

This is the new obligation that is easiest to miss. A worker who "disappears" on a Friday and stops answering the phone triggers the reporting obligation before the company decides what to do with their contract. An absence notification does not mean dismissal. If the contract is later terminated, send the termination notification as well.

4. Danger, exploitation or loss of the conditions for residence and work

Also within 5 working days, the employer notifies IGI and the placement agency of any situation in which the foreign worker is in danger, is subject to exploitation or no longer meets the conditions on which the right to work and reside was based (art. 7 alin. 1 lit. e of OUG 32/2026). Examples: the residence permit expires and no extension has been requested, the worker states that they are being forced to work for someone else, or there are signs of human trafficking.

How to send the notifications

• Accommodation: in the IGI application, at portaligi.mai.gov.ro/inregistrarestraini. Save the confirmation.
• Termination, suspension, absences and risk situations: by e-mail or written letter to the IGI unit in the county where the foreigner works and, separately, to the placement agency through which the worker came.
• For each worker, include: full name, citizenship, residence permit or passport number, job title, the event and the date on which it occurred.
• Keep proof of transmission: the acknowledgement of receipt, the registration number or the e-mail sent. This proof is what protects you during an inspection.

Caution: 400–800 lei is only the fine for accommodation

Some information materials group all reporting obligations under the same fine of 400–800 lei. This amount applies only to the accommodation declaration. For failing to report the termination or suspension of a contract, the fine is 15.000–20.000 lei for each worker. For a company with 10 workers who left and were not reported, this means between 150.000 and 200.000 lei.

Checklist for the HR department

• [ ] Every newly accommodated worker has been declared in the IGI application within 3 days.
• [ ] Every move to new housing has been declared.
• [ ] Attendance of foreign workers is checked daily; the fourth working day of unjustified absence triggers the notification.
• [ ] Any termination or suspension of a contract is notified to IGI and to the agency within 5 working days.
• [ ] Residence permit expiry dates are tracked in a spreadsheet, with an alert at least 45 days in advance.
• [ ] All transmission confirmations are kept in the worker's file for at least 5 years after the employment relationship ends.

WantJOB prepares IGI notification templates for its clients and keeps track of deadlines for placed workers. Write to us at office@wantjob.eu.

Sources

• Government Emergency Ordinance (OUG) no. 194/2002 on the regime of foreigners in Romania, republished, art. 12, art. 13 alin. (6), art. 134 pct. 3 and 5^1, art. 135 alin. (1) lit. a) and b^1), consolidated version as of 30.04.2026, published by IGI
• Government Emergency Ordinance (OUG) no. 25/2024, Official Gazette (Monitorul Oficial), Part I, no. 250 of 22 March 2024 (art. 12 alin. 4 and art. 13 alin. 6 of OUG 194/2002)
• Government Emergency Ordinance (OUG) no. 32/2026 on foreigners' access to the labour market in Romania, Official Gazette (Monitorul Oficial), Part I, no. 335 of 27 April 2026, art. 7 alin. (1) lit. e) and art. 45 pct. 65
• Information campaign "Accommodating foreigners involves responsibility" ("Cazarea străinilor implică responsabilitate"), Satu Mare County Immigration Office, Satu Mare County Police Inspectorate and the Satu Mare Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (CCIA Satu Mare)