{"id":4262,"date":"2025-03-21T08:00:22","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T08:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=4262"},"modified":"2025-03-21T08:00:22","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T08:00:22","slug":"no-official-communication-on-visa-waiver-timeline-change-says-romanias-foreign-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=4262","title":{"rendered":"No official communication on Visa Waiver timeline change, says Romania\u2019s Foreign Ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Foreign Ministry <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mae.ro\/node\/66545\" target=\"_blank\">stated<\/a> Thursday evening, March 20, that there has been no official communication regarding a possible change in Romania&#8217;s inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Program. The statement came amid media reports that the Trump administration is considering postponing Romania&#8217;s entry.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hotnews.ro\/departamentul-pentru-securitate-interna-analizeaza-recenta-desemnare-a-romaniei-in-programul-visa-waiver-raspuns-oficial-din-sua-care-confirma-o-posibila-intarziere-a-programului-ca-1929826\" target=\"_blank\">Hotnews.ro<\/a> quoted a response from the US Department of Homeland Security saying that it is reassessing Romania&#8217;s recent designation in the Visa Waiver Program, in line with the Trump administration&#8217;s focus on national security. This came amid reports from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.g4media.ro\/breaking-administratia-trump-discuta-o-posibila-amanare-a-programului-visa-waiver-in-cazul-romaniei-surse-vizele-turistice-pentru-america-ar-trebui-eliminate-pana-la-31-martie.html\" target=\"_blank\">G4media.ro<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/stirileprotv.ro\/stiri\/actualitate\/vizele-pentru-sua-posibil-reintroduse-excluderea-romaniei-din-visa-waiver-analizata-de-administratia-donald-trump.html\" target=\"_blank\">Stirileprotv.ro<\/a> suggesting that the US administration is reviewing Romania&#8217;s inclusion and could delay it by two months due to technical reasons.<\/p>\n<p>In its statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) emphasized that Romania remains in direct contact with the US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the program&#8217;s implementation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There is currently no official communication regarding a change in the timeline for updating the travel authorization system &#8211; ESTA,&#8221; the ministry said. &#8220;Romania views the Visa Waiver Program as a security partnership and is confident that its implementation will contribute to border security and the fight against illegal migration.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Romania&#8217;s ambassador to the US, Andrei Muraru, also reaffirmed that there has been no notification of any modification to the expected March 31 date for lifting tourist visa requirements, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news.ro\/social\/update-posibila-amanare-programului-visa-waiver-cazul-romaniei-ambasadorul-romaniei-sua-exista-acest-moment-nicio-comunicare-oficiala-privind-modificarea-datei-initiale-intrare-efectiva-precizarile-1922400920002025032021973400\" target=\"_blank\">News.ro<\/a> reported. He underscored that Romania has met all security criteria necessary to join the program.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Ilie Bolojan, the interim president, stated at the end of the European Council summit that &#8220;in the coming period, until the end of this month, when this deadline exists, we will have a joint communication from those involved, clearly indicating the date when it will officially take effect.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The official Visa Waiver Program <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.gov\/visa-waiver-program\" target=\"_blank\">website<\/a> has yet to confirm any changes, showing that Romania&#8217;s visa-free travel date is still &#8220;to be announced.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Romania was formally designated the 43rd country to join the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.romania-insider.com\/romanians-visa-free-travel-usa-spring-2025\" target=\"_blank\">on January 10<\/a>. The Romanian ambassador to Washington, Andrei Muraru, said at the time that Romanian citizens would be able to travel to the US without the need for a visa starting March 31, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>irina.marica@romania-insider.com<\/p>\n<p>(Photo source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamstime.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">K<\/a><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamstime.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">uprevich\/Dreamstime.com<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Foreign Ministry stated Thursday evening, March 20, that there has been no official communication regarding a possible change in Romania&#8217;s inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Program. The statement came amid media reports that the Trump administration is considering postponing Romania&#8217;s entry. Hotnews.ro quoted a response from the US Department of Homeland Security saying [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4262\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}