Deputy Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Joško Klisović 15 May met with US Ambassador to Croatia Kenneth Merten for talks on Croatia’s inclusion into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
The meeting agreed on the framework for continuing the structured dialogue with the American side in order to meet the sole remaining criterion – reducing the number of declined visa applications by Croatian nationals. Croatia has fulfilled all security and legal requirements by signing and implementing all of the agreements with the US for necessary inclusion into the VWP. The only criterion, and a technical one at that, which has not been met fully is the percentage of visas denied, which has to be below three per cent.
Since Croatia’s entry into the EU, along with longstanding and intensive bilateral contacts on all levels between the Croatian and American side, the European Commission has also been participating in the activities concerning the VWP. In cooperation with the US Embassy in Zagreb, we will continue to fully and in a timely fashion inform all interested Croatian nationals about the criteria for obtaining US visas so that their applications could be accepted.
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For detailed information about obtaining a US visa, visit the webpages of the EU Embassy:
http://zagreb.usembassy.gov/visas.html