Acquiring the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova by recognition

Pursuant to Article 10 paragraph (1) of the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Moldova No. 253/2025, a person who has reached the age of 18, who has knowledge of the Romanian language and of the provisions of the Constitution and who does not hold proof of possession of the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova, shall be recognized, upon application, as a citizen of the Republic of Moldova, namely:

  • a person born on the territory of the Republic of Moldova;
  • a person born abroad who has at least one parent, grandparent or great-grandparent born on the territory of the Republic of Moldova;
  • a person who was born and was domiciled, until June 28, 1940, in Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, Herta County or the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, as well as his or her descendants;
  • a person who was deported or became a refugee from the territory of the Republic of Moldova starting from June 28, 1940, as well as his or her descendants.

The application for the acquisition of the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova by recognition shall be addressed to the Public Services Agency and shall be submitted in person to one of its subdivisions in the municipality of Chișinău or, in the case of persons domiciled or staying abroad, to a diplomatic mission or a consular office of the Republic of Moldova.

The date of acquisition of the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova by the persons referred to above shall be deemed to be the date of approval by the Director of the Public Services Agency of the opinion regarding the recognition of the person as a citizen of the Republic of Moldova.

On the basis of the parent’s application, a child shall be recognized as a citizen of the Republic of Moldova:

  • born abroad, who has legal residence on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, if his or her parent previously acquired the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova; the condition of legal residence on the territory of the Republic of Moldova shall not apply to a child whose parent acquired the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova by recognition or reacquired it;
  • born on the territory of the Republic of Moldova to parents who are citizens of another state, or where one of the parents is a stateless person or a beneficiary of international protection and the other is a foreign citizen, provided that, at the date of submission of the application, at least one of the parents has legal residence on the territory of the Republic of Moldova or has acquired the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova.

Service delivery time frame: the time limit for examining the application for acquiring the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova by recognition is up to 1 year.

The time limit for examining the application for acquiring the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova by recognition may be extended for a necessary and reasonably determined period to carry out the procedures required to establish the authenticity of certain documents or the veracity of facts attested by the documents submitted by the applicant, or to remedy the non-compliances identified during the examination of the application, but such extension may not exceed 6 months.

The list of documents for submitting the application can be found here: https://www.asp.gov.md/ro/servicii/persoane-fizice/17/172

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    Step 1. Submitting the application

    The application to acquire the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova by recognition is submitted in person and may be filed in the following ways:

    • at one of the subdivisions of the Public Services Agency in the municipality of Chișinău; 
    • in the case of persons domiciled or staying abroad: at the Diplomatic Mission or Consular Office of the Republic of Moldova (DMCO).

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    Step 2. Paying for the service

    Payment of the tariff for the requested service through the Government Electronic Payment Service MPay.

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    Step 3. Processing and Examination

    1. Taking the facial image and scanning the signature
    2. Drawing up the electronic form and printing the G2 application-questionnaire
    3. Sending the information in electronic format and the application with the set of documents in paper format to DIDNPR;
    4. Registration of documents (registry office);
    5. Processing the G2 form by the Information Register Update Section;
    6. Verification of the respective application and the set of related documents and its coordination with the Security and Intelligence Service;
    7. Preparation of inquiries abroad for the purpose of verifying the authenticity of the submitted documents;
    8. Drawing up the notice on the acquisition of the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova and submitting it for approval to the Director of the PSA;
    9. Taking the decision.

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    Step 4. Transmission of the notice

    Transmission of the notice to the SIID/DMCO to be handed over to the applicant.

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