site.btaForeign Minister Kondov: Bulgaria Nears US Visa Waiver Inclusion with Great Progress

Bulgaria has made significant progress in meeting the criteria for inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Programme, caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Kondov said here on Friday.

Kondov’s remarks were part of a written response, published on the National Assembly's website, to Martin Dimitrov, a member of the Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) parliamentary group. The query pertained to progress on lifting visa requirements for Bulgarian citizens travelling to the US.

Kondov added that Bulgaria could successfully conclude negotiations upon achieving the condition of reducing B visa rejection rates to below 3% for fiscal year 2025.

One technical requirement for Bulgaria's inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Programme is maintaining a tourist visa refusal rate for Bulgarian citizens under 3%. The announcement of visa-free travel for Romanian citizens will be officially made on Friday during parallel events in Washington and Bucharest, BTA reported earlier. Romania becomes the 43rd country in the programme, leaving Bulgaria and Cyprus as the only EU member states still requiring visas for US travel. Croatia joined the programme in October 2021.

On November 27, 2024, the US Department of State published data on B visa refusal rates for fiscal year 2024 (ending September 30). Bulgaria’s refusal rate for 2024 was 6.02%, a significant improvement compared to 11.61% in fiscal year 2023, Kondov explained.

On December 15, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched an awareness campaign featuring Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova under the slogan, “You Don’t Need an Oscar to Get a US Visa.” The campaign aims to educate the public about various types of US visas, including B1/B2 visas, and to clarify application requirements, with the ultimate goal of reducing B visa refusal rates. The initiative has received extensive media coverage, including television reports, print articles, and social media posts by Bulgarian consulates and embassies, Kondov said.

Since 2006, the B visa refusal rate for Bulgarian citizens has dropped below 10% twice, with 2024’s rate of 6.02% being the lowest, according to BTA’s review of US State Department data.

BTA notes that on November 18, Kondov highlighted Bulgaria’s progress on meeting the criteria for inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Programme during a meeting with Richard Verma, US deputy secretary of state for management and resources. The US side commended Bulgaria’s efforts and expressed confidence that the positive trend would continue.

In mid-December, Bulgaria and the United States signed an Enhanced Border Security Partnership, marking another important step in Bulgaria’s efforts to meet the criteria for inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Programme. This development underscores the progress made by Bulgarian institutions in aligning with the programme’s requirements.