The US president Donald Trump confirmed on October 4 that his administration had formally nominated Poland for entry into the US visa waiver programme.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Mr Trump said: “They’ve been trying to get this for many, many decades. I got it for the Polish people in honour of the Polish people in the United States and in Poland.”
The programme allows pre-approved travelers from participating countries to visit the US for up to 90 days without obtaining a non-immigrant visitor visa.
“Now that Poland has been nominated, the Department of Homeland Security will take necessary action, as soon as possible, to assess Poland’s entry into the programme. If Poland is designated as a visa waiver programme country, its nationals would be authorised for visa-free travel to the United States for business and tourism. The bilateral relationship between the United States and Poland has never been stronger, and this would serve as a remarkable accomplishment for both countries,” said the White House press office in a statement.
The move comes just over a week before Poland holds parliamentary elections, which the ruling Law and Justice party is expected to win.
Poland is currently one of just four European Union countries not be part of the visa waiver programme. The others are Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania.
