In accordance with art.10 para. (1) letter a) of Law no. 253/2025 on the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova (in force since 24.12.2025), a person born in the Republic of Moldova, over the age of 18, who knows the Romanian language and the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and who does not have proof of holding citizenship of the Republic of Moldova is recognised, upon request, as a citizen of the Republic of Moldova.
The application for acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Moldova through recognition is addressed to the Public Services Agency and is submitted in person: in the country — to any identity document issuance service located in the multifunctional centres in the municipality of Chisinau and, where the person is abroad, to the diplomatic mission or the consular office of the Republic of Moldova.
The following documents are presented in the original when submitting the application:
1. the identity document:
a) the passport of the foreign citizen, the travel document or another identity document recognised or accepted by the Republic of Moldova for crossing the state border of the Republic of Moldova under the law. Where the applicant holds multiple citizenships, they shall also present the identity documents proving the citizenship of the respective state;
2. the civil status documents of the applicant and of their children;
3. an autobiography, indicating:
a) current and previous personal data (surname, given name, date of birth, place of birth, contact details);
b) the citizenships held;
c) the address of domicile and/or temporary residence, the countries in which they were domiciled or stayed for a period exceeding 90 days in the last 3 years and the period of stay;
d) civil status;
e) education;
f) employment history, including previous places of work. The applicant must state whether or not they performed military service in another state, or within paramilitary structures, or worked within a special service, indicating the state, the period, the military/paramilitary structure/special service and the position held, as the case may be;
g) information on the activity of the spouse or of a first-degree relative (parents, children) within unrecognised structures (purported public authorities), law enforcement structures or military formations/structures of the unconstitutional administration in the region or of other states unlawfully present on the territory of that region, indicating the institution, the position held and the period of activity, or the applicant’s declaration that those persons did not carry out such activities;
h) data on the spouse and on first-degree relatives (parents, children) and the type of activity they carry out;
i) a declaration on own responsibility that the applicant has not carried out any action, is not in any situation and does not hold any status falling under art. 19 of Law no. 253/2025 on the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova;
4. the document proving domicile, temporary residence or stay on the territory of another state, in the case of a person not domiciled in the Republic of Moldova;
5. the detailed criminal record certificate. The detailed criminal record certificate is submitted for persons over the age of 14. The citizenship applicant submits the detailed criminal record certificate from the Republic of Moldova and from the country (countries) of which they are a citizen. Persons domiciled or temporarily resident in, or staying for a period exceeding 90 days on, the territory of a state other than the state of citizenship also submit the detailed criminal record certificate from that state. Where the applicant emigrated from a state in which they had their domicile or temporary residence and fewer than 3 years have passed since the date of emigration, they are obliged to submit the detailed criminal record certificate from the state of emigration as well.
Where the applicant changed their surname and/or given name during their lifetime, the detailed criminal record certificate is submitted in the current surname and given name and in the previous ones under which they identified themselves from the age of 14.
If the person changed their personal data before establishing their domicile and/or temporary residence on the territory of the state of residence, the detailed criminal record certificate is submitted on the basis of the data under which they identified themselves on the territory of that state.
Where the state issuing the detailed criminal record certificate does not provide for the holder’s personal data to be entered in that document, because records of persons are kept in an electronic register based on a unique identifier that includes the holder’s current and previous personal data, the certificate is deemed valid on the basis of a declaration submitted to that effect by the applicant.
Beneficiaries of international protection are exempt from the obligation to submit the detailed criminal record certificate from the country from which they fled.
The detailed criminal record certificate from the Republic of Moldova is not submitted by persons who file the application for acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Moldova through recognition at a diplomatic mission or consular office of the Republic of Moldova. The detailed criminal record certificate is accepted if it is valid for a period of at least two months from the date of submission of the citizenship application.
Where no validity period is indicated in the detailed criminal record certificate, it is deemed valid for a period of six months from the date of issue.
6. the certificate attesting that the examination on knowledge of the Romanian language and of the provisions of the Constitution has been passed, issued by the National Agency for Curriculum and Assessment within the Ministry of Education and Research — for persons over the age of 14, or the certificate of disability classification and the medical document confirming visual, hearing or communication impairments — for persons with a severe or accentuated disability whose capacity to learn the Romanian language and the provisions of the Constitution is limited because of those impairments;
7. two recent photographs measuring 4.5x3.5 cm, in colour, matte, on a white background;
8. consent to the processing of personal data and to their cross-border transfer;
9. proof of payment of the duties and tariffs established for acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Moldova through recognition (where the respective application is submitted on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, a tariff of 6650 lei + 180 lei shall be paid).
The documents required for acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Moldova are submitted in Romanian, and those drawn up in another language are submitted in an official translation, authenticated in the manner established by national legislation or by the international treaties to which the Republic of Moldova is a party.
The time limit for examining applications for the recognition of citizenship is up to 1 year. The time limit for examining an application for acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Moldova through recognition may be extended by a reasonably determined necessary period in order to take the steps 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-conformities identified in the process of examining that application, but it may not exceed 6 months.