US Ambassador to Romania Kathleen Kavalec, after talks with Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu at the Victoria Governmental Palace on Tuesday, said that in the coming months a number of important steps still need to be completed to establish whether Romania is in fact eligible to join the Visa Waiver Program.She voiced gratitude for the close partnership with the Romanian government in the joint efforts of bringing Romania into the Visa Waiver Program, which would facilitate tourist and business travels of Romanians in the US without a visa.Kavalec anticipated that additional consultations would take place between the two governments this autumn."To participate in the program, we anticipate that further consultations will be taking place between our two governments this fall to review a number of previously agreed upon security measures. In event of a favorable decision being taken by the US government to include Romania in its US Visa waiver program, we anticipate that there will be a period of careful preparation and public information sharing before any changes in the current visa requirements can be implemented. Visa refusal rate data for all Visa waiver country aspirants is usually published no later than January. Should all the conditions and preparations proceed successfully, the program could take effect sometime in 2025," Kathleen Kavalec also said.Asked about those steps that Romania needs to make, the ambassador pointed out: "There are a number of steps regarding security and information sharing and we have signed a couple of agreements on those that will need to be implemented."At the same time, Kathleen Kavalec showed that this program concerns only tourist and business visas, when asked if new negotiations were scheduled between the two sides to eliminate the visa requirement for Romanians wanting to study or work in the US."This program is for business and tourist visas only, it does not apply to student visas or other types of work visas," the US ambassador also pointed out. (Photo:https://gov.ro/)
June is the richest month. The most awaited two weeks in my annual festival pilgrimage. The route starts with Romania’s Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF), followed by Italy’s (and the world’s) most comprehensive festival for restored and archival film: Il Cinema Ritrovato. To shake up the traditional article on the two, I’ll start with the […]
Different Beauty, a recently opened exhibition of works by Czech photographer David Těšínský, offers a glimpse into everyday life in the war-torn region of Donbas in 2017. The photos were taken within the span of only a few days, as Těšínský traveled to eastern Ukraine to document the lives of women impacted by war. In […]
Different Beauty, a recently opened exhibition of works by Czech photographer David Těšínský, offers a glimpse into everyday life in the war-torn region of Donbas in 2017. The photos were taken within the span of only a few days, as Těšínský traveled to eastern Ukraine to document the lives of women impacted by war. In […]
Roughly 70% of Romanians are “very” or “moderately” concerned about how AI accesses and uses their data, according to the latest survey conducted by RoCoach in partnership with Novel Research between May and June 2025. Distrust in automated decision-making and the demand for regulation are becoming more pronounced, as Romania rolls out major digitalization projects […]
The Armenian Street Festival returns for a 9th edition between August 1 and 3, 2025, in the “Dimitrie Brândză” Botanical Garden in Bucharest. The festival brings into focus the living heritage of the Armenian community in Romania and the diaspora. According to the organizers, this year’s edition aims to strengthen the Bucharest–Chișinău–Yerevan cultural axis, articulated […]
The Romanian mergers and acquisitions market registered a total of 122 announced transactions in the first half of 2025, with a value exceeding EUR 2.7 billion, marking a slight increase of 6% in volume and 4% in value compared to the same period last year, according to an analysis by George Ureche, partner at PwC Romania. […]
