Visa-free travel for EU citizens
Despite the ability of US citizens to fly into Poland visa-free, any Polish inhabitant wishing to travel to the US does not enjoy the same advantage. If a Polish citizen wishes to visit the US, even as a tourist, he or she must procure a visa at a cost of 160 US dollars. This is an example of what is termed visa non-reciprocity. The EU Commission wants to make it a thing of the past and has published a report which assesses the situation of non-reciprocity with certain third countries (non-EU countries) in the area of visa policy.
As outlined in the report, a revised mechanism has been put in place which aims to achieve full visa reciprocity with all third countries that are exempt from the visa requirement by the EU.
In early 2014 the Commission received notifications from Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania about their citizens having to apply for visas when travelling to the following countries:
• Australia
• Brunei Darussalam
• Canada
• Japan
• US
So far, the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs has reported that Australia, Canada, Japan and the US have shown positive engagement with the objective of full visa reciprocity, confirming that they share this aim with the EU Commission. However the processes behind these confirmations have revealed that further work needs to be done if all EU citizens are to enjoy reciprocal, visa-free travel.
