This afternoon, the United States Department of Homeland Security announced the entry of Chile into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP) in a ceremony carried out at the Ronald Reagan Building, headquarters of this secretariat, in Washington, DC. The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alfredo Moreno, accompanied by the Ambassador of Chile to the United States, Felipe Bulnes.
Following its designation, Chile became the first Latin American Country to join the VWP and its 38th member. In order to achieve its accession, our country had to meet important requirements such as the signing of cooperation agreements on the prevention and combat of serious crime and information exchange, the elimination of the temporary blocking of stolen and lost passports, the implementation of e-passports as of September 2013 and lowering the visa refusal rate to less than 3 %, which is the rate set by the U.S. authorities to become part of the VWP.
After the ceremony, Minister Moreno said: "Chile's entry into the Visa Waiver Program is an acknowledgement from the U.S. authorities of the solidity and reliability of our institutions; the strength of our people identification and registration system, which issues credible and reliable identity and travel documents; the responsibility with which Chile complies with international treaties and agreements; our commitment to the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking ; and the political and economic stability we have had for over 20 years."
Chile's accession to the VWP will allow Chileans traveling to that country for tourism or business purposes to save money time and money, since they will no longer have to apply in person for a visa at the U.S. Consulate, which was worth US $ 160. Now, instead, they will be able to obtain an online authorization at a significantly lower cost.