Years worked in Canada and years worked back home will no longer cancel each other out. On 13 March 2026, the Republic of Moldova and Canada signed a social security agreement that allows insurance periods from both countries to be combined when calculating a pension. What's at stake? More than 20,000 Moldovan citizens living in Canada.

A problem many families know well

You worked ten years in Moldova, then moved across the ocean and worked a few more years there. When you reach retirement age, however, you discover that you don't meet the minimum contribution period in either country. Each system sees only its own slice of your career, and the contributions you paid risk going to waste.

That is the real downside of a career split between two countries that have no agreement with each other. For some members of the diaspora, it has meant years of contributions that never turned into a pension entitlement. This is exactly the barrier that is set to disappear between Moldova and Canada.

What the agreement provides and where it stands

The core idea is simple: the periods in which you were insured in the Republic of Moldova and in Canada can be added together when your pension entitlement is determined. You no longer start from zero in each country, your entire working life is taken into account.

The Republic of Moldova has already completed ratification, after Parliament voted through the social security agreements signed with Canada and with Ukraine. Both sides are now taking the steps needed for the agreement to enter into force. Until then, the current rules still apply, so it's worth watching for the official announcement of the date from which the agreement takes effect.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mihai Popșoi discussed the issue directly with Moldovans in Toronto during his visit to Canada. The announcement followed Popșoi's meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, with whom he also discussed security, trade and Moldova's European agenda.

Who stands to gain the most

According to official data, more than 20,000 Moldovan citizens live in Canada. Not all are in the same situation, but a few groups will feel the difference more than others:

- People with a split career: those who have built up years of work and contributions in both countries, but too few in either one to reach the required minimum.

- Temporary workers: people who go to Canada for limited periods and then return home, often without knowing what happens to the contributions they paid there.

- Recent migrants: those who left after a long period of work in Moldova and don't want to lose the years they worked at home.

- Those still thinking about leaving: for them, the agreement changes the calculation in advance, because emigrating no longer automatically means a break in their path to a pension.

What it means for your career decisions

If you are weighing a job offer in Canada, until now you had to balance pay, cost of living and distance from family. On top of all that sat a less visible question: what happens to my pension? The agreement doesn't guarantee you any specific amount, but it removes the risk of losing the years worked in one of the two countries altogether.

The same logic works the other way round. Anyone who has settled in Canada and is thinking of returning home can look at coming back with less fear of having "thrown away" the years of contributions made there. A career between two countries finally becomes a single, whole career in the eyes of the pension systems.

Wherever you work, what matters is having a formal job, with a contract and paid contributions. Only declared work turns into contribution years that can be combined. Cash-in-hand, "envelope" wages don't count anywhere, neither at home nor across the ocean.

What you can do now

The practical details (how to file a claim, which documents are required, exactly which benefits are covered) will be clarified as the agreement enters into force. In the meantime, a few simple steps can save you headaches later:

- Gather proof of your work history: contracts, your employment record book, payslips and any document showing the periods you were employed in Moldova.

- Keep your Canadian paperwork: employment documents and records confirming the contributions you paid there.

- Check what is on record in your name: ask the National Social Insurance House (CNAS, Moldova's state pension and social insurance agency) about the insurance periods registered for you in Moldova.

- Follow official announcements: the authorities will communicate the entry-into-force date and the specific procedure.

If you are already in Canada, you also have closer sources of information. Over the past year, 868 citizens received consular services during 22 mobile consular missions across Canada. This year, the first Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Moldova in Canada opened in Québec City, and the diaspora has 16 Moldovan associations, good places to find out what has changed and how to proceed.

Conclusion: one career, not two halves

The agreement with Canada won't raise your salary today, but it protects the work you did yesterday. For the tens of thousands of Moldovans whose lives are split between two countries, it means every year worked legally counts. Gather your documents, watch for the entry-into-force date and make your next career decision knowing that the years you've worked will no longer be lost.