Romanian Ambassador: Romania Meets U.S. Visa Waiver Requirements

The Ambassador of Romania to the USA, Andrei Muraru, announced that Romania has fulfilled the last condition to be part of the Visa Waiver program. He stated that, most likely “in the first part of next year”, Romanians will be able to travel to the USA without visas, the Romanian Embassy in the USA reports in a statement.

“Today is a big day, a day we have been waiting for a long, long time: as of today, Romania formally meets all the technical conditions to be part of the Visa Waiver program. Yesterday, the fiscal year in the United States ended, and the last condition that Romania had to fulfill was satisfied. Of course, we are waiting for a confirmation from the American partners in the next period, but our assessment, based on the number of visa applications this year, as well as the strong downward trend in recent years, is that Romania has dropped below the 3% percentage of the rejection rate. The first Romanians will be able to travel visa-free to the United States, probably in the first part of next year. Visa-free travel to America is not just a privileged status granted to a country. There will be important benefits for us. By traveling more easily, the Romanians will build more bridges and thus be able to boost trade or investments. We also expect to have more direct flights between Romania and America soon. The alliance with the United States will never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that our friendship can always be perfect,” says the statement of the Ambassador of Romania to the United States of America, Andrei Muraru.

After the American authorities validate the drop in the visa refusal rate for Romanians below 3%, the US Department of State informs the Department of Homeland Security, which makes its own assessment. Then, he announces to Congress that the conditions are met for Romanian citizens to travel to the States without a visa, for periods shorter than 90 days. Afterwards, the American elected officials validate the decision by voting.

Romania has repeatedly tried to enter the Visa Waiver program so that a visa is no longer required for trips to the US lasting less than 90 days. So far, however, the country has not reached a mandatory condition, namely that the rejection rate of visitor visas (type B) should be less than 3%.

In July 2024, the Government launched a campaign called “Qualify Romania in the Visa Waiver Program”, through which those who already had a visa were urged to renew it, in order to reach this threshold. Other steps were also taken.

“For the success of the project, it is essential that as many Romanian citizens as possible renew their US visas by September 30, 2024.”

Now, after the official confirmation that Romania officially meets all the conditions, it will take a few more months until the program is implemented. Currently, Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus are the only member states of the European Union that are not currently included in the Visa Waiver program.

US Ambassador in Bucharest: “There are still some important steps to be taken”