Cyprus’ long-standing ambition to secure visa-free travel to the United States took a concrete step forward this week after Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the launch of a bilateral Strategic Dialogue in Washington.
The dialogue—reserved for Washington’s closest partners—will hold its inaugural session in Nicosia in September 2026 and will feature annual high-level meetings covering security, energy and people-to-people ties. Crucially for mobility stakeholders, U.S. officials confirmed that progress within the dialogue will be the primary vehicle for evaluating Cyprus’ entry into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
Cyprus already meets the core quantitative benchmark—a non-immigrant visa refusal rate below 3 percent—and has passed legislation on biometric passports and real-time passenger-data sharing. Remaining issues include reciprocal data-protection guarantees and deployment of U.S. marshals on selected flights. Cypriot negotiators hope to finalise these measures in time for a Department of Homeland Security audit planned for mid-2026.
![U.S.–Cyprus Strategic Dialogue Sets 2026 Visa-Waiver Target]()
For travelers who want to stay ahead of the curve while these policies evolve, VisaHQ can streamline the entire application process—from current B-1/B-2 visas to future ESTA authorisations—through its Cyprus portal (https://www.visahq.com/cyprus/), offering step-by-step guidance, document checks and real-time status updates for both individuals and corporate mobility teams.
If successful, Cypriot passport holders would shift from the costly B-1/B-2 visa process to the quick online ESTA authorisation used by most EU citizens, saving applicants roughly €160 in fees and weeks of lead time. For export-oriented firms and tech start-ups with trans-Atlantic links, the change would lower travel friction and support last-minute sales visits or conference attendance.
Employers should, however, note that ESTA does not permit local employment or long-term assignment. Human-resources teams will still need to obtain the appropriate work or trainee visas for staff posted to U.S. subsidiaries.
The dialogue—reserved for Washington’s closest partners—will hold its inaugural session in Nicosia in September 2026 and will feature annual high-level meetings covering security, energy and people-to-people ties. Crucially for mobility stakeholders, U.S. officials confirmed that progress within the dialogue will be the primary vehicle for evaluating Cyprus’ entry into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
Cyprus already meets the core quantitative benchmark—a non-immigrant visa refusal rate below 3 percent—and has passed legislation on biometric passports and real-time passenger-data sharing. Remaining issues include reciprocal data-protection guarantees and deployment of U.S. marshals on selected flights. Cypriot negotiators hope to finalise these measures in time for a Department of Homeland Security audit planned for mid-2026.
For travelers who want to stay ahead of the curve while these policies evolve, VisaHQ can streamline the entire application process—from current B-1/B-2 visas to future ESTA authorisations—through its Cyprus portal (https://www.visahq.com/cyprus/), offering step-by-step guidance, document checks and real-time status updates for both individuals and corporate mobility teams.
If successful, Cypriot passport holders would shift from the costly B-1/B-2 visa process to the quick online ESTA authorisation used by most EU citizens, saving applicants roughly €160 in fees and weeks of lead time. For export-oriented firms and tech start-ups with trans-Atlantic links, the change would lower travel friction and support last-minute sales visits or conference attendance.
Employers should, however, note that ESTA does not permit local employment or long-term assignment. Human-resources teams will still need to obtain the appropriate work or trainee visas for staff posted to U.S. subsidiaries.
