Romania to enjoy more freedom of movement

From 2025, Romanian nationals will be able to travel freely both to the Schengen area and to the United States.

Daniela Budu, 28.11.2024, 13:50

2025 will go down in history as the year when Romanians earned the right to travel freely both to the Schengen area and to the United States. On Wednesday, Schengen member states gave the green light to Romania’s and Bulgaria’s full entry into Schengen from 1st January 2025. The decision was taken unanimously within the
Committee of Permanent Representatives in the European Union (COREPER) and is confirmation that no member state is opposed to the entry of the two countries, with the official approval to be given by the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council in a couple of weeks.

The Schengen accession of Romania and Bulgaria had until recently been blocked by Austria, which now says it is no longer opposed, admitting that illegal migration figures went down. Controls on Schengen air and maritime borders had already been lifted for Romania and Bulgaria at the end of March this year.

President Klaus Iohannis hailed Romania’s full Schengen entry, saying in a social media post that this was a decision Romanian citizens had long-awaited. “Congratulations citizens of Bulgaria and Romania! You have waited for so long! You belong to Schengen. And you should benefit in full from Schengen freedoms”, said the European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson. Hungary’s permanent representative to the European Union, ambassador Bálint Ódor, said “With this decision, we will strengthen unity, free movement, and resilience across the EU. It’s a win for Bulgaria, Romania, and all of Europe”.

Also on Wednesday, the US State Department announced that Romania met the criteria for entering the Visa Waiver Program as its visa refusal rate dropped below 3%. This year, around 80,000 Romanian citizens applied for US travel visa, with a record number of 78,000 being accepted. The announcement of the State Department was welcomed by the Romanian government, which said that fulfilling this goal would further consolidate Romania’s relationship with the United States.

Romanian citizens will be able to travel visa-free to the US from 2025, giving this generation the chance to strengthen the friendship with the American people and to build a more prosperous partnership, said Andrei Murnu, Romania’s ambassador to the US. Andrei Muraru:

“The announcement of the moment when Romania enters the Visa Waiver program is imminent. We are expecting it to be made at the beginning of January, with the actual entry into the program to take place sometime at the end of March or the beginning of April.”

Until then, the foreign ministry in Bucharest says it stays committed to finalising the implementation of the necessary measures, both in the run-up to the adoption of the Visa Waiver decision, and later, as part of a constantly developing security context.