Cyprus Aims for Schengen Area Accession by End of 2025

Cyprus will resolve all technical issues required in order to join the Schengen Zone by the end of this year, the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, has said.

Since 2004, Cyprus has been part of the European Union, but not also of its visa-free travel zone, Schengen.News reports.

Christodoulides told Politico that the accession to the Schengen Zone would boost tourism, which, according to him, is essential to the economy. 

The Schengen Information System began operating in Cyprus in July 2023. However, the Schengen evaluation process to assess Cyprus’ readiness to join the Schengen Zone is ongoing. 

At present, only Cyprus and Ireland among the EU countries are not part of the Schengen Area. The passport-free travel zone of the EU, in January 2025, was expanded to include two new full Schengen members, Romania and Bulgaria, with the zone now consisting of 29 countries. 

Cyprus Close Being Part of US Visa Waiver Program 
The President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, also talked about an issue, which, according to him, is close to being finalised.

Christodoulides said that the country is in the final stages of abolishing the US visa requirement for travellers from Cyprus. According to him, a US delegation is expected to visit Cyprus soon. 

He emphasised that tourism is affected by policies that, in general, concern the economy, employment, education and culture. 

In October 2024, Cyprus’ government spokesperson, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, expressed his optimism concerning Cyprus membership to the US Visa Waiver program, which would permit Cypriots to travel without visas to the US by the end of 2024 or by the beginning of this year.

The US Visa Waiver Program permits its member countries’ nationals to travel to the US visa-free for short-term stays for tourism or business purposes. 

Last year, Letymbiotis said that Cyprus is very close to reaching the visa rejection rate requirement, through which criteria, the visa rejection rates of visa applications filed by Cypriot nationals should be below three per cent. 

According to a report from VisaGuide.World, in 2023, Cyprus had a 4.48 per cent visa rejection rate.

Source: https://schengen.news/cyprus-aims-for-schengen-area-accession-by-end-of-2025/