Greece set to join US Visa Waiver Program

June 29 2009 by Gareth McConnell

US visa for Greece

Greece and the US have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to pave the way to Greece becoming a member of the US Visa Waiver Program.

A bilateral meeting took place between the two countries in Corfu over the weekend. Attending were US deputy Secretary of State, James Steinberg, and Greece’s Foreign Minister, Dora Bakayanni who spoke of a “new air” in US-Greece relations.

The reciprocal agreement will enable the sharing of criminal data, which should lead to Greece’s inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program which allows people from member countries to travel to the US without the need for a US visa.

In a joint statement after the meeting on Sunday, Steinberg said: “There are just a few steps left, and some administrative actions, to complete this process.” He added that the information sharing agreement will respect the concerns the Greeks had about protecting tourists' privacy.

Previous meetings between the countries to try to agree on information sharing had made little progress, despite Greece’s eagerness to join the visa waiver scheme.

US Immigration says it hopes the process will be carried out quickly, allowing Greece to become a member country before the end of 2009.

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