FAQ: Are you done yet?

Question
Sounds like you are the verge of completing the (lengthy) process you are already in the midst of to obtain a Romanian passport. Considering that you already have your Romanian birth certificate (something that can only be issued to a Romanian citizen [if the person was born outside Romania]), you should be able to complete your original process much quicker than this new idea. So, are you almost done?

Answers
You'd think that with the birth cert I could easily get my passport, right? Nope, the counsel in at the Romanian embassy in Lima, Peru, didn't give me a Romanian ID number. So the people at the Romanian embassy in Seoul, Korea, couldn't find my name.

And then there the Catch 22 of not getting a passport without a marriage cert and not getting a marriage cert without a passport. Basically, I'm in the same situation that my mom was in years ago when we went to the Chicago consulate. I've emailed my lawyer and am waiting to hear back from him.

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

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Moldovans get Romanian citizenship

I was given an article about Moldovans being given Romanian citizenship. I was told yesterday that the government of Romania is actually actively trying to get citizens of Moldova to become citizens of Romania. The informant told me nearly the whole population of Moldova qualifies for Romanian citizenship since nearly all of them had ancestors who were Romanians before the war.

I was told this by a Moldovan who is now in the process of getting Romanian citizenship and he says the new law in Romania says it must take no longer than six months to process applications.
Apparently it is rather easy to get a Moldovan passport and once you have it, you can then get Romanian citizenship very easily. Unfortunately, I don't qualify for a Moldovan passport.

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FAQ: Why is it taking so long?

Question
Hi naturegirl321 (again),

I assume you are still too busy to have completed this? (BTW, the fact that you now have your Romanian birth certificate means they officially recognize you as a citizen. So the hard part is over, you just need to finalize the paperwork formalities.)

Anyways, I'm researching the same issue you had with your mother changing her name after she came to the U.S. What document(s) did your mother have to submit to the Romanian consulate to change her name in Romania? Was it just her U.S. naturalization certificate, or did they need anything else as well? If so, what else? And did they need her original U.S. naturalization certificate or just a photocopy? Do they also require copies (or originals) of your and/or your mother's photo ID card (i.e. U.S. Driver License or U.S. Passport)?

And one thing I didn't get clearly from your post, was why your mother had to change her name on her U.S. Marriage certificate, if she was already going to just change her name in Romania to match her U.S. name?

Thanks again!

Answer
Not too busy, just moved to Korea. I need to get my marriage cert legalised by the Romanian embassy in Lima. My husband has been calling for over a month and they haven't picked up the phone.

Also, here's the catch.
In order to get my RO marriage cert, I need a valid RO passport.
In order to get a RO passport, I need a RO marriage cert.

I don't really think that the birth cert proves citizenship. I think the passport does. And I still don't have that. My mom has her birth cert and was denied a passport. They told her the same thing at the Chicago consulate, no passport they won't issue her with a marriage cert. No marriage cert, they won't issue her with a passport. It's a catch 22. I have a lawyer working on it.

Plus, neither of us speaks Romanian. I can read and understand a bit though.

Timewise for my mother's name change in Romania, it took 9 months. For her name change on my birth cert and her marriage cert it was 7 months.

She didn't submit antyning to the consulate. They refused to help her at the Chicago consulate. She had to get her cousin in Romania to help. She had to give a power of attorney and her old birth cert as far as I know, as well as her US naturalisation cert. I believe she just sent regular photocopies.

My mother had to change her name because she had only used TWO of her THREE names. She had TWO names on my birth cert and my marriage cert. And THREE on her naturalisation cert. And the THREE on her naturalisation cert weren't the same THREE on her Romanian birth cert. ONE name had been Americanized.

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

• Please join my Patreon page
• University of Toronto's Online TEFL Course