Romania to open up a third consulate in Moldova

Prime Minister Vlad Filat said today that Romania would open up a third consulate in Moldova, in the border city of Ungheni. Recently, Chisinau allowed Bucharest to open up two consulates in Cahul (in the south) and Balti (in the north).

Until the ruling Alliance for European Integration came to power, Bucharest had only one consulate, in Chisinau, because Communist authorities refused to allow the opening up of additional ones. As a result, the Chisinau consulate became rather notorious for its long lines.

The three consulates will now allow Moldovans who do not live in Chisinau to make shorter trips to the closer location instead of taking an often expensive and long trip to the capital.

Moldovans need visas to visit Romania. The only exception to this rule is a recently signed bilateral agreement between the two countries allowing Moldovan residents living close to the Romanian border to visit the neighboring country (within 50 kilometers) with a simple permit.

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