Child benefit in Romania 2026: how much the alocatia is and how foreigners claim it

Romania pays a monthly state child allowance, the alocația de stat pentru copii, to every child up to 18. The children of foreign citizens and stateless people qualify too, if they are resident in Romania and live with their parents. In 2026 the amounts are frozen at their December 2025 level, unchanged since January 2024: 719 lei a month for a child under 2 (under 3 with a disability, and up to 18 with a disability) and 292 lei a month for other children aged 2 to 18. This guide is general information, not legal advice; rules change, so confirm with your town hall or the county agency for payments and social inspection (AJPIS).

The legal basis

The allowance is set by Law 61/1993 on the state child allowance, republished in 2012 and amended many times since (Law 61/1993, consolidated text). The detailed procedure is in the methodological norms approved by Government Decision (HG) 577/2008 (HG 577/2008 norms).

Article 1 calls it state protection given “to all children, without discrimination”. The National Agency for Payments and Social Inspection (ANPIS) pays it through its county agencies (AJPIS, or APISMB in Bucharest).

Who is entitled, including foreign residents

Children up to 18. Every child up to the age of 18 is entitled (Article 1(2)).

Pupils over 18. Young people over 18 still in high school (liceu) or vocational school keep the allowance until they finish. Young people with a disability in pre-university education keep it until 26 at the latest (Article 1(3)). A pupil over 18 who repeats a school year loses it, unless the repeat is for health reasons shown by a medical certificate (Article 1(4)).

Children of foreigners. Article 2 of Law 61/1993 states that the allowance also goes to “the children of foreign citizens and of stateless persons resident, under the law, in Romania, if they live together with their parents”. So the law sets two conditions: legal residence in Romania, and the child living with the parents. The law itself does not list which residence documents count. The norms say that for foreign or stateless applicants, the documents proving identity, address in Romania and the child’s legal relationship to the parent are those issued in the country of origin, “translated and confirmed by the Romanian authorities”, and/or those issued by Romanian authorities (HG 577/2008 norms, Article 3(6)). We found no official page that lists the accepted residence documents, so ask your town hall what it accepts before you go. If your family is still arranging its permits, see our guide to family reunification in Romania in 2026.

The right ends from the month after the conditions stop being met. One stated reason is that “the child of foreign citizens or stateless persons no longer lives in Romania” (norms, Article 16(1)(c)).

How much it is in 2026

Article 3 of Law 61/1993 set the amounts from January 2022 at 600 lei (under 2, or under 3 with a disability, and 3 to 18 with a disability) and 243 lei (2 to 18, and pupils over 18). From January 2023 the law requires automatic yearly indexation in line with average annual inflation (Article 3(2)).

Indexation was applied in 2023 and 2024. According to the Ministry of Labour’s January 2024 announcement, the allowance rose by 13.8% from January 2024, from 256 to 292 lei and from 631 to 719 lei. Since then it has been frozen twice:

• 2025: Emergency Ordinance (OUG) 156/2024 kept the allowance at its November 2024 level for the whole of 2025 (note under Article 3 of the consolidated Law 61/1993).
• 2026: Article XXV(k) of Law 141/2025 on fiscal and budget measures states that “in 2026” the state child allowances stay at the level “granted/due for December 2025” (Law 141/2025, Article XXV).

The Ministry of Labour’s report on social assistance in 2025 has a table of amounts for 2021-2025 whose last change is January 2024 (Ministry of Labour, Evoluții în domeniul asistenței sociale în anul 2025, Table 2). ANPIS’s director general gave the same two rates, 719 and 292 lei, for the April 2026 payment (ANPIS, 27 May 2026). So the monthly amounts in 2026 are:

• 719 lei for a child under 2, or under 3 with a disability
• 719 lei for a child aged 3 to 18 with a recognised disability
• 292 lei for a child aged 2 to 18 without a disability, and for pupils over 18 who qualify

The allowance is not taxed and cannot be seized, except to recover amounts paid by mistake (Article 8). The under-2 allowance can be received alongside the child-raising allowance or the insertion incentive under OUG 111/2010 (Article 3(4)). See our guide to maternity, paternity and parental leave in Romania.

Where to apply

You file the application at the town hall (primărie) of the commune, town, city or Bucharest sector where the parent filing it has their permanent or temporary address (domiciliu or reședință) (norms, Article 3(7)). ANPIS’s information for beneficiaries says the same. Pupils over 18 who must apply themselves do so through their school’s office (norms, Article 4(4)). The town hall sends the files to the county AJPIS, which decides and pays.

Online. The national catalogue of public services, run by Romania’s digitalisation authority, labels this service “fully online”. It lists only a counter as the way to apply, and its document list says “information unavailable” (Alocație de stat pentru copii – Catalogul Național al Serviciilor Publice). We found no official national portal for submitting the application online, so ask your town hall whether it accepts files by email or through its own platform.

Documents

The norms (Article 3) and ANPIS ask for:

• The application form, filled in and signed by the child’s legal representative. The model is annex 1a to the norms.
• The child’s birth certificate, original and copy.
• The legal representative’s identity document. For a foreign parent, ask the town hall which identity and residence documents it wants to see.
• Documents showing the child’s legal relationship to the applicant where needed. Examples include the family record book (livret de familie), a court decision on custody, adoption or guardianship, or a parent’s death certificate.
• A bank statement showing the IBAN, if you want payment into an account.
• For a child with a disability, a copy of the disability certificate (norms, Article 3(4)).

Children born abroad. For a child born outside Romania, ANPIS’s frequently asked questions list the birth certificate “transcribed if applicable”. ANPIS also asks for proof of whether the child has received benefits in another EU country. For foreign and stateless parents, the norms require documents from the country of origin to be translated and confirmed by the Romanian authorities (Article 3(6)). On transcription, see our guide to registering a foreign birth or marriage certificate in Romania.

Personal numeric code. The application form asks for the child’s personal numeric code (CNP) (annex 1a to the norms), and ANPIS’s FAQ calls moving a file to another county an “electronic transfer of the CNP”. If your child does not have a CNP yet, see CNP in Romania for foreigners.

Timing and payment

• Start date. The right begins from the month after the child is born. Payment starts from the month after you apply (Law 61/1993, Article 6(4)).
• Late applications. If you apply after the birth month, back payments can be made for at most 12 months (Article 6(5)).
• Processing. Town halls send the previous month’s applications to the AJPIS by the 5th of each month. The AJPIS director decides within 10 working days of receiving them. The decision is sent to you within 15 working days of being issued (norms, Articles 7(1) and 9).
• Payment method. You choose a postal order (mandat poștal) or a personal bank or card account (Article 10(2) of the law; norms, Article 12(1)). Bank payment works only at banks that have an agreement with the AJPIS (norms, Article 15(3)). If a postal order goes uncollected for 3 months, payment is suspended. It resumes, with arrears, after a written request to the AJPIS (Article 6(7)).
• Pay dates. ANPIS says the allowance is paid between the 8th and the 27th of each month, for the previous month. The payment for October 2026 goes to bank accounts on 6 November 2026, and postal payments start on 10 November, because 8 November is a non-working day (ANPIS press release, 3 November 2026).
• Reporting changes. You must tell the AJPIS in writing within 15 days of any change that could end or alter the right. This includes a change of address or moving abroad with the child (Article 7(1); norms, Article 18(1)). Not doing so can bring a fine of 500 to 2,000 lei (Article 10^1(2)). Amounts paid wrongly are recovered.

If one parent works in another EU country

For families split between Romania and another EU country, EU Regulation 883/2004 decides which country pays first. Your Europe (European Commission, last checked 16 June 2026) explains the priority rules:

• the country where the right comes from work generally pays first
• if both parents work, in two countries, the country where the children live pays first, provided one parent works there
• if the first country’s benefit is lower, the other country pays the difference

ANPIS’s FAQ applies this to Romania:

• Child and one working parent in Romania, other parent working in another EU state. Romania pays. The other state pays the difference if its benefit is higher.
• Both parents working in another EU state, child in Romania (for example with grandparents). The state where the parents work pays. Romania pays the difference if its amount is higher.

ANPIS says Regulation 883/2004 also covers non-EU nationals legally resident in a member state who move within the EU. It also lists receiving the allowance in two EU states at once as a reason for recovering money.

A common pitfall

• Outdated 2025 increase notices. In October 2024 the website of AJPIS Bihor announced a 10.4% increase to 794 and 323 lei from January 2025 (AJPIS Bihor, 10 October 2024). It never took effect, because OUG 156/2024 froze the amounts. The 2026 figures are still 719 and 292 lei.

Checklist

• Make sure the family is legally resident in Romania and the child lives with the parents.
• Get the child’s birth certificate. If it was issued abroad, have it translated and confirmed as the norms require.
• Get the child a CNP if they do not have one yet.
• File the form, the documents and an IBAN statement at the town hall where you live.
• Watch for the AJPIS decision, then for the first payment in the month after you apply.
• Report any move, change of address or departure from Romania within 15 days.

Header photo: Children’s playground in the sanatorium park in Shklo by Rbrechko, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped; this crop is released under the same licence.

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