This must be done by Colombia in order for the US to withdraw its visa requirement for its citizens

One of the most ambitious challenges of President Gustavo Pedro’s government in terms of foreign policy is an effort to prevent Colombian tourists from asking for visas to enter the country.

The Colombian government’s intentions were made clear in October last year when the Foreign Ministry confirmed it had begun processing the request.

However, this is a long-term endeavor and it was only until March this year that the first technical meeting to deal with the issue was confirmed. The meeting was attended by several senior Colombian government officials, such as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Francisco Goy, and the Colombian Ambassador to the United States, Luis Gilberto Murillo.

The executive strategy is to call the US a visa waiver for them Visa Waiver. This relaxation of the rule will allow Colombian citizens to enter the US territory without a visa, as long as they meet certain requirements: on the one hand, they must make tourism or business trips, and on the other hand, they must stay. For a maximum of 90 days in the US.

However, it is a difficult feat to achieve. Also, because This is not the first time the Colombian government has sought to eliminate visas for tourists to the United States.. Already in 2014, during the government of former President Juan Manuel Santos, the country tried to adjust its immigration policy, but it did not succeed.

It is also clear that this is a difficult issue to achieve at the regional level. Chile is the only country in Latin America that allows its citizens to make tourist or business trips to the United States without the need for a visa.

It must be said that this list of potential countries is very short. So much so that they fit in a single paragraph.

Among those exempted are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania Luxembourg, Malta Republic, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and United Kingdom.

This is what Colombia has to do before getting a discounted visa

At this point, however, the Colombian government is confident and the demands of the US government are already clear.

As the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has pointed out, The Biden administration has put five key issues on the table for Colombia to address Before reaching Visa Waiver For its citizens.

They cited, among other things, counter-terrorism measures, law enforcement, traveler tracing, proper application of U.S. immigration law, and proper handling of identity and travel documents for Colombian citizens.

On the other hand, Some senior US government officials have pointed to these measures The Colombian government must fulfill it Visa Waiver.

In an interview week Last year, US Ambassador to Colombia Francisco Palmieri said the process to make migration more flexible would take time, but did not rule out success. “Everything is possible,” Palmieri said.

He also mentioned the requirements that the Colombian government must meet to fulfill it. “The number of people who got visas and traveled to the country and returned is very important. There are also many Colombians who come to America. This is all part of the review process for this type of request,” the ambassador said.

He pointed out that the withdrawal of the visa procedure is not the only step taken bilaterally to improve the migrant situation of Colombians. To this extent, he warned that “conditions of trust” must be created to guarantee the proper movement of people between the two countries.