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VISAS AND RED
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You'll need a passport to enter Romania, plus a visa unless you're a
citizen of the USA, the EU, one of the formerly socialist states or a
very few other countries such as Cyprus, Malaysia or Turkey. Visa
requirements do change and it is always advisable to check the current
situation before leaving home. Visas are included in the cost of package
holidays, and you should get in for free even if you just have a hotel
reservation. Otherwise, you can obtain your visa in advance from a
consulate or embassy, or on arrival at the country's borders or the
airport.
A tourist visa is valid for thirty days within three months of issue and
costs £33/A$60/NZ$60 if issued in advance; applications can either be
lodged in person at the embassy or by post. You will need to show a
current passport, and if you're applying by post you'll also need to
enclose a money order for the full amount along with a photograph and an
SAE. Citizens of Canada, Norway, Israel and Switzerland may also buy
visas on arrival, which is usually cheaper, at about £21/CAN$50. For a
thirty-day stay, US and EU citizens simply need to fill in an
immigration form on arrival at the airport or at the border.
Transit visas , valid for three days' stay within one month of issue,
cost £20/US$30 at the border (£25/US$45 at an embassy); double transit
visas (two three-day visas) cost £33/US$55.
Overstaying is an offence generally solved by paying a fine to the
border police, but it is preferable, and slightly cheaper, to obtain a
visa extension from any judet (county) police headquarters or the office
at Str. Luigi Cazzavillan 11, Bucharest (Mon, Thurs & Fri 8.30am-1pm,
Tues 8.30am-1pm & 5.30-7pm; tel 01/650 3050). You'll be sent to the CEC
bank (in Bucharest this is on Strada Ion Cāmpineanu) to pay your fee (another
$25 plus $6 for "urgent" service, in lei), and then you must return with
the bank receipt for hard currency; they may tell you to return in a day
or two, although there is no reason for this and a few dollars will
speed things up.
Romanian embassies and consulates abroad
Australia , 4 Balmain Cresent, O'Malley, Canberra ACT (tel 02/6290
2442).
Britain , 4 Palace Green, London W8 4QD (tel 020/7937 9667 or
09001/880828, fax 7937 4675, visa@roemb.demon.co.uk ).
Bulgaria , Sitnyakovo 4, Sofia (tel 2/707 047).
Canada , 655 Rideau St, Ottawa ON, K1N 6A3 (tel 613/232-5345); 111 Peter
St, Suite 530, Toronto ON, M5V 2H1 (tel 416/585-5802); 1111 St Urbain,
Suite M-01, Montréal PQ, H2Z 1Y6 (tel 514/876-1793).
Hungary , Thököly śtca 72, 1146 Budapest (tel 1/268 0271).
Ireland , 47 Ailesbury Rd, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 (tel 01/269 2852).
Republica Moldova , Vlaicu Pīrcalab 39, Chisinau (tel 3732/22.75.83).
USA , 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington DC 20008-2809 (tel 202/232-4747 or
332-4846, fax 232-4748, www.embassy.org/romania ); 200 East 38th St, New
York, NY 10016 (tel 212/682-9122); 11766 Wiltshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
90025 (tel 310/444-0043, fax 445-0043).
Customs
Romanian customs don't generally search tourists' luggage very closely,
but they do have some byzantine regulations . You can import reasonable
quantities of food, clothing and medication (including contraceptives)
for personal use, two cameras and one video camera, with film. If the
details of your camera get written in your passport, you will have to
produce it (or a police theft report) when you leave.
On departure , you can carry enough food and medicine for a 24-hour
journey and up to L500,000 ($22); valuable souvenirs must be supported
by exchange documents to show that they were purchased by legitimate
means. Carpets and works of art can be taken out as long as they don't
appear to be antiques. With the closure of Serbia, drug-runners from
Turkey and Asia now often pass through Romania, and checks are being
tightened up.
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