Minister Ivan Kondov received today at the MFA the US Ambassador to Bulgaria H.E. Kenneth Merten, who came to offer congratulations on behalf of the US Embassy and on his own behalf on the successful completion of the process of full integration of the Republic of Bulgaria into the Schengen area. Ambassador Merten presented Minister Kondov with gifts from the Schengen Village in Luxembourg.
The Bulgarian Foreign Minister thanked for the congratulations and used the occasion to present the US Ambassador with a diplomatic note informing him that the Bulgarian government has approved the establishment of an Enhanced Partnership in the field of border security between the Republic of Bulgaria and the USA. With this act, our country fulfills one of the most important technical conditions for inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Program and completes all actions to create the necessary legal framework for future inclusion in it.
The establishment of an Enhanced Partnership in the field of border security between Bulgaria and the US occurs days after the US Department of State published data for the fiscal year 2024, according to which the percentage of tourist visas denied to Bulgarians during the year is only 6.02% compared to 2023, when it was 11.61%. This is the lowest level in the last 18 years and, together with the Enhanced Partnership, represents a serious achievement for Bulgaria and an important indicator of the progress in the work of Bulgarian institutions to meet the criteria for inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Program.
In this process, several more technical criteria need to be met, one of which is the percentage of tourist visas denied to Bulgarians in 2025. to fall below 3%. The information and education campaign that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched on December 15 this year will be a joint effort by the institutions and the society, which needs to be made in order for our country to fulfill this criterion and to achieve another important foreign policy priority - Bulgaria to be included as soon as possible in the US Visa Waiver Program, and Bulgarian citizens to have the opportunity to travel as tourists without a visa to the United States.
The MFA campaign will last 3 months and will take place both in traditional media and, of course, with a wide presence on social networks. It will also include a number of well-known and beloved people who will engage the audience's attention and provide useful advice related to the US visa application process, the MFA press center announced.