The short answer
A refusal takes the form of an order of the ANC president and is sent by registered post. It can be appealed within 15 days of receipt — to the administrative and tax division of the Bucharest Tribunal; the tribunal’s judgment is appealed to the Bucharest Court of Appeal. A fresh citizenship application may be filed no earlier than 6 months after the refusal.
Why applications are refused
| Ground | What lies behind it |
|---|---|
The application is deemed unsupported (nesusținut) |
the documents requested by the commission were not supplied within 4 months, or the language certificate was not filed within the deadline under art. XXI |
| The chain of descent is not proved | a gap in the records, discrepancies in names, no proof of the ancestor’s citizenship |
| Doubts about the authenticity of documents | the commission runs a separate check; if forgery is confirmed — refusal and criminal consequences |
| Failure to meet the conduct requirements | a conviction making the person unworthy of citizenship; acts against public order and national security |
| Procedural defects | documents older than permitted, missing legalisation, the wrong form of application |
What to do, step by step
- Obtain the text of the order. The appeal period runs from the date the registered letter was served — keep the envelope with its markings.
- Identify the type of refusal. “Unsupported application” and “refusal on the merits” are different stories: the first is usually cured by reassembling the file properly, the second requires analysing the reasoning.
- Decide: court or a fresh application. Court makes sense where the refusal rests on an error by the authority and you can prove otherwise with documents already in the file. If the problem is insufficient proof of descent, reassembling the file is faster and cheaper.
- Respect the deadlines. Fifteen days for a claim is a hard deadline. The six months for a new application run from the refusal.
- Fix the cause. Refiling with the same set of documents produces the same result.
Where people get it wrong
- They wait for “clarifications” instead of filing a claim. Correspondence does not suspend the 15-day period.
- They file a new application the next day. It will not be accepted before six months have passed.
- They try to “strengthen” the file with dubious papers. That moves the case from the administrative sphere into the criminal one — for the applicant, not the intermediary.
- They do not check the correspondence address. A letter sent to an old address counts as delivered — and the clock keeps running.
What we take on
We analyse the reasoning of the order, distinguish a formal refusal from a refusal on the merits, work out which is better — court or reassembly — and fix the cause: finding the missing link in the archives, clearing up name discrepancies, putting documents into the required form. Cases after a refusal are a distinct and perfectly workable scenario: people who come back for a second attempt usually have better odds, because by then it is known what was missing.
Frequently asked questions
Can I litigate and reapply at the same time? Legally these are separate proceedings, but in practice refiling usually means abandoning the dispute. The decision depends on the reasoning of the particular order.
Does a refusal for one family member affect the others? Applications are considered individually; children included in a parent’s application follow that application’s fate.
Are the documents from a rejected file kept? The materials stay with the ANC. For a new application the set is assembled afresh, taking the two-year rule into account.
Where this comes from
We publish only what we have checked against the primary source. Here it is — open it and see for yourself.