MFA: Romanians can leave countries affected by conflict even with expired documents

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Romanians in countries affected by the conflict in the Middle East can leave these countries even if their documents or visas have expired, after Romanian authorities obtained the agreement of countries in the region to facilitate transit.

The statements were made on Monday at a press briefing held by Andrei Ţărnea, Director General for Communication and Public Diplomacy and spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to the MFA official, Romanian authorities have discussed with countries in the region to have recently expired Romanian documents temporarily accepted.

„We have ensured that the authorities of the states in the region recognize Romanian documents whose validity has expired within a reasonable time, six months or a year. We have also ensured that people whose visas have expired during this period will not have problems crossing borders and will be able to leave the respective states,” said the MFA representative.

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Romanian citizens can leave the area either on commercial flights or on evacuation flights organized by Romania or other member states through consular cooperation mechanisms.

At the same time, consulates continue to operate, but services not directly related to evacuation have been reduced to allow for the management of urgent situations.

The Foreign Ministry also announced the addition of consular staff in the region. One consul has already been sent to Dubai, and four other diplomats have been deployed to the United Arab Emirates, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi, as well as Oman and Saudi Arabia. Another six or seven consular officials have been mobilized both at the central level and in missions in the region to support evacuation operations and the issuance of documents for Romanians in the area.

MFA officials thanked the consular staff for their efforts, noting that many of them have been working non-stop for over nine days to respond to requests from Romanian citizens.

According to data previously released by the ministry, approximately 14,000 Romanian citizens in the conflict-affected area are being assisted by consular services. Approximately 2,000 Romanians have returned from the Middle East either on evacuation flights or on assisted repatriation or commercial flights facilitated by the state, Ţărnea said. Separately, approximately 1,500 citizens have returned by their own means.