What is the A1 certificate used for and how can we obtain it

what is the A1 certificate

In the article below, we explain the basic rules about the A1 certificate. The guide below answers important questions such as: “What is the A1 certificate useful for?”, “Why do I need to request an A1 social security certificate?”, “What are the most frequent situations where an A1 certificate should be obtained from the competent authorities?” and many more.

What is the A1 certificate used for?

If this is not the first time you have researched the A1 certificate and its utility, you have probably already read a lot of information about this certificate and its purpose. Simply put, an A1 certificate is a social security coverage certificate that must be issued by the competent authorities of an EU member state for a person who works, for a determined period, (and) on the territory of another EU member state.

The main purpose of a social security certificate is to confirm the insurance of the person holding the certificate in the social security system of that issuing member state. The certificate is issued by the EU member state where the insured person remains under the incidence of social security legislation. Social contributions covered by an A1 certificate mainly refer to: pension insurance, health insurance, child benefits, unemployment.

When does the obligation to request an A1 certificate from authorities arise?

Any situation of mobility of an employee or an individual carrying out other types of activities (e.g., independent activities) on the territory of other EU member states generates the obligation to obtain the A1 certificate for the person in question. The most well-known situations of international mobility for which an A1 certificate is necessary are:

Why do I need to request for the A1 certificate?

The main purpose of the A1 form is to attest that an individual, whenever they find themselves in any of the situations listed above, remains insured in the mandatory social insurance system of a single EU member state. Thus, the certificate helps to avoid paying mandatory social contributions in multiple member states at the same time.

Employers residing in other European states may choose to assign employees for temporary periods in Romania. At the same time, employers established on the territory of Romania very often assign their employees to work, for temporary periods, in other countries of the European Union.

When initiating such assignments, compliance with the provisions of European Union legislation on social insurance should be considered. The legislative framework is established by the Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004 of the EU, which also includes the obligation to request A1 certificates for their own employees assigned to EU territory.

Also, the authorities of the host state can check at any time whether an A1 certificate has been obtained for an employee working on their territory. In the event that the document is not available, the authorities can apply significant fines, requiring the employer and the employee to start paying social contributions in the host country.

Does the A1 certificate exempt an employee from paying salary taxes in the country where he is temporarily seconded?

The availability of the A1 form confirms that the employee remained subject to social contributions in his country of employment. This means that he doesn’t have to pay social contributions for his salary in the country where he is temporarily seconded.

However, this exemption applies only to social contributions. For the income tax different rules apply, as per the Romanian domestic tax legislation, and the tax treaty concluded by Romania with the country where the employee is seconded.

Where is the A1 form obtained in Romania?

To obtain the A1 form, the applicant must contact the National House of Public Pensions (CNPP). Any request for the issuance of the form must be accompanied by a set of mandatory documents. Depending on the purpose for which the certificate is requested (detachment, multiple activities, carrying out independent activities in two or more member states, etc.), the most important documents are:

As an important recommendation, when submitting the application file, number the pages of all documents in the file, together with declaring the number of pages. In this way, you will avoid any problems regarding the loss of any document by the inspector processing your file.

Update:

Starting at the end of last year, the procedure for obtaining the A1 certificate was modified by the Pension House. Thus, the new procedure provides that the verification of compliance with the conditions for issuing the A1 form will only be done on the basis of a written request.

Specifically, in the new type of request, most of the information that could have been verified by inspectors from the supporting documents listed above will be included. All this information will be completed by the applicant in the new type of request, which will be signed on their own responsibility.

The request form models can be found on the Pension House website, here.

How long does it take for the A1 certificate to be issued?

The procedure for obtaining an A1 certificate can take a significant period (from 15 days to 45 days, or sometimes more), depending on the procedure applicable to each case. In accordance with the procedure established by the Romanian authorities, solving a request for an A1 certificate takes approximately 30-45 days.