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”.
Romania’s acting prime minister Cătălin Predoiu conveyed Romania’s condolences to India on Thursday, June 12, following the deadly plane crash in the western city of Ahmedabad. The Air India Boeing 787-8, en route to London, went down in a residential area with 242 people on board. In a message posted on platform X, Predoiu expressed […]
Oradea, a major city in northwest Romania, has been selected as a pilot city in the European Union’s LIFE COOL ZONE project, aimed at addressing the growing impact of urban heat waves through climate adaptation strategies. The initiative, funded under the EU’s LIFE Programme, promotes cross-border cooperation between Romania and Hungary and focuses on scalable, […]
The ASTRA Center for Activities and Regional Resources in Sibiu, a medieval guildhall turned into a training and cultural hub, is among this year’s winners of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards in the Education, Training and Skills category. The Sibiu center has set “a national precedent for recognizing traditional crafts, professionalizing artisans, […]
Symmetrica, Romania’s leading producer of vibropressed paving stones and curbs, has finalized a EUR 15 million investment in a new production facility in Doaga, Vrancea county. The site becomes the company’s largest industrial center, spanning 30 hectares and including four production halls and a logistics warehouse. The new facility, built on infrastructure previously owned by […]
Froo, the convenience store format developed by Poland’s Żabka Group, opened its 100th store in Romania, just 12 months after entering the market. The expansion reflects the group’s rapid rollout strategy and growing footprint in Romanian urban and residential areas. Since entering the Romanian market, Froo stores opened in Bucharest, Pitești, and Constanța, averaging one […]
For the 11th consecutive year, the organizers of Untold are celebrating academic excellence through the “BAC de 10” campaign, offering free festival passes to students who score a perfect 10 on their national Baccalaureate exam. Over the past decade, more than 1,600 high school graduates have received complimentary access to the festival as part of […]
