Canada and Visa Requirement

visa requirement: On July 13, 2009, Jason Kenney, who was then minister of immigration, imposed a visa requirement on travellers from Mexico and from the Czech Republic. The reason he gave in both cases was a sudden increase in numbers of asylum-seekers whose claims for refugee status proved to be unfounded. Three thousand Czech asylum-seekers had turned up in the preceding two years, and half of them withdrew their bids without awaiting a formal decision, which persuaded the minister they were bogus claims. In 2008, more than 9,400 Mexicans sought asylum in Canada and only 11 per cent were accepted. , according to Hamilton Spectator. During Harper's brief visit in Mexico, President Enrique Pena Nieto told journalists he understood the reasons Canada was continuing its visa for Mexican travellers and he thanked Harper for his willingness to continue the dialogue in the hope of eliminating the visa in the future. Harper said the measure is still needed because of security and illegal-migration concerns. Prime Minister Stephen Harper should lift Canada's visa requirement on travellers from Mexico. It is a needless irritant to Canadians and Mexicans trying to do business. The Harper government lifted its visa requirement for Czech travellers last fall in order to win its long-sought free trade agreement with the European Union. Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said Canada had taken a second look at the Czech Republic and found it qualified for visa-free access to Canada. He did not, however, say how Czech law and policy had changed in the meantime. Canada, he explained, had also changed its refugee-determination process so bogus refugees would be swiftly removed. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.