Sept. 17 (UPI) — The United States has announced it will fully restore Hungary’s status in the Visa Waiver Program, evidencing a warming of relations between their two countries under the Trump administration.
Hungary was admitted to the Visa Waiver Program in November 2008, permitting citizens of the European nation to travel to the United States for up to 90 days, visa free.
But the Biden administration twice imposed restrictions on Hungarian passport holders — once in 2021 and then in 2023 — after finding Budapest was not fulfilling its obligations under the Visa Waiver Program, specifically concerning national security. The Biden administration said Budapest had granted Hungarian citizenship to nearly 1 million people between 2011 and 2020 without adequate security measures.
In a statement Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Hungary has adopted measures requested by the United States to address security vulnerabilities, resulting in the lifting of the restrictions.
U.S. lifts travel restrictions on Hungarian citizens
