Romania is a realistic move from Turkey if you match a residence route to your situation early. The short version: a one-bedroom rents for about €500 a month in the bigger cities, typical net salaries run around €1,000, personal taxes sit at 10% flat, and permanent residence usually takes about 5 years of legal stay. Here is how the move actually works for Turkish citizens.
Getting in: your route options
As Turkish citizens you need a visa even for short visits, so plan the paperwork early. For an actual move you need a residence permit tied to a reason; the visit visa and the residence process are separate tracks.
- Remote work: Romania runs the Digital Nomad Visa, income bar around €3,950/mo, 1 year, renewable. Income bar is about three times the average gross salary.
- Work: usually the main route from Turkey: land the offer first, then the employer sponsors the permit. With a degree and a qualifying salary, ask specifically about the EU Blue Card, which is faster and portable across most of the bloc.
- Study: university admission converts into a student permit, usually with part-time work rights and a post-graduation job-seeker option.
- Family and ancestry: joining an EU spouse or partner, or claiming citizenship by descent if you have an EU-citizen parent or grandparent.
What life in Romania costs
Budget roughly €500 for a one-bed plus about €730 for essentials and transport, per person. English friendliness scores 60/100 here.
Healthcare here rates 58/100 in this model and everyday safety 75/100, while public transport comes in at 55/100.
Paperwork is the hard part: Romania scores 68/100 for bureaucratic friction, so budget real time for registrations and appointments.
The rental market is relatively relaxed (48/100), so finding a place is rarely the bottleneck.
The local language (RO) takes steady effort, rated 45/100 for approachability.
Romania has a reasonable international community in the bigger cities, thinner outside them.
What you would pay in tax
On a local contract in Romania, income tax runs at flat 10%, with social contributions of 25% pension + 10% health, employee-side (heavy).
The flat 10% headline hides one of the EU's heaviest employee social loads.
Romania is among the more welcoming countries in the bloc for remote workers and freelancers, rated 75/100. The full picture, including the company route and the special regimes, is on the taxes in Romania page, and the take-home index ranks all 27 countries on what actually reaches your account.
The long game
Permanent residence in Romania takes about 5 years of legal residence, and citizenship about 8 years from arrival, subject to language and integration requirements. If an EU passport is part of your plan, weigh this timeline against neighbouring countries before you commit.