US lifts visas for Croats

This day has come. Congratulations to Croatia for formal membership in the Visa Waiver Programme”, the US Embassy in Croatia said on its official Facebook page.

This decision by the Electronic Travel Authority System (ESTA) is valid for Croatian citizens who want to visit the US for tourism or business and can stay there no more than 90 days.

Croatia's membership in the so-called Programme for Lifting Visas (VWP) is an important step for strengthening further economic co-operation and in the area of security between the two states, the American Embassy in Zagreb said.

“We are extremely satisfied that Croatian citizens now enjoy the possibility of travelling to the US without visas. This has been a long but important process, and we welcome the Croatian Government's efforts to meet the tough criteria of our” programme, said Mark Fleming, the US Embassy's charge d'etat in Zagreb.

The visa waiver programme is a comprehensive security partnership between the US and participating states, allowing US travel for tourism or business purposes up to 90 days, protecting American national security.

For a state to become part of this programme, the same must meet the criteria in the field of counterterrorism, law enforcement, migration, document safety and border management, the statement said.

The embassy also said that the requirement to become part of this programme is that rejected visa applications should be below 3 per cent. Croatia has recently met this criterion.

The authorities for travel that citizens receive from the ESTA usually apply for two years. Travelers with issued visas B1/B2 can already use them to travel to the US.

In general, there are only three members of the European Union -- Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus -- that the US has not yet abolished. / REL/