Share your occupations and recruitment countries and we will outline what a Vâlcea cooperation would involve.
Vâlcea is a county in southern Romania, stretching from high mountains in the north to hills and river meadows in the south, with Râmnicu Vâlcea as its seat. Official sources highlight two types of employers that lead the county’s hiring forecast: manufacturing and construction firms, and spa resorts that the Government has granted balneary or balneoclimatic status. This page explains how AtoZ Serwis Plus works with recruitment agencies abroad, workforce suppliers, and recruitment partners on cases in the county, and what to check before approaching a candidate.
The county employment agency, AJOFM Vâlcea, has clearly described the pressure employers face. Its labour market analysis calls the labour shortage a major challenge that affects employers’ competitiveness. It also describes a county moving from “producer” towards “consumer”, with a growing share of employees in commerce and services.
Those are descriptions of a market, not orders. A partner cannot recruit against a forecast. Recruitment starts only when a named employer issues a written order that survives the checks described below.
We coordinate, not a Romanian placement agency, and we file nothing with the authorities. Three Romanian actors can carry a file: an ANOFM-authorised placement agency or, for D/AM2 cases, an “authorised employer”; and, for D/AM1 cases, the registered employer itself. We sit between them and the agency abroad under written agreements that set out each party’s tasks.
In practice, the division looks like this:
Pricing, exclusivity, and timelines should be set out in a written agreement, signed before sourcing starts. Nothing on this page amounts to such an agreement.
A cook bound for Băile Olănești or a sewer bound for a workshop near the seat pays nothing to be placed. Romanian rules bar any commission, fee or tax charged to a foreign worker, and any deposit or guarantee taken from one; placement costs stay with the employer, and we turn down any cooperation that depends on candidate payments.
AJOFM Vâlcea describes relief“arranged in steps”, with altitudes falling from north to south. That shape governs where people live and how far they travel. The county has 89 administrative units: two municipalities, Râmnicu Vâlcea and Drăgășani; nine towns; and 78 communes. By number of villages, it ranks third in the country; so many people live in small, scattered settlements.
The nine towns are Băbeni, Băile Govora, Băile Olănești, Bălcești, Berbești, Brezoi, Călimănești, Horezu and Ocnele Mari. Three of them are resorts. The county seat holds the county institutions and the largest labour market; Drăgășani, the second municipality, lies in the south and has its own local employment agency.
The employment agency runs local agencies in the seat, Drăgășani, and Horezu, and worksites in Călimănești, Berbești, and Lăpușata. Lăpușata is a commune, which shows the agency reaches rural areas where jobseekers live. When an order names a workplace, find it on this map before anything else: a post in Horezu or Brezoi is a different proposition from one on the edge of the seat.
The same analysis found that most registered unemployed people live in rural communes rather than towns. Local workers therefore often commute from villages, and incoming workers need housing close to work because rural bus links may be limited.
Vâlcea belongs to the South-West Oltenia development region, a statistical and planning grouping. County institutions, not the region, handle employers and workers.
In the agency's analysis, manufacturing is the county's largest contributor to gross domestic product, followed by public administration, construction, and agriculture. The analysis’s activity tables include making textile articles and sawing and planing wood, so light manufacturing and timber processing both appear in the official record.
The short-term hiring forecast puts manufacturing first, construction second, and trade and vehicle repair third. The occupation with the most estimated hires is shop assistant, and most of those posts could be filled by people without previous experience.
The analysis adds a detail from the period it reviewed: heavy goods vehicle drivers signed more new contracts than any other occupation. Transport in the county runs only by road and rail, according to the agency, so lorry and bus drivers carry both goods and commuters, and a candidate arriving by air lands outside the county.
Three conclusions follow for a partner agency:
The Local Council of Râmnicu Vâlcea has also dealt with land concessions in the municipality’s industrial park. Ask any employer based there for its exact site, since the park lies inside the municipality and commuting is shorter than from outlying towns.
A Government decision gives balneoclimatic status to the town of Băile Olănești and to the Călimănești-Căciulata area, and balneary status to the town of Băile Govora. Resort hotels and treatment centres may need cooks, kitchen assistants, waiting staff, housekeeping, and maintenance workers, with demand following visitor numbers. For a resort order, ask for:
For manufacturing posts, screen for manual skill, attention to quality and willingness to work rotating shifts. Textile work may involve machine sewing; wood processing involves cutting equipment and strict safety discipline, so ask about prior experience with machinery and protective equipment.
For construction, ask for photographs of earlier work and the trades the employer actually needs: concrete, masonry, finishing or general labour. Building work in a county with mountains in the north is weather-dependent, and the employer should explain what happens to pay and housing in winter.
For drivers, the starting point is the licence category and proof of competence: Code 95 on the licence or a driver qualification card, under the rules applied by the Romanian Road Authority (ARR). A non-EU driver on international haulage for a Romanian carrier also needs a driver attestation, which ARR issues to the carrier. For bus posts, ask where the depot is and when the first route starts.
Agriculture, which the analysis counts among the main contributors to county GDP, is seasonal by nature. Third-country seasonal workers can only be hired through the route, and limits are explained further down.
Cooperation is set up so that every order passes these checks, agreed between the parties, before anyone advertises:
If an answer is vague, write back and ask again. The labour inspectorate on Strada Regina Maria in the seat later checks contracts and pay on the ground.
A Government Emergency Ordinance on foreigners’ access to the Romanian labour market replaced the old aviz de muncă with a single application (cerere unică) on the WorkinRomania platform, developed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and used by ANOFM, the county employment agencies, IGI, and the Labour Inspection. Approval leads to a long-stay work visa and, after arrival, a residence permit.
D/AM1 is the route for highly qualified workers, including candidates for an EU Blue Card, and some special groups: specialists, professional athletes, workers on specific infrastructure projects, and citizens of the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Serbia on a full-time contract. A registered employer files it directly, without a shortage list test.
D/AM2 applies to permanent, seasonal, and cross-border hires, and employers normally access it through an ANOFM-authorised agency once filings resume. Only occupations on the Minister of Labour-approved shortage list qualify, and the annual quota of new workers set by Government decision applies. Seasonal contracts on D/AM2 are limited to 180 days in any 12 months.
That dependency is the weak point. After a court suspended the order approving the shortage list, WorkinRomania deactivated employer registration and authorisation and the D/AM2 application flow; the Ministry of Labour said it would appeal, so check the outcome. A resort or factory planning D/AM2 hires must first confirm, on the platform or through the authorised agency, that filings are accepted and that its occupation is listed.
D/DT covers workers posted to Romania by an employer established in another EU or EEA state or Switzerland, or moved within a group.
Visa applicants file through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs e-Visa portal (evisa.mae.ro), and no one can sell or guarantee a consular appointment. The long-stay work visa grants 90 days, during which the worker applies to IGI for a residence permit. A seasonal visa covers the contract length plus 5 days, up to 90 days, which matters for spa hotels with short peaks.
Some candidates need no work visa. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens work freely and register with IGI after three months. Many Moldovan candidates also hold Romanian citizenship and can start as EU citizens. EU temporary protection holders who leave Ukraine have labour market access; check IGI’s current guidance before a long contract.
Equal treatment is the starting rule: a third-country worker is paid like a Romanian colleague doing the same job. Below that is a floor: the national gross minimum wage, which the Government sets by decision and adjusts periodically. Ask ITM Vâlcea or the Ministry of Labour for the figure in force, and check whether a sector minimum or collective agreement applies; construction is the sector to ask about first.
The Labour Code sets an eight-hour day and a forty-hour week. Overtime may raise the week to no more than 48 hours, averaged over the reference period. The employer compensates overtime with paid time off within 60 days or, failing that, pays a supplement of at least 75%.Ife a resortIfitchen runs split shifts, ask howit recorhow it records and averages hourss are lawful only where the law permits them and may not exceed half the net monthly salary in total. If the employer provides housing, rent is capped at a quarter of net pay. Before departure, the worker receives a written statement of any charges for lodging, meals and transport. Do not tell a candidate that resort housing is free unless the employer has confirmed it in writing.
Pay goes into a bank account, so ask the employer whether it helps new arrivals open one. The employer, not the worker, can be fined per worker for breaching these rules.
With so many villages and towns spread across hills and valleys, travel time is the first housing question. A worker lodged in the seat and employed at a resort or factory in another town may spend a long time on the road, and rural bus routes may not match shift times.
Râmnicu Vâlcea has local public transport operated under a delegated management contract approved by the municipality’s Local Council. Outside the municipality, ask the employer whether it runs its own transport and, if so, from where.
Questions to settle in writing for each order:
Ask these questions before the candidate signs. A bus that leaves before the shift ends, or resort housing that closes when the season slows, is far easier to solve on paper than after arrival.
Ask for documents only when a stage needs them. At first screening, request only a CV and evidence of the core skill, such as photos of a finished dish or the relevant licence category. Passports, qualifications and criminal record certificates come later, on the written list the employer or the authorised agency provides for the single application. Health information is collected only where a law or the specific post requires it.
The GDPR governs personal data processed by the employer, the Romanian agency and other EU-based parties, and ANSPDCP supervises it in Romania. Agencies outside the EU follow their own data laws and the data-sharing terms they sign. Agree on retention periods and deletion at the outset.
Ask whether the person who will supervise the worker can join the interview. Practical checks fit the local occupations well: a cooking task for resort kitchens, a short sewing exercise for textile posts, a measured cutting or assembly task for wood processing, a driving assessment in the right vehicle class for drivers.
Before departure, brief each candidate on the contract (bilingual, in Romanian and a language they understand), the workplace and lodging addresses, the cost statement, the name of the person who meets them, and the rule that safety training must be given in a language the worker understands. Ask whether the employer offers Romanian lessons, which help most in shop and front-desk posts.
The employer records the contract in REGES-ONLINE, the electronic employee register run by the Labour Inspection, no later than the day before work starts. Ask the employer for confirmation; if the contract isn't registered, the worker is exposed if anything goes wrong.
Before the visa expires, the worker applies for a work residence permit at the IGI county service. Check the service’s address and opening times on igi.mai.gov.ro before arrival.
Explain the Schengen point clearly. Romania is a full Schengen member, but a residence permit issued here does not authorise work in Austria, Italy or any other EU state.
Employer changes are restricted. In the first six months of activity, a worker generally may not move, unless the employer has committed a serious breach. In the first two years, a D/AM2 worker who changes employer does so through the placement agency, so a resort worker cannot simply switch to a factory in the seat.
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ITM Vâlcea handles complaints about pay, hours, safety and undeclared work. Its address is Strada Regina Maria nr. 2 in the seat, and the Labour Inspection also takes petitions online. Immigration matters go to the IGI county service. Give workers these contacts in writing, in their language.
Warning signs that fit this county’s employers:
When something does not add up, stop the case and alert the authorities. Welfare also means small practical help: a SIM card, a bank account, a family doctor and someone the worker can call in their own language.
Use these official sources to confirm addresses, registers and rules at the start of each case:
The County Council is also a source for county planning, but its website did not load for us, so we did not link it here.
Register as a recruiter partner, or read the Romania partner page first.
Register your agency and tell us which occupations you recruit for. We will explain the checks and written terms a Vâlcea cooperation would need.
No. We do not have an AtoZ Serwis Plus office in the seat or elsewhere in Vâlcea, and this page lists neither a vacancy nor a job order. We set up cooperation so that only written orders from named employers, checked against official registers as the parties agree, reach partners.
The county has two municipalities, Râmnicu Vâlcea and Drăgășani, and nine towns: Băbeni, Băile Govora, Băile Olănești, Bălcești, Berbești, Brezoi, Călimănești, Horezu, and Ocnele Mari. The remaining 78 units are communes, and AJOFM Vâlcea says the county ranks third in Romania by number of villages.
A Government decision, published on the national legislation portal, gives balneoclimatic status to the town of Băile Olănești and to the Călimănești-Căciulata area, and balneary status to the town of Băile Govora. Their hotels and treatment centres shape seasonal hospitality demand in the county.
Resort hotels and treatment centres may ask for cooks, kitchen assistants, waiting staff, housekeeping and maintenance workers. Treat this only as a guide to possible requests, and act solely on a written order from a named employer that passes registration and route checks.
The head office is at Strada Dacia nr. 8, bloc Transcozia, in Râmnicu Vâlcea. The agency also runs local agencies in Drăgășani and Horezu, and working points in Călimănești, Berbești, and Lăpușata, showing how far its services reach into smaller towns and communes.
ITM Vâlcea, at Strada Regina Maria nr. 2 in the county seat, covers the whole county, Drăgășani included. It checks contracts, pay, working time, and safety, and receives complaints; workers can also use the Labour Inspectorate’s national online petition form.
In the AJOFM labour market analysis, manufacturing contributes the most to county GDP, followed by public administration, construction, and agriculture. The same analysis describes a slow shift from a producer county towards a consumer one, with a growing share of employees in commerce and services.
The short-term forecast places manufacturing first, construction second, and trade and vehicle repair third. It reflects an employer survey, so it shows where hiring is expected rather than where a partner agency has any orders.
The county agency’s analysis found that heavy goods vehicle drivers signed the most new contracts of any occupation in the period it reviewed. That reflects the weight of road transport in a county served only by road and rail, but it does not mean any partner holds an order.
Its labour market analysis calls the labour shortage a major challenge that affects local employers’ competitiveness. For a current picture, use the monthly unemployment figures published on the agency’s anofm—ro page rather than numbers copied from older reports or adverts.
The analysis found that most registered unemployed people live in rural communes rather than in towns. Employers in the seat therefore depend on commuters from villages, and workers arriving from abroad need lodging close to the job because rural routes can be slow.
Yes. The Local Council has considered land concessions in the municipality’s industrial park, according to council agendas on the city hall site. Ask any employer based there for the exact site address, shift times, and the transport it offers from lodging.
Local public transport runs under a delegated management contract approved by the Local Council. For workplaces outside the municipality, such as resort towns or rural sites, ask the employer whether it runs its own transport and request the timetable in writing.
No. Drăgășani is the county’s second-largest municipality, in the south, with its own local employment agency. A post there creates a separate local housing and commuting market, so don’t assume a worker can live in the county seat.
No. Vâlcea belongs to the South-West Oltenia development region, but development regions are statistical and planning units. The relevant offices are the county employment agency and the labour inspectorate, both in the seat, plus the IGI county service for immigration.
No. Once D/AM2 filings resume, an ANOFM-authorised Romanian placement agency lodges that file, and the registered employer lodges a D/AM1 file. Our role is to link agencies abroad with that Romanian filer, with each side’s tasks set out in writing.
The employer, or the authorised Romanian agency that represents it, decides which posts reach which partner. The parties agree that orders are checked against official registers, and AtoZ Serwis Plus coordinates communication without distributing its own orders.
Search for the employer at the National Trade Register Office and compare its legal name, registration number and registered office with the order. Ask for the work point address inside the county, then confirm on WorkinRomania that the employer is registered to hire third-country workers.
Not at once. WorkinRomania registers an employer only after at least a year of real activity, and only if there are no tax arrears, recent sanctions for labour offences such as undeclared work, or relevant convictions. A start-up resort or workshop will usually have to wait.
Evidence that the post was declared vacant to AJOFM Vâlcea, confirmation that the occupation is on the shortage list in force, confirmation that D/AM2 filings have resumed, and the name of the ANOFM-authorised agency handling the file. Check that agency in the WorkinRomania register yourself.
Confirm before planning. When a court suspended the shortage list, the platform disabled D/AM2 applications, along with employer registration and authorisation. Ask the authorised agency, or check WorkinRomania, whether filings have resumed and whether the resort occupation is listed in the version in force.
A third-country seasonal worker on D/AM2 may work no more than 180 days in any 12 months, only in a listed occupation, and only once you have checked that D/AM2 filings have resumed. Spa hotels can also hire EU citizens, Romanian dual nationals, and temporary protection holders, none of whom need a work visa.
Yes, by two paths. Many Moldovan candidates also hold Romanian citizenship and work as EU citizens without a single application. Without Romanian nationality, a Moldovan takes the D/AM1 route, which requires a full-time contract and is filed by the registered employer, with no shortage-list test.
Ukrainian citizens can use D/AM1 with a registered employer on a full-time contract. People displaced from Ukraine who hold temporary protection in Romania can work without a work visa. Still, the scheme runs for periods set at EU level, so read IGI’s current guidance before agreeing to a long contract.
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can start work with a valid identity document and no authorisation. If they stay beyond three months, they must apply to the IGI county immigration service for a registration certificate.
The posting visa (D/DT) covers non-EU workers posted by an employer established in another EU or EEA state or Switzerland, or moved within a group. For the duration of the posting, the worker is entitled to at least Romanian minimum pay and conditions.
Once the single application is approved, the candidate applies in person at a Romanian mission or consulate abroad, after completing the form on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs e-Visa portal (evisa.mae.ro). Each mission runs its own appointment system, and no agent or website can sell or secure a slot.
The national gross minimum wage applies, unless a sector minimum or a collective agreement sets a higher amount for the post. The Government fixes the figure by decision and revises it periodically, so ask ITM Vâlcea or the Ministry of Labour for the current rate.
The standard week is 40 hours over five 8-hour days. Overtime can bring the week to an average of no more than 48 hours over the reference period. Ask the hotel how it records and averages uneven hours during busy months.
A worker who stays late is owed paid time off, granted within 60 days. If the employer cannot give the time off, it pays the overtime with a supplement of at least 75% on base pay. The draft contract or internal rules should say which method the workplace uses.
Deductions are allowed only when the law permits them, and all deductions combined are capped at half of net monthly pay. If the employer provides lodging, the charge cannot exceed a quarter of the worker’s net pay and must be stated in writing beforehand.
Only if the employer confirms it in writing, giving the address, the monthly charge and whether the room stays available outside the busy months. Do not promise accommodation to a candidate for a resort on any other basis, however often it is mentioned informally.
Yes. The activity tables in the county agency’s analysis include making textile articles and sawing and planing wood. Before shortlisting, ask an employer in either field about machine experience, protective equipment, and the shift pattern.
The county agency notes that transport in Vâlcea runs only by road and rail. A candidate who flies in therefore lands in another county, so ask the employer who meets arrivals and how they travel on to the seat or a resort town.
A cooking task suits resort kitchens, a short sewing exercise suits textile posts, a measured cutting or assembly task suits wood processing, and a driving assessment in the correct vehicle class suits drivers. Agree each test with the employer before interviews.
Beyond the licence category, a haulier or bus operator in the county needs proof of competence: Code 95 on the licence or a driver qualification card. A non-EU driver on international haulage for a Romanian carrier also needs a driver attestation, which ARR issues to the carrier.
Recognition depends on the issuing state. SPCRPCIV Vâlcea, the county service for driving licences and vehicle registration, handles exchanges and recognition. Get the employer’s written answer from that service before booking the driver’s travel.
At first contact, ask for nothing beyond a CV and proof of the main skill, such as photos of finished work. Passports, diplomas, licences and criminal record certificates follow later, on the written list the employer or authorised agency issues for the single application, and health information only where the law or the specific post requires it.
Yes, for data handled by the employer, the Romanian agency and any other EU-based party, with ANSPDCP as the Romanian supervisor. An agency outside the EU applies the data law of its own country and the sharing terms it has signed.
In Romanian and in a language the worker understands. The employer can be fined for a Romanian-only contract with a third-country worker, so ask for a bilingual draft before arranging any interview.
The employer enters it in REGES-ONLINE, the Labour Inspection’s electronic register, no later than the day before work starts. Ask the employer to confirm the registration in writing before the worker begins.
At the IGI county service, within the 90 days the long-stay visa allows. Check the service’s address and opening hours on igi.mai.gov.ro before the worker arrives, and make sure the employer’s contact person knows the timetable.
No. Romania is a full Schengen member, which allows short trips to other Schengen states, but a Romanian residence permit gives no right to work in another EU country. Tell candidates this clearly before they accept.
Generally not during the first six months of activity, unless the resort employer seriously breached its duties. During the first two years, a D/AM2 worker can change employer only through the placement agency, so check its status and expect the move to take time.
Lessons are not a legal right to promise. Ask whether the employer offers Romanian lessons and how they fit around split shifts, and confirm that safety training will be given in a language the worker understands.
No. A worker heading to a resort or factory here is never charged a commission, fee, tax, deposit or guarantee, since Romanian rules leave placement costs with the employer. We accept no cooperation built on candidate payments.
Look out for promises of year-round resort work without a written order, payments demanded from candidates, consular appointments offered for money, Romanian agencies missing from the WorkinRomania register, and workplace addresses that match no locality in the county. Stop the case if any of these appears.
Yes. Horezu, one of the nine towns, hosts a local employment agency of AJOFM Vâlcea, alongside those in the seat and Drăgășani. For a workplace in or near Horezu, it is the closest agency office for questions about vacancies.
Shop assistant is the occupation with the most estimated hires in the AJOFM Vâlcea forecast, and most of those posts could go to people without previous experience. These are customer-facing roles, so ask what level of Romanian the employer expects.
Ask the employer. Building work depends on the weather, especially in the mountainous north, so the offer should state pay, hours, and housing arrangements for the colder months so candidates don’t lose income.
Transport that matches shift times, lodging that stays open after the busy months, clear payslips and a contact who speaks the worker’s language. Fix dates to speak with the worker after week one, after the first wages arrive and at the end of month one.
The county employment agency publishes monthly unemployment data and its studies on anofm. ro, and the county statistics directorate publishes on valcea.insse.ro. Rely on current releases from those pages rather than on figures quoted in older reports or advertisements.
Complete the recruiter partner registration with your occupations, recruitment countries and licence details. We will reply with the checks and written termsthat required for a Vâlcea cooperation, along with the questions we would ask about your sourcing.
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