Maternity, paternity and parental leave in Romania in 2026: a guide for foreigners

Romanian law gives insured mothers 126 days of paid maternity leave, fathers 10 working days of paid paternity leave (15 with a childcare course), and either parent up to 2 years of child-raising leave paid by the state (3 years for a child with a disability). Foreign residents qualify on the same terms if they meet the income and residence conditions. This guide reflects the law as of 3 November 2026. It is general information, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm your case with your employer, your health insurance house (CAS) or your county social payments agency (AJPIS).

Three different rights, three different payers

• Maternity leave (concediu de maternitate): a health insurance benefit under Emergency Ordinance (OUG) 158/2005, paid from the national health insurance fund.
• Paternity leave (concediu paternal): an employment right under Law 210/1999, paid by the employer.
• Child-raising leave and allowance (concediu și indemnizație pentru creșterea copilului): a state benefit under OUG 111/2010, paid by the National Agency for Payments and Social Inspection (ANPIS) through its county agencies.

Maternity leave: length

Insured women get pregnancy and post-birth leave totalling 126 calendar days (OUG 158/2005, art. 23). The standard split is 63 days before the birth and 63 days after. The days can be shifted between the two parts, but the post-birth part cannot be shorter than 42 calendar days (art. 24). Insured women with a disability can start pregnancy leave, on request, from the sixth month of pregnancy.

Only the working days within the leave are paid (art. 10(8)).

Maternity leave: eligibility and pay

Minimum insurance period. The mother needs at least 6 months of insurance in the 12 months before the month the leave is granted (art. 7). Assimilated periods, such as earlier child-raising allowance, also count (art. 8).

Amount. The gross monthly maternity allowance is 85% of the calculation base (art. 25). The base is the average gross monthly income of the last 6 of those 12 months, capped at 12 national minimum gross salaries a month (art. 10(1)). For the current minimum wage, see our guide Minimum salary in Romania in 2026.

After losing a job. A woman who stopped being insured for reasons that were not her fault keeps the right if she gives birth within 9 months of losing the insured status. The health insurance house then pays her (art. 23(2)).

How the maternity allowance is claimed

The administrative document is the medical leave certificate (certificat de concediu medical) issued by the treating doctor (art. 11 and 36).

• The certificate goes to whoever pays the allowance by the 5th of the month after the month it covers (art. 36(2)).
• For employees, the employer pays the allowance every month, at the latest together with that month’s salaries (art. 36(3)(a)). The employer recovers the money from the health insurance fund, which bears the full cost (art. 25(2) and 38).
• Allowances can be claimed, with supporting documents, within 90 days of the date the person became entitled to them (art. 40).

Paternity leave

A father who works under an employment or service relationship is entitled to 10 working days of paid paternity leave (Law 210/1999, art. 2, as amended by OUG 117/2022). It rises by 5 working days if he holds a childcare course certificate (atestat de absolvire a cursului de puericultură), for each newborn, whenever the certificate was obtained (art. 4).

• How to request it: on request to the employer, within the first 8 weeks after the birth, with the child’s birth certificate showing he is the father (art. 2(2)).
• Pay: the employer pays it from its salary fund, equal to his salary for that period (art. 2(3)).
• Protection: the employer must approve the leave and may not dismiss the worker while he is on it, except in judicial reorganisation or bankruptcy (art. 4^1). Refusing to grant the leave is punished with a fine of 4,000 to 8,000 lei, imposed by labour inspectors (art. 5^1).

The law does not distinguish by nationality. See our guide to your rights as a foreign worker in Romania.

Child-raising leave and allowance: who qualifies

A parent qualifies if they had at least 12 months of taxable income in the 2 years before the birth (OUG 111/2010, art. 2(1)). This can be salary, self-employment, intellectual property or agricultural income. Some periods without income can fill the 12 months, including unemployment benefit, health insurance leave such as maternity leave, a previous child-raising leave, up to 3 months between two fixed-term contracts, and full-time studies (art. 2(5)).

The leave lasts until the child turns 2, or 3 for a child with a disability (art. 2(1)). The employer must approve it (art. 25), and the employment contract is suspended for that period (HG 52/2011 norms, art. 7). The parent must notify the employer at least 10 days before maternity leave ends, stating the planned period (OUG 111/2010, art. 19^1).

The 2 months reserved for the other parent. If both parents meet the conditions, at least 2 months of the leave must be taken by the parent who did not apply first. If that parent does not take them, the first parent cannot take those months instead (art. 11). ANPIS says this has applied since 19 September 2023, and that the family loses the two months if the second parent does not use them (ANPIS, information for beneficiaries).

How much the allowance is in 2026

The allowance is 85% of the average net income of the last 12 months in the 2 years before the birth (art. 2(2)), within these limits:

• Minimum: 2.5 times the social reference indicator (ISR) (art. 2(2)). The ISR rose to 660 lei in March 2024, according to a county employment agency press release. It was then frozen for 2025 (OUG 156/2024, art. XIX) and again for 2026 (Law 141/2025, art. XXXIII). ANPIS gives the minimum as 1,651 lei a month.
• Maximum: 8,500 lei a month, set in the ordinance itself and confirmed by ANPIS.
• Twins or more: an extra 50% for each child from the second one onwards (art. 5).

Health contribution since August 2025. Article 20(2) of the ordinance still says no tax or contributions are due. However, Law 141/2025 added the child-raising allowance to the base for the health insurance contribution (CASS) in the Fiscal Code, starting with income for August 2025. ANPIS calculates and pays this contribution (Fiscal Code, art. 155(1)(k), 157^7 and 168(1^5)). The CASS rate is 10% (art. 156). The insertion incentive is not on that list. Parents on the allowance remain health insured. See our guide to health insurance in Romania for foreigners.

Working during the leave. Taxable earnings suspend the allowance, except net earnings of up to 8 times the minimum allowance per calendar year (art. 16(3)(c)).

The insertion incentive for returning early

A parent who goes back to earning taxable income during the leave period can get the stimulent de inserție instead of the allowance. The two cannot be paid together (art. 7). The amounts in the current consolidated text are:

• 1,500 lei a month if the parent returns before the child turns 6 months (1 year for a child with a disability). It is paid until the child turns 2 (or 3).
• 650 lei a month if the parent returns after that age.
• 650 lei a month from age 2 to age 3 (or 3 to 4) for parents who finished the leave and are working.

Where and how to apply

Applications go to the town hall (primărie) of the place where the applicant has their domicile or residence (in Bucharest, the sector town hall). The town hall forwards them to the county agency (AJPIS), which decides within 15 working days of registering the file (OUG 111/2010, art. 14).

Deadline. Apply within 60 working days of the end of maternity leave, and the allowance starts the next day. The file can be submitted up to 30 days before maternity leave ends. Late applications are paid from the filing date. For the insertion incentive, the deadline is 30 working days from the return to work (art. 15).

Documents (OUG 111/2010, art. 13; norms, art. 6; ANPIS list):

• the standard application form, available from town halls and AJPIS
• the applicant’s identity document and the child’s birth certificate (copies checked against the originals)
• the marriage certificate or family book, where relevant
• an employer certificate on income, and the approved leave request or the decision suspending the contract
• a sworn statement that the other parent is not receiving the allowance or the incentive
• a bank statement with an IBAN, for payment by transfer

The allowance is paid monthly by bank transfer or postal order (art. 23). The state child allowance (alocația de stat) can be requested on the same form. See our guide to child benefit in Romania in 2026.

What changes for foreigners

• Nationality is not a condition. OUG 111/2010 covers Romanian citizens, foreign citizens and stateless people. The applicant must have domicile or residence in Romania under the law and live in Romania with the child (art. 12). The application form’s identity section lists the documents expected from foreigners: temporary and long-term residence permits, residence cards and permanent residence cards. Maternity rights likewise apply for the period the insured person has domicile or residence in Romania (OUG 158/2005, art. 1).
• EU, EEA and Swiss work periods count. For the child-raising allowance, periods worked in states applying EU Regulation 883/2004 are added together (totalizare) (OUG 111/2010, art. 2(6)). If foreign and Romanian income overlap in the same period, only the Romanian income is used for the amount. Income from both countries counts in the same month only if the work periods do not overlap (art. 3(5)-(5^1)). Foreign employer and income proofs, and foreign birth certificates, must be translated by an authorised translator (norms, art. 6(2) and 6(5)(g)). For maternity allowance, EU/EEA/Swiss insurance periods count if certified on the European totalisation form. Periods from countries with a bilateral agreement count the same way (OUG 158/2005, art. 8(2)(d^1)-(d^2)).
• Non-EU workers. OUG 158/2005 covers salary income earned in Romania, including from employers in states outside EU coordination rules (art. 1(1)(A)-(B)). None of the three laws has a rule excluding non-EU nationals.

Checklist

• During pregnancy: check the 6-in-12-months insurance rule; hand in each medical leave certificate by the 5th of the next month.
• After the birth: the father requests paternity leave within 8 weeks.
• At least 10 days before maternity leave ends: send your employer the child-raising leave request.
• Within 60 working days of the end of maternity leave: file the application at the town hall.

Header photo: Newborn Baby by Studio 7042, CC0, via Stocksnap, cropped.

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