When does Article 11 for Romanian citizenship apply?
Understand Article 11's qualifying loss rule, third-degree limit, evidence, language requirement, and oath.
When does Article 11 apply?
Short answer: Article 11 may apply where a former Romanian citizen lost citizenship for reasons not imputable to that person or had citizenship removed against that person's will.
It may also cover that person's child, grandchild, or great-grandchild. Both former citizenship and the qualifying loss must be proved.
What is the loss rule?
Article 11 of Law 21/1991 uses a narrower loss predicate than Article 10.
“Non-imputable” means the loss was not legally attributed to the person's own conduct under the applicable rule. “Against the person's will” points to a loss imposed without voluntary choice. These are legal classifications, not labels that a family story can settle.
Do not infer this loss from:
- Romanian ancestry or ethnicity
- birth in Bessarabia, Moldova, Bukovina, Hertsa, Dobruja, Transylvania, or Banat
- war, border change, or emigration alone
- acquisition of another nationality alone
- a Romanian civil certificate without a loss record
The exact event, date, law, authority, and individual record matter.
What does “third degree” mean?
Count from the qualifying former citizen:
- child is first degree
- grandchild is second degree
- great-grandchild is third degree
A more distant relationship does not fit Article 11 merely because the family has Romanian roots. A separate continuous Article 5 chain may still need investigation generation by generation.
The live eConsulat Article 11 description and document list distinguish the family degrees and required records.
Which evidence matters most?
Start with evidence that the ancestor was Romanian and evidence showing how and when that status ended.
Useful records may include citizenship registers, passports, nationality lists, loss or withdrawal orders, renunciation files, treaty options, population and domicile records, emigration files, and complete foreign-naturalization records.
Then build a certified civil chain from that person to the applicant. Resolve every name, date, locality, script, and parentage conflict.
A family tree or archive image can point to a source. It is not automatically application-grade proof.
Which Article 8 conditions apply?
Article 11 incorporates specified Article 8 conditions concerning loyalty and national security, adulthood, and conduct or convictions. It does not import the ordinary Article 8 residence period or the same means-of-support condition incorporated by Article 10.
The applicant may maintain domicile abroad. Conduct and security remain individual legal questions that cannot be approved through a simple questionnaire.
Is B1 required?
Descendant applicants generally need B1 Romanian or an accepted Romanian-medium-study record. Current exemptions include the applicant who personally was Romanian and a person aged 65 or older at filing.
Do not assume that the descendant shares the former citizen's personal exemption. See the language guide.
Can another citizenship be kept?
Article 11 permits retaining foreign citizenship under Romanian law. The law of the other country must be checked separately.
Citizenship is acquired on taking the oath, not on finding an ancestor, filing the application, or receiving approval alone.
What should you do next?
Write a one-page loss chronology. Identify the last proof of Romanian citizenship, the alleged loss event, the authority, and the law then in force.
If the loss cannot yet be classified, keep the route as manual review. Use ANC's current Form 4 only after checking the live ANC forms page and your receiving office.
Sources checked: 27 August 2026. Romanian official text and current authority instructions control.