Romania Is Attractive for Asian Workers

According to statistics, Romanian authorities for migration registered 115,000 applications from individuals from Non-EU states, especially from Asia. The statistics, supplied by the Romanian Immigration Office, were published by the Romanian financial publication ZF.

The data show that Turkey, Nepal, and Sri Lanka are the top countries when it comes to the foreign workforce present in Romania. Also, China and Vietnam are among the other Asian countries whose workers come to Romania to find a job.

The Asian workforce recruiting companies from Romania are only trying to fill in the workforce gap, but there is a huge need for workers from the local firms which is impossible to satisfy.

“We cannot satisfy the domestic demand for the Asian labourforce. It’s not because we couldn’t supply more workers to the Romanian companies that approach us, but it’s because the number of working permits is limited. Romanian authorities approve only 30,000 working permits for the non-EU working force annually. The limit is too low for the current market demand. We know that from our discussions with the Romanian entrepreneurs, but also from the statistics published by business publications that estimate the need of the domestic market for foreign workers at around 500,000.

Emilia Mart, founder at Navon Jobs – Asian workforce recruting agency

In 2019 Romania received 28,739 applications for the working permit from non-EU nationals, which was an all-time record. Yet, the need for Asian workers is reflected in the number of applications for this year: up to June, there were 16,169 applications for work permits from non-EU citizens. It means that, by the end of the year, the number of applications could exceed 30,000 for the first time ever.

The need for workforce is high, especially in hospitality. Lots of former restaurant and cafes employees changed their job during the pandemic. The Romanian Government did very little to help the hospitality owners and they couldn’t keep their employees who resigned. This is why the very few entrepreneurs who survived 2020 are now desperate to find workforce in a very complicated context.

This is where the Government should intervene to raise the limit of the workforce permits. Or, at least, to keep the promise to the hospitality entrepreneurs and help them pass over this difficult period.