Improved Management of the Applications Submitted for Granting Citizenship (RO0033)

Status quo or problem addressed by the commitment Citizenship applicants face numerous issues in the citizenship granting process. One of the biggest problems is the limited possibilities to track the evolution of the citizenship application file. This is often caused by the fact that applicants do not know the file registration number, especially those submitting the application at diplomatic missions or consular posts abroad, where the applicant receives a registration number different from the one the file eventually gets at the Agency. On the other hand, there are no available resources within the Agency to manage an efficient communication system with the applicants. Main objective Increase transparency and institutional efficiency Brief description of commitment The commitment regards the development of a computerised system that will give applicants access to information about the status of their application file, as well as the dates set for the oath of loyalty. The information system ROCRIS, dedicated to the Romanian criminal records and launched in 2013, will be used by the ANC to check the situation of the applicants. In addition, statistics regarding the number of accepted citizenship applicants will be uploaded on the open data portal data.gov.ro. OPG challenge addressed by the commitment Improve public services; Increase public sector integrity Relevance Access to information; Technology and innovation Ambition Develop a computerised system for better management of the files of citizenship applicants. Publication of open data.

✪4. Improved management of the applications submitted for granting citizenship

Commitment Text:

The commitment regards the development of a computerized system that will give individuals who apply for Romanian citizenship access to information about the status of their application file, as well as the dates set for their oath of loyalty. The information system ROCRIS, dedicated to the Romanian criminal records and launched in 2013, will be used by the ANC to check the situation of the applicants. In addition, statistics regarding the number of accepted citizenship applicants will be uploaded on the open data portal data.gov.ro.

Main Objective:

Increase transparency and institutional efficiency.

Milestones:

• Consultations between the government institutions involved (ANC, IGPR, IGI, MAE) and NGOs to understand and assess the needs of public servants working on this matter and the needs of citizenship applicants
• Online programming for the submission of files at each regional office and at the central office in Bucharest
• Use of the ROCRIS information system, dedicated to the criminal records, to check the status of the applicants
• Implementation of the application ”Stadiu dosar” (File Status), that will inform the applicants on the status of their file, the phases and the periods allowed for solving the submissions.
• Development within the technical specifications of the online platform, of a module that will collect, anonymize and upload the data to the open data portal.

Responsible Institution: Ministry of Justice (MJ) – National Citizenship Agency (ANC) Open Parliament Principles

Supporting Institution(s): Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI), Police General Inspectorate (IGPR), Immigration General Inspectorate (IGI), and Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MAE)–diplomatic missions

Start date: September 2016                                      End date: December 2017

Editorial Note: The commitment text is abridged. The full text can be found in the OGP 2016–2018 national action plan.

Editorial note: This commitment is clearly relevant to OGP values as written, has transformative potential impact, and is substantially or completely implemented, and therefore qualifies as a starred commitment.

Commitment Aim

This commitment aimed to reduce delays for processing requests for Romanian citizenship [30] by identifying the main sources of bottlenecks (Milestone 1), by using online tools to increase the productivity of the public servants processing the applications (Milestone 3), and by transposing the application process online such that applicants can monitor their application in real time (Milestones 2 and 4). The commitment also aimed to streamline the publication of statistics on citizenship applications on the data.gov.ro portal (Milestone 5).

STATUS

Midterm: Complete

This commitment was completed by the midterm. Consultations to assess the needs of public servants and of citizenship applicants were organized in 2016. They were experienced and constructed both by the public sector representatives and by representatives of the civil society. [31] Software that ensures that citizenship applicants can file the necessary documents online, can schedule their appointments at the ANC online, and can view online the progress made on their requests, were developed. Furthermore, ANC employees were given access to the Romanian Criminal Records Information System (ROCRIS) database, which increases their productivity. Citizenship applicants thus no longer need to first get a hard-copy version of their criminal records and provide it to the ANC. Finally, software was developed to allow the collection, anonymization, and upload of statistics on citizenship applications on the open data portal.

Did it Open Government?

Access to information: Major

Eurostat shows that 9,399 persons acquired Romanian citizenship in 2009, a 168% increase from 2008. ^[32] According to a civil society representative, the number of requests for Romanian nationality increased after the passing of Emergency Ordinance 36/2009 above the processing capacity of the ANC. ^[33] Simultaneously, Romania is the only EU member for which no Eurostat statistics on the amount of persons that acquired citizenship exist between 2010 and 2012. ^[34] According to the civil society representative, this eGovernment solution has significantly increased the productivity and the transparency of the ANC services and reduced the probability of corruption. ^[35] By implementing this commitment, public servants of the ANC are allowed access to the Romanian Criminal Records Information System, which increases their productivity. Moreover, it reduces the burden on the citizenship applicants who no longer need to require a hard copy of their criminal records. Citizenship applicants can schedule the necessary appointments online for the submission of files relevant to the application—in ANC’s regional offices as well as in its central office in Bucharest. ^[36] Finally, citizenship applicants can track their application online, ^[37] which helps them avoid missing the deadlines or not being able to inform the authorities of the foreign state whose citizens they are about the progress made in acquiring dual nationality. According to the government’s 2018 self-assessment report, a survey conducted in June 2017 by ANC showed that 97% of the responding applicants were happy with the online appointments scheduling system. Respondents viewed the portal as user-friendly and the digitization of the appointments scheduling as more transparent, reducing waiting times and being more cost-efficient.

Furthermore, although only 6,800 persons acquired Romanian citizenship in 2017 ^[38] (well below the 30,500 persons EU27 average), the statistics on citizenship applications that the ANC periodically publishes on the data.gov.ro portal are important for monitoring the evolution of the electoral base and for understanding and predicting electoral preferences. ^[39] Increasing the transparency of this group of Romanian and EU (potential) voters is important in the context of the discussions of potential election result manipulations.

Civic participation: Marginal

Consultations between the representatives of the ANC and of the civil society were organized in 2016 and were experienced as constructive by both parties. ^[40] The commitment had a positive impact on civic engagement, albeit marginal due to the singularity of consultations.

Carried forward?

This commitment was completed and consequently not carried forward in the 2018–2020 national action plan. Nevertheless, building on the successful completion of this commitment, the National Citizenship Agency applied for EU funds to update their computerized system and also allow Romanian citizens living abroad to renounce their citizenship online [41]—thereby lifting the burden imposed on them to travel to Bucharest to submit the required documents in person (see Commitment 8 “Digitalization of consular services performed by diplomatic missions and consular offices of Romania abroad” of the 2018–2020 national action plan.

[30] Andreea Traicu, “Ministerul Justitiei: Nereguli de legalitate la Autoritatea Naţională pentru Cetăţenie”, Mediafax, 3 March 2016, available [in Romanian] at https://goo.gl/ky1jPX.

[31] Ovidiu Voicu, Centre for Public Integrity, interview by IRM researcher on 8 November 2018 and Mugurel Dascalu, National Agency for Citizenship, interview by IRM researcher on 14 November 2018.

[32] Eurostat, Romania, available at https://bit.ly/2Y91lXO.

[33] Ovidiu Voicu, Centre for Public Integrity, interview by IRM researcher on 8 November 2018.

[34] Eurostat, Romania, available at https://bit.ly/2Y91lXO.

[35] Ovidiu Voicu, Centre for Public Integrity, interview by IRM researcher on 8 November 2018.

[36] Ministry of Justice. Programare Online Depunere Dosar. available [in Romanian] at https://goo.gl/2PHZ8C.

[37] Ministry of Justice. Stadiu Dosar – art. 11, Available [in Romanian] at https://goo.gl/ZL24AS.

[38] Eurostat, Romania, available at https://bit.ly/2Y91lXO.

[39] Ovidiu Voicu, Centre for Public Integrity, interview by IRM researcher on 8 November 2018.

[40] Ovidiu Voicu, Centre for Public Integrity, interview by IRM researcher on 8 November 2018.

[41] Mugurel Dascalu, National Agency for Citizenship, interview by IRM researcher on 14 November 2018.