Living in Moldova as a Belgian or EU citizen

IResidence rights as an EU citizen

Important: this is general guidance, not legal or tax advice. Moldova is constantly adjusting its migration and tax rules as part of the EU accession process. Always check your situation with the General Inspectorate for Migration (IGM), the Moldovan tax authorities and the Belgian government.

As a Belgian you travel to Moldova without a visa for short stays of up to 90 days. If you stay longer, you must arrange your residence with the IGM (Inspectoratul General pentru Migrație), which comes under the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In 2025 Moldova passed a law on the free movement and residence of EU citizens and their family members. According to the IGM, this gives EU citizens access to the labour market, education and social services on an equal footing with Moldovans, and they no longer have to justify the purpose of their stay. Since January 2026 the IGM has issued a new residence card to all foreigners, with a qualified certificate for electronic signatures. Applications can be submitted online through the e-migrare.gov.md portal, without visiting an office.

Moldova is not in the EU. This means that European rules on social security, health insurance or the recognition of documents do not automatically apply there: everything goes through Moldovan law and bilateral agreements.

IIResidence permits: the main grounds

The residence of foreigners is governed by Law No. 200 of 2010 on the status of foreigners. For those not relying on the EU regime, or for family members from outside the EU, these are the usual grounds for a temporary right of residence (drept de ședere provizorie):

• Work: an employment contract with a Moldovan employer. IT specialists at a company in the IT Park follow a simplified procedure.
• Investment: a contribution of at least 30 times the average monthly wage to a Moldovan company, or the creation of at least one full-time job paying at least the average wage. The duration depends on the amount (see table).
• Digital nomad: if you work remotely for a company outside Moldova, you can obtain a right of residence for up to 2 years, renewable for up to 2 more years. According to Invest Moldova, you must show income over the past 6 months averaging three average wages a month, plus a clean criminal record, Moldovan health insurance and an address.
• Family reunification: the partner, minor children and dependent parents of a Moldovan citizen or of a foreigner with a right of residence.
• Study: enrolment at a recognised educational institution.

There is no separate retirement visa of the kind found in Portugal or Spain. For EU citizens this matters less since the 2025 law; retirees from outside the EU use one of the ordinary grounds. According to consultancies, permanent residence usually becomes possible after five years of uninterrupted legal residence.

IGM fees in 2026 include 450 lei (approx. €22) for processing a temporary residence application, 3,600 lei (approx. €180) for a right of residence for work, 1,000 lei (approx. €50) for permanent residence and 350 lei (approx. €17) for a residence card within the standard 20 working days. A new law on foreigners, approved by the government in February 2026, would come into force on 1 June 2027 if parliament adopts it.

IIICost of living

Moldova is one of the cheaper countries in Europe, but the gap with Belgium is smaller than often assumed, especially in Chișinău. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the average monthly wage was 16,895.7 lei in the second quarter of 2026, about €840. Annual inflation stood at 8.6% in September 2026, which means prices in lei are rising fast.

Relocation guides gave the following planning ranges for Chișinău in 2026. They are indications, not official statistics:

Heating is the big unknown: energy prices rose sharply after 2022 and weigh heavily in winter, especially in poorly insulated blocks of flats. When renting, always ask to see the bills from the previous winter.

IVRenting and buying

Most newcomers rent first. What is on offer in Chișinău consists of renovated flats in Soviet-era blocks and new-build developments, mainly in the Centru, Botanica, Buiucani and Râșcani districts. Always ask for a written tenancy agreement, as you need proof of address for your residence application.

Foreigners may buy flats and buildings in Moldova. Agricultural and forest land is a different matter: Moldovan land law generally reserves ownership of it for Moldovan citizens and legal entities. So if you have your eye on a house with a large plot in the countryside, have the land's designated use checked beforehand.

When buying, expect notary fees and registration duties of about 2% of the price in total. Advisers recommend having the title deed checked at the land registry, working with a notary of your own choosing, and finding out in advance how the property will be treated in Belgium for tax and inheritance purposes. Outside Chișinău property is cheap, but often hard to sell again.

VRemote work and the IT Park

In recent years Moldova has positioned itself as an IT country. Two schemes are relevant if you want to work there.

Digital nomads

In June 2025 parliament passed a package of laws for the digital economy that included a right of residence for digital nomads. It applies to people who work remotely, using information and communication technology, for a company registered outside Moldova, as an employee, service provider or shareholder. Income must come entirely from that foreign work and, over the six months before the application, average three average wages a month. Based on the projected average wage for 2026, that is about 52,200 lei (approx. €2,600) a month. Applications are made to the IGM.

Moldova IT Park

The Moldova IT Park is not a building but a virtual tax regime, set up under Law No. 77 of 2016. A Moldovan limited company (SRL) that earns at least 70% of its turnover from recognised IT activities pays a single tax of 7% on turnover. This replaces corporate income tax, payroll tax and social and health contributions, among others. A minimum of 30% of the projected average wage applies per employee, about 5,220 lei a month in 2026. By law the regime is guaranteed until 2035, and it also survives the tax reform the government is proposing for 2027.

Note: the IT Park applies to companies, not to self-employed individuals. If, as a Belgian, you work from Moldova through a Belgian company or as a Belgian self-employed person, have the social security and tax implications checked in Belgium first.

VITaxes and the treaty with Belgium

In 2026 Moldova levies a flat income tax of 12% on the income of individuals. There is a personal allowance of 29,700 lei a year (approx. €1,480), only for those earning less than 360,000 lei a year. In addition, 9% compulsory health insurance is deducted from wages; the employer pays 24% in social contributions. Dividends are taxed at 6%.

You generally become tax resident if you spend 183 days or more in Moldova in a calendar year or have your centre of interests there. Tax residents are in principle taxed on their worldwide income. In 2026 the government announced a reform for the self-employed and small businesses: from 2027 some special regimes will close to new registrations. At the end of October 2026 those proposals were part of the draft budget and may still change.

Double taxation

On 4 December 2008 in Brussels, Belgium and Moldova signed a convention for the avoidance of double taxation on income and capital, supplemented by an amending protocol of 30 March 2017. The Belgian Council of Ministers submitted both texts to parliament in January 2019. In June 2026 a Moldovan press source still referred to the treaty concluded with the Soviet Union in 1987 as the text both countries apply, while a government decision of 4 June 2026 gave a mandate to negotiate a new amending protocol to the 2008 convention. Which text applies to your income, and how your Belgian pension or salary is taxed, is best checked with the FPS Finance and a tax adviser with experience in both countries.

VIIHealthcare and insurance

Public healthcare in Moldova runs on compulsory health insurance, managed by the National Health Insurance Company (CNAM, Compania Națională de Asigurări în Medicină). Employees pay 9% of their wages; those who are not employees can pay a fixed-amount premium, which is set anew each year. Valid Moldovan health insurance is a condition for most residence permits, including those for digital nomads.

The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) does not apply in Moldova, because the country is not a member of the EU or the EEA. Your Belgian health insurance fund therefore does not automatically cover a long stay there. Private international health insurance is sensible for most newcomers, especially with pre-existing conditions.

Chișinău has private clinics and laboratories, at prices that are low by Belgian standards. For complex procedures you may need to go to Romania or elsewhere in the EU. Outside the capital, services are more limited.

VIIISchools, banking and driving licence

International schools

Chișinău has a few private international schools. Heritage International School combines the national curriculum with Cambridge and offers A levels in its upper school; in July 2026 it became the first school in Moldova to receive full accreditation from the Council of British International Schools (COBIS). Places are limited, so enquire in good time. Relocation guides put school fees for 2026 at approx. 31,700 to 102,600 lei (approx. €1,580 to €5,100) per child per year.

Banking

The major banks include maib, Moldindconbank, Victoriabank and Eximbank. With a residence permit you can open an account; expect to need a passport, proof of address, your residence document and a tax number, and to answer questions about the source of your funds. An account in lei for day-to-day spending and one in euros is common.

Driving licence

According to the Agenția Servicii Publice (ASP), a foreign driving licence is in principle exchanged after a theory and practical test. Exceptions apply to countries with which Moldova has a bilateral agreement or that are on the reciprocity list; an exchange without a test or with a partial test is then enough. Check with the ASP whether Belgium is on those lists before you book an appointment. The standard fee for a driving licence in 2026 was 440 lei (approx. €22) for a processing time of 20 working days.

IXEmbassy, registration and contacts

Belgium has had an embassy in Chișinău since September 2023, but it has no consular powers. The Belgian embassy in Bucharest is also responsible for Moldova, and the embassy lists honorary consulates in Romania and Moldova. The embassy provides consular services such as passports, the electronic identity card and the registration of Belgians abroad; ask which steps you need to take from Moldova via Bucharest. If you settle in Moldova, it is best to register: it makes documents, elections and assistance simpler. For travel and stays abroad, the FPS Foreign Affairs recommends registering on Travellers Online.

The Netherlands also has an embassy in Chișinău. Dutch citizens can find consular services (passports, certificates, registration in the Non-Residents Records Database) on netherlandsworldwide.nl.

The government does not publish detailed figures on the number of Belgians and Dutch people in Moldova; at the end of 2025 the country had a total of about 21,500 foreigners with residence rights, from more than 130 countries. If you learn Romanian, you will get noticeably better help in daily life and from the authorities; a lot of Russian is also spoken in Chișinău.

XThe road to EU membership and what it means

Moldova applied for EU membership on 3 March 2022 and was granted candidate status in June 2022. Accession negotiations officially began on 25 June 2024. In October 2024 a narrow majority voted in a referendum to enshrine EU integration in the constitution. The screening of legislation was completed in September 2025. In 2026 the first negotiating clusters were formally opened: the fundamentals cluster in June and the external relations cluster in July. The Moldovan government is aiming for an accession treaty by the end of 2028; actual accession would come later.

What does that mean if you live there? Moldova is adopting European rules step by step, such as the 2025 law on the residence of EU citizens and the digitisation of residence applications. At the same time it remains a third country until accession: there is a customs border with the EU, the leu remains the currency, the European Health Insurance Card does not apply and European social security rules do not apply.

Because the rules are in flux, this page will change too. Check every step with the relevant body: the IGM for residence, the tax authorities and the FPS Finance for taxes, the ASP for driving licences and documents, and the Belgian embassy for consular matters.