North India Statesman
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The US Visa Rebate Program (VWP) is a special initiative that allows citizens of 43 countries to enter the US for 90 days without a visa by April 2025 for tourism, commercial visits or other short -term purposes. The program aims to strengthen America’s relations with select friendly countries and facilitate travel in both directions. The program is conducted under the supervision of the US Home Safety Department (DHS) and the Department of State. Citizens of countries participating in this program get a visa-free admission in the United States, and in turn, American citizens are also allowed to travel to those countries, often without a visa.
List of 43 countries participating under the visa discount program (till 2025):
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Andora
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Australia
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Austria
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Belgium
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Brunei
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Chile
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Croatia
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Czech Republic
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Denmark
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Estonia
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Finland
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France
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Germany
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Greece (Greece)
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Hungary
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Iceland
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Ireland
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Israel
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Italy
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Japan
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South Korea
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Latvia
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Leuchtensteine
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Lithuania
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Luxembourg
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Malta
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Monaco
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Netherlands (Holland)
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New Zealand
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Norway
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Poland
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Portugal
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Romania
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San Marino
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Singapore
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Slovakia
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Slovenia
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Spain
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Sweden
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Switzerland
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Taiwan
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United kingdom
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Lithuania
Note: The number of countries in some lists may be 41 or 43, as some countries have recently joined the program or the update information in the list varies from time to time.
Is India included in this list?
India is not currently involved in the visa discount program. Therefore, it is mandatory for Indian citizens to obtain an American visa before traveling to the United States for any purpose (tourism, business, study or personal). There is a discussion between India and America to include India in this list, but for this, India will have to fulfill some important conditions:
- Reducing the rejection rate of visa by the US
- Indian passport security level improvement
- Visa-free admission in India for American citizens
It is part of mutual trust and strategic partnership, so India is likely to join it in future, but it may take time.
