site.btaUS to Waive Visas for Romanians

On January 10, the official US visa waiver programme for Romanian citizens will be announced. This will be done at a meeting in Washington between Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorcas and Romanian Ambassador to the US Andrei Muraru, the US Embassy in Bucharest said in a Facebook post.

The meeting between Mayorcas and Muraru will take place at the Department of Homeland Security in Washington. At the meeting, the representative of the US government will officially inform the Romanian representative about the decision of the US authorities to accept Romania into the visa waiver programme, which allows visa-free travel to the US for up to 90 days for tourism or business purposes. The technical details and the effective date of entry into force of the new regime for travel to the US for Romanian citizens will be communicated at the meeting, the Embassy said.

"Friday's event is the culmination and end result of years of hard work by Romanian and U.S. officials. Romania's inclusion in the U.S. visa waiver programme is an important recognition of common interests in the economic and security spheres. In this way, Romania strengthens its position as a strategic partner of the United States by being the first country from the Black Sea region to be accepted into the visa waiver programme,” Ambassador Muraru was quoted as saying in the US Embassy publication.

He points out that the abolition of visas for the US will bring important benefits to Romanians - they will be able to travel more easily, thus boosting trade and investment, as well as tourism and direct contacts. 

"Considering the strict criteria it had to meet, like every country accepted into the programme, Romania becomes a safer country that works more closely with the US in the field of security," the Romanian Ambassador to Washington noted.

As a result of the US federal government's decision, Romania will become the 43rd country included in the visa waiver programme.

On November 27, the U.S. Department of State confirmed that Romania met the benchmark for visa denial rate - in the fiscal year 2024 (October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024), U.S. visas were denied to 2.61% of applicants from Romania.

Along with the visa denial criterion, Romania's inclusion in the visa waiver programme implies meeting criteria related to the security of travel documents and the exchange of information, as well as implementing specific measures to combat terrorism and illegal migration. To implement these objectives in 2023, the Romanian authorities appointed a national coordinator and set up an inter-ministerial committee, the publication points out.

Nationals of countries included in the U.S. visa waiver programme who wish to travel to the United States must register with the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). Now Romanians will not have to appear for interviews at US diplomatic missions. The travel authorization, which replaces previous visas, is valid for two years and can be used repeatedly for visits of up to 90 days. The travel permit costs USD 21.

Following Romania's inclusion in the U.S. visa waiver programme, Bulgaria and Cyprus will remain the only EU member states whose nationals will need U.S. visas. Croatia was accepted into the programme in October 2021.