The United States in 2020 had rejected only 2.7 percent of visa applications by Croatian nationals, the US embassy in Zagreb said on Tuesday, noting that it expected Croatians to be able to travel to the US visa-free "in the near future."

Months after it had been confirmed that Croatia had dropped to below three percent of rejected visa applications which means the country has met the key requirement for visa-free travel, the Charge d’Affaires at the US embassy, Victoria Taylor, said that only 2.69 percent of requests for business and tourist visas had been rejected.

“The final refusal rate for Croatian tourist/business visa applicants fell to 2.69 percent last year, an essential step forward in joining the US Visa Waiver Program. We look forward to Croatians travelling to the United States visa-free in the near future,” she tweeted on Tuesday.

She thanked the Croatian government and the ministries of the interior and foreign affairs for the significant progress made in meeting conditions for the cancellation of visa requirements, such as information sharing and border security.

Visa cancellation has been an outstanding diplomatic issue in relations between the two countries for almost 30 years. Nationals of only four out of 27 EU countries – Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus – need a visa to travel to the US.