Your salary reaches a German account every month, while the flat you want to buy is in Brașov.
Romanian finance may still be available. The file cannot follow the quick ANAF verification used for local salary, so the lender has to rebuild the income from foreign records.
Which loan types are available in 2026?
The clearest public option is a diaspora mortgage. Libra markets a dedicated product, and Banca Transilvania confirms that foreign employment income may be assessed for mortgage-secured borrowing.
Unsecured personal credit is a separate market. Some banks restrict it to Romanian-verifiable income; others consider selected countries or existing customers. Mortgage rules should never be assumed to apply to a personal loan.
The country of employment matters
Lenders publish different eligible-country lists. Libra names the EEA, United Kingdom, Switzerland, United States, Canada, Israel, Norway, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates for its diaspora product, with conditions that vary by group.
Country affects legal verification, access to the employer and the currency of salary. Confirm eligibility before paying for translations or valuation.
BT's public conditions for secured credit refer to Romanian citizenship, an indefinite employment contract and at least one year working abroad. Those are BT conditions, not a rule for every Romanian lender.
Salary currency versus loan currency
Euro income with a lei loan creates exchange-rate risk. A weaker income currency leaves fewer lei for the same instalment. Banks account for that mismatch when assessing affordability.
Suppose net salary converts to 9,460 lei today and the estimated payment is 3,180 lei. If the income currency loses 8.35%, the payment stays fixed in lei but consumes more of the converted salary.
Our debt-to-income calculator gives a starting point. The lender may use a more cautious exchange rate.
Documents normally requested
A file usually starts with Romanian identification, the employment contract, account statements and foreign tax or payroll records. Payslips, an employer letter and proof of residence may follow.
Bonus and overtime income may not receive the same weight as base salary. If variable pay is material, show a longer history rather than a single strong month.
Libra says English documents do not require translation for its diaspora mortgage, while documents in other languages need an authorised translator. Another lender can request translations, apostilles or its own form.
Employee, self-employed or company owner
An indefinite salary contract is usually easiest to read. Self-employment requires tax records and a longer view of cash flow. Libra publicly includes PFA, self-employment and company income in its product, but each application remains individual.
The bank separates invoiced turnover from available income. Our PFA loan guide explains the same distinction for Romanian independent activity.
Is a Romanian co-borrower required?
Not always. Libra states that its product does not require one, although a co-borrower can support an amount the applicant cannot carry alone.
A co-borrower is fully liable and uses part of their own borrowing capacity. Before adding one for a small shortfall, compare a larger deposit or a less expensive property.
Deposit and transaction costs
Keep separate funds for valuation, notary, insurance, translation and travel. Compare products in the Kreditano loan list and read the APR guide. Some mortgage expenses remain outside APR.
Speak to the bank before the reservation contract
An initial assessment is not final approval because the property still needs legal and technical checks. It can nevertheless expose a problem with country, currency, tenure or income before a hard-to-recover deposit is paid.
Negotiate a clear finance clause in the purchase agreement. A lost deposit can cost far more than a small difference in interest.
An editor's view
Maria Popescu, formerly in Raiffeisen's consumer-credit team: “In 2022 a nurse in Belgium sent only her contract and latest payslip. Her income was stable, but a night-shift bonus inflated that month by 23.65%. Six statements separated base salary from bonus and made the sustainable amount clear.”
Foreign income is not second-class income. It simply takes more evidence to verify.
Final checklist
Confirm product, country, currency, contract type and minimum tenure in writing. Ask about variable income, translations, signing in Romania and the exact deposit rule.
Compare banks with the same income set. An offer using bonuses cannot be compared fairly with one based only on base salary.