Bill on RoC-US agreement for travel sent to House Plenary for vote

Α bill on the agreement between the Republic of Cyprus and the United States of America for cooperation on the use of travel information is to be tabled to the House Plenary for a vote this week.

Justice Minister, Marios Hartsiotis, told the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs that if the bill is passed on time, possibly at the end of 2024, “certainly within 2025”, we will be able to talk about visa liberalisation.

During the session, Hartsiotis briefed the Committee members on the bill concerning the agreement between the Governments of the Republic of Cyprus and the US, regarding the use of travel information. He said that the agreement is one of the conditions for the inclusion of the Republic of Cyprus in the US visa waiver program.

On a practical level, he said, travellers to the US for a period of up to 90 days will have to fill out an online application, and that, in a short period of time, and at minimal cost, they will receive an answer, after their information is passed through the system.

He also noted that currently those who want to travel to the US have to go through a difficult procedure.

If everything goes well and the bill is passed on time, the Minister said, possibly by the end of the year, or certainly within 2025, “we will now be able to talk about” visa liberalisation.

Hartsiotis also referred to a “massive benefit” regarding further shielding the State against all types of risks, such as organised crime, drugs, terrorism, etc. He also said that the Republic of Cyprus would have at its disposal “perhaps one of the most perfect” information exchange systems.

Chairman of the Committee, Harris Georgiades, said that the bill is to be tabled to the plenary this week.

(Source: CNA)