A managing system of integration has been set in Romania alongside with the preparation to adhere to the UE. Before Romania was a member of the E.U., a small number of immigrants coming from third countries were applying for a visa or for a residence permit, but in the last years, after Romania became a EU member, the number of applicants and the number of people who are granted a residence permit has been constantly increasing every year.

The main financial instrument for programs addressed to the integration of foreigners from non EU states is the European Fund for Integration of Third Country Nationals which is part of the Program “Solidarity and Dealing with Migration Flow” – the above-mentioned program also comprises three financial programs such as, The European Fund for Refugees, The European Fund for Return and the European Fund for External Borders. At the moment, all integration programs for RTT in Romania are financed by the European Integration Fund.

Actually, I can say that there are two types of integration programs for third country nationals in Romania: governmental programs which include Romanian language courses and integration programs offered by NGOs financed through the Integration European Fund which offers several types of services.

If through the 2007 Annual Program a single project was funded, through the 2008 Annual Program 7 integration projects were funded and four through the 2009 Annual Program; civil society is becoming slowly but surely more aware of its role to implement integration projects for RTT foreigners.

Thus, the study aims to examine the integration programs implemented by civil society and funded through the Integration European Fund, focusing on the following lines of research: the relation between beneficiary NGO’s and the Romanian Bureau for Immigration (RBI) – the institution which manages the funding for such projects, the relation between NGOs and the target group – the foreign communities which participate in these projects, how the implementing went, what are the target group’s perceptions on the utility and quality of these programs. The analysis is structured on three levels, using the guided interview as a research tool. The levels of analysis are: interviews with coordinators of implementing NGOs, interviews with participants in integration projects and an interview with the RBI representative. The study is not generalizing, does not test hypotheses, it is just a qualitative exploring study.

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The article was published in Politics and etnicity. Identity, behaviour and institutions in the ethnocultural diversity context, Salat Levente (Editor), Accent, 2011, pp. 243-321.