In a policy paper released on 8 October, the American Chamber of Commerce in Cyprus (AmCham Cyprus) asked Washington to admit the island into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP), arguing that Cyprus already meets the sub-3 % refusal-rate threshold at 2.16 %. The chamber also renewed calls for a modernised double-tax treaty, a totalisation agreement and direct commercial flights between Larnaca and the United States. AmCham notes that visa-free travel would eliminate cumbersome B1/B2 applications for executives, students and tourists, strengthening Cyprus as a hub for Eastern-Mediterranean energy, tech and defence companies. The group points to recent upgrades in Cyprus’ biometric passports and law-enforcement data-sharing as proof the country satisfies DHS security criteria. On air connectivity, the chamber confirmed talks with a U.S. carrier but admitted daily traffic remains below the roughly 500-passenger threshold usually needed to sustain a trans-Atlantic route. It therefore proposed a phased approach, starting with seasonal flights backed by marketing incentives from Hermes Airports and the Deputy Ministry of Tourism. For multinationals, a VWP listing would slash lead times for U.S. assignments, while a revised tax treaty could resolve digital-economy withholding disputes and align anti-abuse clauses with OECD standards. If adopted, the measures would place Cyprus alongside Greece and Croatia as the newest EU members to secure both Schengen and U.S. visa-waiver status within a decade.
Source: Cyprus Mail
