Romania is a realistic move from the United Kingdom 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 UK citizens.
Getting in: your route options
As UK citizens you can enter visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180, which makes scouting trips easy. Living in Romania is a separate matter: you need a residence permit tied to a reason.
- 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: a job offer plus a work permit; for higher-paid qualified roles ask employers about the EU Blue Card, which speeds up residence 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
If you keep earning from abroad and register as self-employed, Romania charges flat 10% on real or norm income (pfa), plus 25% + 10% above thresholds tied to minimum wage.
Social contributions, not income tax, decide the PFA math.
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.