Moldova migrant workers debate intensifies
Former MP Valeriu Secăreanu has addressed Moldovan emigrants loyal to President Maia Sandu and the PAS government, suggesting they should not hurry back to Moldova. His comments came alongside a video showing migrants in turbans sitting in classrooms in Moldovan schools.
The video published by Secăreanu triggered a strong reaction on social media. It shows a group of dark-skinned men, some wearing turbans, sitting at desks in a classroom. They are writing in notebooks, looking through their notes and appearing to take part in a lesson. According to Secăreanu, they are the new “working hands” being brought into Moldova by the authorities instead of citizens who have left the country.
“Those who voted for Sandu and PAS from abroad should not rush home anymore. Sandu and PAS have found other Moldovans instead of you!” Secăreanu wrote in a comment under the video.
The number of migrants is indeed increasing. According to the General Inspectorate for Migration, 6,167 foreign citizens were officially employed in Moldova in 2025. That is 30% more than a year earlier. In 2026, their number is expected to exceed 8,000.
According to statements by politicians, Moldova is attracting migrants from Nepal, India and Bangladesh. Many are taking jobs in construction, agriculture, transport and catering. To support their adaptation, the authorities have already opened integration centres in Chișinău, Bălți and Cahul, where foreign citizens receive help with documents and Romanian language classes.
Moldova migrant workers plan raises questions
Economy Minister Eugen Osmokescu has said Moldova needs to attract around 300,000 foreign workers. His argument is that the country’s economy remains below the minimum productivity level of the European Union.
“I personally believe that we need to attract labour from abroad. The economy can be compared to transport. It will not move without fuel, and workers are the energy,” Osmokescu said on TVR Moldova.
The minister stressed that the process would be “regulated” and that it was not about illegal migration, but about the “import of labour” under specific conditions.
However, there has been no broad public discussion of the issue. Citizens have not been asked for their view. Whether such a strategy serves the country’s interests remains an open question.
Europe tightens rules as Chișinău opens the door
While Chișinău is preparing to bring in tens of thousands of migrants, the European Union is moving in the opposite direction. The EU is tightening migration legislation, taking steps to speed up deportations and reduce the inflow of foreign nationals.
In 2025, the EU repatriation rate reached 28%, the highest level in a decade. European Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner has called for tougher rules.
“The old rules on deporting illegal migrants from the EU simply do not work efficiently enough,” he said.
EU countries are also discussing the creation of a “solidarity fund” and expanding the list of “safe countries” for deportation, including Bangladesh, India, Egypt and other states. In other words, Europe is trying to limit migration. Moldova, which says it wants to join the EU, is doing the opposite.
The contradiction is hard to ignore.
Does PAS still need the diaspora?
In the most recent presidential election, Maia Sandu won thanks in large part to votes from Moldovans abroad. Inside the country, her support was much weaker: after ballots cast within Moldova were counted, the opposition candidate led for a long period, and Sandu was carried over the line by votes from Europe.
But now that the authorities appear to have found a “replacement” for citizens who left to work abroad, the rhetoric has changed. Neither Sandu nor PAS has taken meaningful steps to bring the diaspora back. Instead, the discussion has shifted towards plans to import hundreds of thousands of workers from abroad.
