Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - July 2009
The Canadian Government has made a controversial decision to reinstate visa requirements for Czech and Mexican nationals.
Since 2005, visitors to Canada from Mexico did not need a visa for entry. The same has been true for Czech citizens since 2007. However, a “ballooning” number of refugee claimants from both countries have caused the Department of Citizenship and Immigration to revert the legislation.
“The sheer volume of these [refugee] claims is undermining our ability to help people fleeing real persecution,” said Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.
Since the lifting of the visa requirement for Mexicans in 2005, the number of refugee claimants has tripled. Meanwhile Czech refugee claims grew to 3,000 since 2007 (when the requirement was lifted), compared to 6 claims the year prior.
Supporters of the new restrictions believe it will prevent illegitimate claimants from taking advantage of Canada’s backlogged refugee system.
However, critics argue that many of the refugee claims are, in fact, legitimate and that a vast majority of the claimants from the Czech Republic are Roma descent which is an often persecuted minority in the country.
Further complicating the situation for Czech citizens is the fact that the country has no Canadian embassy. Thus, any citizen wishing to obtain a visa to enter Canada must go through the office in Vienna.
Governments from both countries are unhappy with the decision. The Czech Republic is in a better position to retaliate, however, as it could use diplomatic pressure to influence other members of the European Nation to impose similar restrictions on Canadians.
The long-term effects of the legislation, both on the diplomatic side and in terms of tourist dollars, remain to be seen.
Source: The Globe and Mail
