The Romanian government on Thursday urged Romanians to renew their expired US visas as part of efforts to join the Visa Waiver Program, which allows visa-free travel to the United States, euractiv.com informs. The campaign, entitled “Qualify Romania in the Visa Waiver Program”, will be promoted through TV, radio and online platforms. Romanians with visas that have expired in the last four years are encouraged to renew them by 30 September. The Romanian authorities aim to meet the technical criteria required to join the programme before the end of the US fiscal year 2024. A key criterion is to achieve a refusal rate of less than 3% for US B1/B2 visas – business and tourist visas – issued to Romanian citizens during this fiscal year. Romanians, Bulgarians, and Cypriots are the only EU citizens still needing a visa to enter the US. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu believes mobilising as many Romanians as possible for this campaign will enable visa-free travel to the US starting next year. There are indications that Romania is close to meeting the 3% refusal rate. This campaign serves as a “safety net” to ensure that all previous efforts are not in vain, according to Valentin Vatajelu, the national coordinator for Romania’s accession to the Visa Waiver Program. Last month, Romanian Ambassador to the U.S., Andrei Muraru, announced that Romania is in the final stages of meeting the Visa Waiver Program’s admission criteria. He noted that the rejection rate for the last fiscal year, ending October 1, 2023, was over 8%, but expressed optimism that it could fall below 3% this year. The US Embassy has issued a substantial number of visas this year, with estimates approaching 50,000 to 60,000. Muraru mentioned in an interview with Agerpres that there is ”a high volume of applications from both private and governmental sectors, and we have a very good chance”.
North Bucharest Investments anticipates a surge in international interest in the local real estate market following the launch of the Romanian Golden Visa program — a modern mechanism granting foreign investors a 5-year residence permit and the possibility to later apply for Romanian citizenship. The program, which allows eligible investments starting from €400,000 in real […]
Between October 21-25, Bucharest hosts the Climate Change Summit, the most important event in Central and Eastern Europe dedicated to climate action. The main event will take place on October 21 at the Palace of Parliament, featuring the participation of international leaders, decision-makers, and sustainability experts. CCS Week includes...
The works of several Romanian designers and artists will be on display at the Hôtel de Béhague in Paris, the headquarters of the Romanian Embassy, as part of the exhibition Valuable. The Romanian artists and designers included in the exhibition are Radu Abraham, Mircea Cantor, Bogdan Ciocodeică, Constantin Flondor, Cosmin Florea, Nona Inescu, Șerban Ionescu, […]
SCUT, Romania’s newest cybersecurity company, has officially launched the concept of the digital cyber shield — a unified approach, co-created with Orange Cyberdefense — that provides a high level of protection, complete visibility, and coordinated assistance in the event of a cyberattack. The event, organized in Bucharest, brought together industry experts, partners of the new […]
The Romanian engineering and technology company Simtel (BVB: SMTL) announced on Tuesday, October 14, that one of its companies will open a factory in Băicoi, Prahova, to produce industrial cleaning robots. Simtel has a 51% stake in Agora Robotics, the company that will operate the factory set to open in November. “We already have a […]
Over 50 civic and environmental organizations are calling on the General Council of the Municipality of Bucharest to increase fines for illegal deforestation. At the moment, the fine for the illegal cutting of a tree is only RON 50 (EUR 10), or even RON 25 (EUR 5) if paid within 15 days. The organizations have […]
