# Visa policy of Moldova

The Government of the Republic of Moldova allows citizens of specific countries/territories to visit Moldova for tourism or business purposes without having to obtain a visa, often based on bilateral agreements. Citizens of other countries must obtain a visa from the embassy of their residence country or online eVisa. All visitors must hold a passport (or machine-readable national ID Card for EU, Liechtensteiner, Monégasque, Sammarinese, Swiss and Turkish citizens) valid for 3 months beyond the period of intended stay.
Moldova's visa and other migration policies are also implemented in accordance with the mobility rights arrangements within the Commonwealth of Independent States.

## Visa

The Moldovan visa is a document, which is placed in the passport. It contains the name and the indication of nationality.

### Requirements for Tourist Visa

A tourist visa entitles its holder only to tourism trips and visits of relatives and/or friends. Tourist visa holders are prohibited to engage in business or work activities in the Republic of Moldova.

### Requirements for Temporary Residence Visa/Work Visa

Anyone wishing to live and work in Moldova will be required to apply for a temporary residence visa. To obtain a temporary visa for employment purposes, you will need to secure a job offer from a Moldovan company or government department, or a foreign company based in Moldova. The criteria for approval of an employment visa include suitable educational qualifications or work experience, a secured employment contract in Moldova, provide proof of adequate means of subsistence in Moldova, police confirmation that you have no criminal record, and a satisfactory medical examination. All official documents must be translated into the Romanian language.

## Visa exemption

Citizens of the following 103 countries and territories, as well as stateless persons and refugees residing in those countries, can enter the Republic of Moldova without a visa for a period of up to 90 days within any 180 day period.
| Albania  Andorra  Antigua and Barbuda  Argentina  Armenia  Australia  Azerbaijan  Bahamas  Barbados  Belarus  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Brazil  Brunei  Canada  Chile  Colombia  Costa Rica  Cuba  Dominica | El Salvador  Georgia  Grenada  Guatemala  Honduras  Hong Kong  Iceland$^{ID}$  Israel  Japan  Kazakhstan  Kiribati  Kyrgyzstan  Liechtenstein$^{ID}$  Macau  Malaysia  Marshall Islands  Mauritius  Mexico  Micronesia | Monaco$^{ID}$  Montenegro  New Zealand  Nicaragua  North Macedonia  Norway$^{ID}$  Palau  Panama  Paraguay  Peru  Russia  Saint Kitts and Nevis  Saint Lucia  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Samoa  San Marino$^{ID}$  Serbia  Seychelles  Singapore | Solomon Islands  South Korea  Switzerland$^{ID}$  Tajikistan  Timor-Leste  Tonga  Trinidad and Tobago  Turkey$^{ID}$  Tuvalu  Ukraine  United Arab Emirates  United Kingdom  United States  Uruguay  Uzbekistan  Vanuatu  Vatican City  Venezuela |
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* Date of visa changes
* Under Law №257 on 1 November 2013 “On third-country nationals who are required to have a visa and third-country nationals who are exempt from the obligation to have a visa when crossing the state border of the Republic of Moldova”
* Visa free
* Armenian, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Georgian, Kazakhstani, Kyrgyzstani, Russian, Tajik, Ukrainian and Uzbekistani citizens have never needed a visa to gain access to Moldova.
* 11 October 1990: Romania
* 1 January 2007: European Union countries; Canada, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, United States
* 1 June 2010: Andorra, Israel, Liechtenstein, Monaco and Vatican
* from 1 July 2013 (as country of the EU) or 3 January 2014 (Under Law №257): Croatia
* 3 January 2014: Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Chile, Ecuador, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, Macao, New Zealand, San Marino, Seychelles, Singapore and Turkey
* 31 July 2015: Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia
* 6 August 2015: Serbia
* 1 March 2016: Bosnia and Herzegovina
* 24 March 2017: United Arab Emirates
* 13 April 2018: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Brazil, Brunei, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela
* 1 March 2019: Cuba
* Cancelled:
* Estonia and Latvia: 1 August 1993 (was resumed on 1 January 2007)
* Lithuania: 1 November 1993 (was resumed on 7 July 2005)
* Turkmenistan: 9 June 1999
* Bulgaria: 1 November 1999 (was resumed on 1 January 2007)
* Czech Republic: 22 October 2000 (was resumed on 1 January 2007)
* Hungary: 1 January 2001 (was resumed on 1 January 2007)
* Poland: 14 February 2001 (was resumed on 1 January 2007)
* Ecuador: April 2024

## Substitute visa

Citizens of visa-required countries are allowed to visit Moldova without a Moldovan visa if they hold a valid residence permit, a valid 'C'-type, or a valid 'D'-type visa issued by a Schengen member state or a European Union member state.
However, this policy does not apply to passport holders of the following countries and territories:
| Afghanistan  Algeria  Bangladesh  Burkina Faso  Cameroon  Chad  Democratic Republic of Congo  Republic of Congo  Côte d'Ivoire  Egypt  Eritrea  Ghana | Indonesia  Iran  Iraq  Jordan  Lebanon  Liberia  Libya  Mali  Mauritania  Morocco  Niger  Nigeria | North Korea  Pakistan  Palestine  Sierra Leone  Somalia  South Sudan  Sudan  Syria  Tunisia  Turkmenistan  Vietnam  Yemen |

## Invitation letter required

Nationals of the following countries are required to provide an invitation letter in order to obtain a visa for Moldova:
| Afghanistan  Algeria  Bangladesh  Burkina Faso  Cameroon  Chad  Republic of Congo  Democratic Republic of Congo  Côte d'Ivoire  Egypt  Eritrea  Ghana | Indonesia  Jordan  Iran  Iraq  Lebanon  Liberia  Libya  Mali  Mauritania  Morocco  Niger  Nigeria | North Korea  Pakistan  Palestine  Sierra Leone  Somalia  South Sudan  Sudan  Syria  Tunisia  Turkmenistan  Yemen |
Anyone, regardless of nationality, having a valid visa or a residence permit issued by an EU/Schengen State, is exempted from the invitation letter requirement.

## Non-ordinary passports

Additionally, holders of diplomatic or official/service passports of Brunei, China, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Qatar, Singapore, Turkmenistan and Vietnam do not require a visa to visit Moldova.
An agreement was signed with India in May 2024 and is pending ratification.

## Reciprocity

Moldovan citizens can enter many of the countries whose citizens are granted visa-free access to Moldova without a visa except for Argentina, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Grenada (grants visa on arrival), Guatemala, Hong Kong, Honduras, Ireland, Japan, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Nicaragua (grants visa on arrival), New Zealand, Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Singapore (grants eVisa), Solomon Islands, South Korea, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu (grants visa on arrival), United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu and Venezuela.

## Entry refusal

Entry and transit are refused to citizens of Kosovo and Taiwan.

## Visitor statistics

Most visitors arriving to Moldova were from the following countries of nationality:
| Country | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
| Romania | 2,524,403 | 2,140,028 | 1,864,586 | 1,300,945 |
| Ukraine | 1,069,066 | 1,049,307 | 974,357 | 1,013,779 |
| Russia | 322,256 | 314,266 | 247,846 | 258,320 |
| Bulgaria | 78,870 | 70,592 | 55,391 | 47,831 |
| Italy | 46,549 | 42,972 | 34,829 | 32,884 |
| Germany | 30,061 | 26,206 | 22,925 | 20,419 |
| Turkey | 25,936 | 24,529 | 21,193 | 21,818 |
| Israel | 28,358 | 22,891 | 20,551 | 17,518 |
| United States | 25,778 | 21,878 | 18,263 | 17,133 |
| Belarus | 20,039 | 16,469 | 13,930 | 14,136 |
| Total | 4,334,215 | 3,879,964 | 3,395,132 | 2,856,089 |