You left, but the flat in Romania remained yours. You work in Germany, but the children are at school in Brașov. The state where you live asks you for tax on everything you earn. So does Romania. Both are right under their own law, and the conflict is not resolved by choosing the state that suits you.
Double residence arises when each state's legislation, applied separately, leads to the conclusion that you are resident in both. The double taxation treaty (convenția de evitare a dublei impuneri) resolves it through criteria applied in succession: the permanent home, the centre of vital interests, the place of habitual abode, nationality and, as a last resort, agreement between the authorities.
Each criterion applies only if the one before it did not resolve the matter. The order is fixed, and no step can be skipped. Where there is no treaty, the criteria do not exist, and Romanian residence is assessed solely under the Tax Code.
The Tax Code treats as resident a person who meets any of several conditions: domicile in Romania, a permanent home available here, the centre of vital interests located in Romania, or physical presence for more than 183 days within any 12 consecutive months.
The conditions are alternative, not cumulative. A single one is enough. This is why a person who has genuinely moved to another state, where they work and live, can remain a Romanian resident simply by having kept their domicile or a home available to them. The other state, in turn, treats them as resident under its own criteria, usually presence and housing.
The result is that both states claim tax on worldwide income. This is double residence, distinct from the double taxation of a single item of income, although it produces it. The Romanian criteria are covered separately; here, the concern is what happens when they conflict with those of another state.
The tool for resolving it is the residence article in the double taxation treaty. The treaties concluded by Romania follow, with variations, the model that sets out the tie-breaker criteria below. The exact text of the applicable treaty must be read, because the order and the wording can differ.
You are resident of the state where you have a permanent home available to you. A home is considered permanent if it is owned, rented, or remains available to you or your family at any time. If you have a permanent home in both states, this criterion does not resolve the matter, and the next one applies.
The state with which your personal and economic relations are closer. Dependent family, the place of work or business, assets, accounts, and participation in social and cultural life are all weighed together. It is the criterion that decides most cases, and the most disputed one.
If the centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if you have no permanent home in either state, you are resident of the state where you habitually live. Actual presence in each state is compared, over a period long enough to be relevant.
If you habitually live in both states or in neither, you are resident of the state of which you are a national. For dual nationality, this criterion does not resolve the matter either.
If none of the previous criteria has settled the matter, the competent authorities of the two states resolve it by mutual agreement, through the mutual agreement procedure. It is slow and rarely used for individuals, which is why the case must be built solidly at the first four steps.
A resident individual domiciled in Romania who leaves for periods exceeding 183 days files, 30 days before departure, the questionnaire for establishing tax residence on leaving Romania, Form Z017, with the supporting documents. The tax authority communicates its conclusion by notice, within 15 days of filing.
A person who comes to Romania and lives here for more than 183 days within a 12-month period files the questionnaire for establishing residence on arrival, Form Z015, within 30 days of reaching the 183 days. The identity document, the residence permit and proof of housing are attached, along with, where it exists, the certificate of residence from the home state. The notice is communicated within 30 days of filing.
Issued by the authority of the foreign state, it certifies that that state treats you as resident. It does not close the discussion; it opens it: its very existence triggers the application of the tie-breaker criteria in the treaty. Without it, the Romanian tax authority applies the Tax Code directly.
On the basis of the questionnaire, the documents, the treaty and the certificate, the tax authority determines residence and communicates it. The conclusion can be appealed. Until it is communicated, the situation remains open, and the filing obligations run under the previous regime.
If the state to which you have moved has not concluded a double taxation treaty with Romania, there is no tie-breaker mechanism at all. Each state applies its own law to the full extent.
For Romania, this means that meeting any criterion in the Tax Code keeps you a Romanian resident, with the obligation to declare worldwide income, however genuine the move may be. Tax paid in the other state can only be taken into account to the extent the Tax Code allows, and actual double taxation becomes possible.
Moreover, a Romanian resident who proves a change of residence to a state without a treaty remains liable to tax in Romania on income from any source, in the country and abroad, for the calendar year in which the change takes place and for the following three calendar years, under Article 21(3) of Ordinul MF nr. 1099/2016, issued in application of Article 59 of the Tax Code. Leaving for a state without a treaty is not, for tax purposes, an immediate departure.
The situation particularly concerns jurisdictions chosen precisely for their low taxation, where the absence of a treaty is common. Moving residence to such a state requires, before departure, the actual severing of the ties that keep you a Romanian resident, and a four-year calculation, not just the filing of a questionnaire.
Presence is one of the alternative criteria, not the only one. A domicile kept, a home available, or family remaining in Romania keep you a Romanian resident regardless of the number of days.
The certificate proves the other state's position. It does not decide the conflict; it opens it. The tie-break is made on the facts, and the facts must be documented.
The criteria apply in order, and the outcome depends on the circumstances, not on preference. A residence declared in one state, while your life is in another, does not withstand scrutiny, and leaves behind years of undeclared income.
Accounts, income and, increasingly, presence are reported automatically between states. The question is not whether it will come to light, but what case file you will have when it does.
Under national legislation, yes: each state applies its own criteria and can conclude that you are resident. The double taxation treaty exists precisely to resolve this conflict, through tie-breaker criteria applied in order, so that, for the purposes of the treaty, you remain resident of only one state.
If you have a permanent home available in both states, the first criterion does not resolve the matter, and the second applies: the centre of vital interests, that is, the state with which your personal and economic relations are closer. Family, activity, assets and social ties are weighed together.
The questionnaire triggers the analysis; it does not conclude it. The tax authority determines residence on the basis of the attached documents, the applicable treaty and, where relevant, the certificate of residence issued by the foreign state. Until the conclusion is communicated, the situation is not settled.
Without a treaty, there are no tie-breaker criteria. Romanian residence is assessed solely under the Tax Code, and if you meet any of the criteria there, you remain a Romanian resident. Moreover, even if you prove a change of residence to such a state, you remain liable to tax in Romania on worldwide income for the year of the change and for the following three calendar years, under Ordinul MF nr. 1099/2016.
It is the most important document, but it is not decisive on its own. It certifies that the other state treats you as resident, which is precisely what triggers the application of the tie-breaker criteria. The outcome depends on your facts, not on the existence of the certificate.
Treaties provide, as a last criterion, the mutual agreement procedure between the competent authorities of the two states. It is slow and rarely used for individuals, which makes it all the more important to build the case correctly at the first four criteria.
Informative material, updated on 18 September 2026. It does not constitute legal or tax advice; individual situations must be assessed on their own facts.
If the situation involves income, accounts or residence in another country, the related analyses are grouped under the international tax analyses. For assistance on such matters, see international taxation.
An initial discussion works through the tie-breaker criteria against your actual situation and establishes what documents support residence in a single state, before either authority decides for you.