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”.
BeeFast, the Romanian tech startup specializing in instant delivery management solutions, announces securing a USD 450,000 investment. The funds will be used to accelerate BeeFast's international expansion and further develop its SaaS (software as a service) platform, which is revolutionizing the way companies manage their ultra-fast delivery fleets. Amid a consistent and organic increase in […]
A new online tool allows the location of Romanian passenger trains, Profit.ro reported. On the Bilete.infofer.ro platform, under the heading "My train/Trenul meu," one can track the position...
Presidential candidate Ludovic Orban, now the head of a center-right political vehicle but once the leader of the Liberal Party (PNL), announced he was stepping down in favor of reformist leader Elena Lasconi (USR) in a move aimed at triggering a consolidation of the center-right forces under a single candidate, several days before the first […]
The Romanian national postal company Posta Romana will close all its post offices "in the coming years" and rent them out, announced the company's general manager, Valentin Ștefan, quoted by Economica.net. The only reason for not closing the offices...
The Romanian Parliament, by the vote of the Chamber of Deputies, adopted an amendment to the Fiscal Code to exempt from taxation, until July 31, 2025, the earnings derived by natural persons from investments in cryptocurrencies, according to Profit.ro. The timing is important since cryptocurrency...
Transfond, which operates the interbank payments automated clearing house, and the Romanian Association of Banks have officially launched the domestic payment system RoPay, which allows transfers from account to account without the intermediation of card operators such as Visa or Mastercard. "RoPay differentiates itself from other payment solutions through speed, lower costs, and 24/7 availability," […]
