Deputy Minister to the President, Irene Piki, on Wednesday said that the announcement by the US Department of State that the US visa refusal rate for Cypriot citizens for 2024 is 2.16%, was another “critical step” towards Cyprus’ inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Program.

In a post on “X”, Piki states that “a key prerequisite” for Cyprus’ inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Program “has been met”.

According to the statistics announced by the US Department of State, the visa refusal rate for Cypriot citizens for 2024 is 2.16%, below the 3% threshold, she adds.

“Today’s announcement constitutes another critical step towards our country’s inclusion to the US Visa Waiver Program and marks the significant progress achieved by the Cypriot Government, particularly over the last year, in the technical consultations between the Republic of Cyprus and the US,” she notes.

“We continue to focus on the goal of achieving Cyprus’ inclusion to the Visa Waiver Program as soon as possible, within 2025, and we will methodically work towards this goal so that Cypriot citizens will soon be able to travel to the US, for tourism and business purposes, without the obligation to issue a visa,” she says.

In her own post, US Ambassador to Cyprus, Julie Fisher, announcing that Cyprus’ visa refusal rate is 2.16%, notes that this is “a critical milestone bringing Cyprus one step closer to membership in the Visa Waiver Program and visa free travel to the US for Cypriots.”