Romania formally fulfills all the technical requirements to be part of the Visa Waiver program, as the refusal rate has dropped below 3%, according to Andrei Muraru, Romania's ambassador to the United States. Thus, Romanians would most likely be able to travel visa-free to the US starting the first part of 2025. 

Romania has set the goal of joining the Visa Waiver program in 2025, and to bring the refusal rate down to below the required 3% threshold, it started a campaign encouraging eligible Romanians to apply for or renew their US travel visas.

At the same time, the Romanian authorities took steps to implement all the technical and security measures provided by the American legislation regarding the Visa Waiver Program regime.

"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. The fiscal year ended in the United States yesterday, and the last condition 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% rejection rate," ambassador Andrei Muraru said.

"The first Romanians will probably be able to travel visa-free to the United States in the first part of next year," he added.

Visa-free travel to America comes with several benefits, the ambassador also noted, such as a boost in trade or investments and, most likely, more direct flights between Romania and the US.  

The refusal rate for US visas dropped to 8.79% in the fiscal year 2023, "the lowest level in the entire history of bilateral relations between Romania and the United States," marking an accelerated decrease in recent years (17.03% in 2021 and 12.61% in 2022).

After the end of the fiscal year (October 1, 2023 - September 30, 2024) in the US, there is a technical process that begins in October and lasts several months - when there will be assessments by the American authorities and a visit by American experts to Bucharest, scheduled for the end of October, to confirm the positive results achieved by Romania. 

The Visa Waiver Program allows citizens of member countries to travel to the United States without a visa for up to 90 days for tourism or business. Currently, citizens of 42 states can travel to the US under the Visa Waiver Program. 

Citizens of countries included in the Visa Waiver Program who wish to travel to the US must register for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) before traveling and meet several eligibility requirements.

Thus, by joining the program, Romanians will no longer have to hold interviews at a US consulate, which makes the procedure much less time-consuming, the Romanian Embassy to the US noted. The visa replacement travel authorization is valid for two years, has unlimited US entries/exits, and can be used for visits of up to 90 days each.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Kuprevich/Dreamstime.com)