Romania is the new “house” for tens of thousands of Asian workers. Salaries are between 500 and 1500 euros.
Asian workers on the site of a highway. Photo: Ionel Scrioșteanu, Facebook
The number of workers from Sri Lanka, Nepal or India has increased significantly in recent years, Romania becoming an alternative to the Middle East or other European states. According to official data, over 120,000 Asian workers live and work now in Romania, most in construction, industry and services.
How much does a worker from Sri Lanka earn, concretely
Some reports with examples of srilankezi working in Romania:
- A viral worker on Tiktok said he receives 4,000 lei per month, plus meal and accommodation (Digifm).
- Another, interviewed after three and a half years, declared that he takes 3,850 lei net monthly (Freedom).
- According to some recruitment agencies, wages start from 2,600 – 3,600 net lei for unskilled workers and can climb to 900–1,500 euros for qualified ones.
By comparison, in Sri Lanka the minimum wage is the equivalent of only $ 42, and the average one reaches $ 250. The difference explains why Romania remains attractive to many of these workers.
Micro + Macro: The phenomenon size in Romania
In 2024, there were registered over 140,640 non -community workers who work legally in Romania, most of them from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Turkey and India, and working in sectors such as production, construction, trade and Horeca.
More than 60% of the approvals issued annually for non-EU workers cover trades in agriculture, cleaning, handling of goods-areas with low qualification and high fluctuation.
What do people say on Reddit
In the discussions on the Romanian forums, the opinions are divided:
- A user writes: “Salary $ 600 in hand, 10 hours a day, 26 days a month. About 11 lei per hour.”
- The other is skeptical: “The internet of articles with Nepalese and Srilankezi is full of the months, put to work over the 8 legal hours, without the extra payment.”
- A comment with many appreciation says: “The empty-Goluț truth is that the Nepalese and Srilankes can be exploited in a way that the Romanians cannot be. It is exclusively of money.”
- There are also irony: “Why are they better than Romanians? Because they can stay 20 in a studio and do not know their rights.”
- In a recent discussion on R/Roumanie, someone drew attention: “The employers always agree to bring other shes, the faster, the better, because each contract means commission.”
How much a worker from Sri Lanka wins in Romania depends on the field, qualification and employer, but on average the amounts vary between 3,000 and 4,000 net lei, to which are usually added meals and accommodation. For them, these revenues are significantly higher than in Sri Lanka, but working conditions and integration remain sensitive topics.
