Romania Visa Fees & Processing Time from Dubai

Romania follows Schengen Visa Code fee guidelines, which means the government visa fee is standardised across all Schengen member states. The fee varies only by applicant category (adult, child, or free-of-charge categories) — not by nationality. Below is the complete fee breakdown for Romania visa applications from Dubai.

Beyond the government fee and VFS service charge, Romania visa applicants from Dubai regularly encounter additional costs that are easy to miss during the planning stage. Here is a complete list of expenses to budget for.

Travel Insurance

Schengen travel insurance is mandatory for the Romania visa — without it, VFS will not accept your application. The policy must cover all Schengen member states with a minimum medical coverage of EUR 30,000. Costs in the UAE start from around AED 50 for a one-week trip and increase based on trip duration, traveller age, and coverage level. Multi-trip annual Schengen insurance policies are available from around AED 300 to AED 600 if you travel to Schengen countries multiple times per year.

Bank Statement and Document Fees

UAE banks typically charge AED 25 to AED 50 for an official stamped bank statement. Some banks provide a free monthly statement by default, but the Schengen-compliant version with bank stamps usually incurs a small fee. If any of your documents require translation from Arabic into English, certified translation services in Dubai charge AED 100 to AED 300 per document.

Flight and Hotel Reservations

You need proof of round-trip flight reservations and hotel bookings for your visa application. Using refundable bookings as placeholders is strongly recommended and comes at no extra cost if you use flexible-rate hotel options and flight reservation tools. Some travel agencies charge a small fee (AED 50-100) for issuing a dummy flight reservation if you are not ready to purchase tickets. However, do not pay for non-refundable bookings before your visa is confirmed.

Processing time for a Romania Schengen visa from Dubai is typically 10 to 15 working days from the date your complete application is received by the Romanian Consulate. This is consistent with Schengen Visa Code standards, which require member states to process applications within 15 calendar days in most cases.

Working days in this context means Monday through Friday, excluding UAE public holidays and Romanian national holidays. During peak summer months (June through August), both VFS Global and the Romanian Consulate handle significantly higher application volumes from UAE residents. OraVisa strongly recommends applying a minimum of 4 weeks before travel during this period.

This is one of the most important financial facts every Romania visa applicant from Dubai needs to understand: the EUR 80 government visa fee and the VFS service charge are both non-refundable if your visa application is rejected. This is standard practice across all Schengen member states.

If your application is refused, the consulate will issue a formal rejection notice with a specific reason code. You can reapply — there is no mandatory waiting period — but you must pay all fees again. This makes investing in proper document preparation (or using a professional service like OraVisa) a financially sensible decision. A rejected application costs you AED 320 in visa fees plus VFS charges, and may delay your trip by weeks.

Travel insurance premiums are also non-refundable once issued, though some policies allow cancellation within a short window. Flight reservations (if refundable) and hotel bookings (if refundable) can be cancelled without cost if your visa is rejected — which is why OraVisa always recommends using refundable reservations for your application.

Despite the Schengen visa process adding upfront costs, Romania offers outstanding value once you arrive. In comparison to Western European Schengen destinations, Romania is significantly more affordable in terms of accommodation, food, transport, and attractions.

Romania's lower daily costs mean that the Schengen visa fee of EUR 80 represents a much smaller proportion of total trip cost compared to destinations where you spend three to four times more per day. For a 7-day Romania trip, the total visa and document costs represent roughly 10 to 15 percent of the overall travel budget — making it an excellent value destination for UAE residents.