Romanian PM gets US visa to help lower rejection rate

Romania’s prime minister Marcel Ciolacu announced on Friday, February 2, that he has obtained a visa for the United States, even though he does not intend to travel there in the near future. Instead, he said he obtained it to help get Romania's visa rejection rate below 3%, an essential requirement if the country is to enter the Visa Waiver Program.

"I have joined the Romanians who these days are getting visas for the US, even if they do not intend to travel in the near future. The purpose of our action is to lower the rejection rate below 3% to meet the conditions for eliminating visas for the United States of America," Ciolacu wrote on Facebook, sharing a photo of himself with the US Ambassador to Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec.

"I invite all those who meet the visa requirements to join this action. Together, we can achieve the goal of Romanians traveling without visas to the US from 2025," he added.

Marcel Ciolacu had previously announced, in December 2023, in the context of his visit to the USA, that Romania may enter the Visa Waiver program in 2025.

At the same time, Romania’s Ministry of Justice recently opened for public debate the draft law amending and supplementing Romanian Citizenship Law no. 21/1991, as well as amending and supplementing other normative acts. Revising the citizenship law is a necessary step for Romania to join the Visa Waiver program, according to minister Alina Gorghiu, cited by News.ro.

"Through this law, we aim to eliminate the risks of acquiring Romanian citizenship illegally. In a significant number of citizenship cases, civil status documents were submitted that turned out to be inauthentic. Therefore, through the new law, we have strengthened the requirements and procedures for granting or regaining citizenship. Romania needs a simple, predictable, and stable regulatory framework, especially in citizenship matters," the minister said.

Some of the changes that the law brings are: the processing of citizenship cases in the order of their submission; the introduction of clear deadlines; the ability to track the status of a citizenship application online starting June 2026; and the introduction of secure procedures to guarantee the identity of future Romanian citizens through, for example, biometric data similar to the one submitted during the process of obtaining a passport. Applicants must also demonstrate their attachment to the values of the Romanian state.