Visa Restriction Introduced for Czech Rep and Mexico

[hockeycop]

The Czech one everyone knew was coming, but it is a bit of a surprise to some to see Mexico get slapped with a visa. I presonally think Canada has made an excellent decision! Thanks Mr. Kenny!

Canada imposes a visa on Mexico

Ottawa, July 13, 2009 — Beginning 12:01 a.m. EDT on July 14, 2009, Mexican nationals will require a visa to travel to Canada, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today. For the first 48 hours, Mexican citizens may apply for entry on arrival in Canada. After 11:59 p.m. EDT July 15, 2009, a visa will be required.
Refugee claims from Mexico have almost tripled since 2005, making it the number one source country for claims. In 2008, more than 9,400 claims filed in Canada came from Mexican nationals, representing 25 per cent of all claims received. Of the Mexican claims reviewed and finalized in 2008 by the Immigration and Refugee Board, an independent administrative tribunal, only 11 per cent were accepted.
“In addition to creating significant delays and spiraling new costs in our refugee program, the sheer volume of these claims is undermining our ability to help people fleeing real persecution,” said Minister Kenney. “All too often, people who really need Canada’s protection find themselves in a long line, waiting for months and sometimes years to have their claims heard. This is unacceptable.
“The visa requirement I am announcing will give us a greater ability to manage the flow of people into Canada and verify bona fides. By taking this important step towards reducing the burden on our refugee system, we will be better equipped to process genuine refugee claims faster.”
“The visa process will allow us to assess who is coming to Canada as a legitimate visitor and who might be trying to use the refugee system to jump the immigration queue,” Minister Kenney said. “It is not fair for those who have been waiting patiently to come to Canada, sometimes for years, when others succeed in bypassing our immigration system.”
Canada regularly reviews its visa policies toward other countries. Countries are aware that if they do not satisfy the conditions of a visa-exemption, a visa may be imposed.
This change means that nationals from Mexico who want to travel to Canada will first need to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa and meet the requirements to receive one. It is up to the applicant to satisfy the visa officer their visit to Canada is temporary, they will not overstay their approved time in Canada, they have enough money to cover their stay in Canada, they are in good health, they do not have a criminal record, and are not a security risk to Canadians. These requirements are the same for anyone who wants to visit Canada.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has been working to increase processing capacity in Mexico City. Nevertheless, the imposition of the visa will mean short-term delays in travel as CIC puts resources in place. Applicants are encouraged to send their applications by courier or registered mail and to avoid visiting the Embassy unless specifically invited for an interview.
“Canada has strong ties with Mexico,” said Minister Kenney. “We continue to welcome all genuine travellers to Canada from this country.”

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/departm...2009-07-13.asp

[peter12]

Why is this really a good thing?

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by hockeycop

The Czech one everyone knew was coming, but it is a bit of a surprise to some to see Mexico get slapped with a visa. I presonally think Canada has made an excellent decision! Thanks Mr. Kenny!

cic.gc.ca

Hasn't hit the news yet, so I can't post a link to any news article.

Never heard about either. So what you are saying is that a Mexican has to get a visa now to travel to Canada?... and the same with Czechs?

I can understand Mexico but why Czech?


Edit: posted before the link came up.

[Suave]

See this thread for the Czech issue:
http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...ighlight=czech

[hockeycop]

Originally Posted by peter12

Why is this really a good thing?

I refer you to this:

“The visa process will allow us to assess who is coming to Canada as a legitimate visitor and who might be trying to use the refugee system to jump the immigration queue,” Minister Kenney said. “It is not fair for those who have been waiting patiently to come to Canada, sometimes for years, when others succeed in bypassing our immigration system.”

Canada is being abused right now by economic migrants. The refugee system is being exploited, and this is the only way to combat it. As of right now, anyone from Mexico can get on a plane, fly in and claim refugee. There is a massive backlog of claims, most of them proven to be false.

It is unfortunate that GENUINE travellers are going to be inconvenienced by this, but it is a necessary evil.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Given that we don't share a huge border with Mexico, I'm pretty doubtful that this will make any difference whatsoever. However, if it gets Jason Kenney's face into the news, then.... all the power to him I guess. Sometimes you have to do what you can to mask your own mediocrity.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan

Given that we don't share a huge border with Mexico, I'm pretty doubtful that this will make any difference whatsoever. However, if it gets Jason Kenney's face into the news, then.... all the power to him I guess. Sometimes you have to do what you can to mask your own mediocrity.

We get quite a few migrant Mexican workers up here. From my experience, they are often illegals and are abused as such.

[hockeycop]

Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan

Given that we don't share a huge border with Mexico, I'm pretty doubtful that this will make any difference whatsoever. However, if it gets Jason Kenney's face into the news, then.... all the power to him I guess. Sometimes you have to do what you can to mask your own mediocrity.

Wrong. Air travel, and those fleeing from Immigration in the USA, are getting here and making claims. This will have a MASSIVE impact on port of entry operations (mostly air mode).

Here is some news with some good facts...

http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=1786835

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by hockeycop

Wrong. Air travel, and those fleeing from Immigration in the USA, are getting here and making claims. This will have a MASSIVE impact on port of entry operations (mostly air mode).

Here is some news with some good facts...

http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=1786835

Well, I hope you'll forgive me for not finding those facts, or their source (in an 800 word piece that likely reproduces nearly verbatim the minister's own press release OR the numbers. By Kenney's own admission there are fewer than 6000 people who will be affected by imposing visa restrictions on Mexico. Given that in the last 5 years 1.1 million new immigrants came into Canada legally--we're not talking about a huge number here. That's about 5500 people. By contrast, it's estimated that 13 or 14 million undocumented immigrants are working in the U.S. We don't have to copy everything the U.S. does, you know. It's okay for us to recognize that we face different challenges and need to develop our own unique solutions to them. But then, Jason Kenney isn't scaring anyone with his intellect, so I can't say I'm shocked.

Honestly, it's not even that I see a reason NOT to do this--I just don't see much of a reason FOR doing this sort of thing other than advancing a sort of logic of nativism that seems to be the government's central strategy for winning the next election. If this is their best idea, they've got troubles.

[Flame Of Liberty]

Gotta love the thumbs up in the thread title... Canada is scooping up people from all over the world, most of them from totaly different cultures all in the name of multiculturalism and PC so no one dares to say a thing in the fear of being called a racist, but when Canada slaps a fellow NATO member with visa, it's an excellent decision...

BTW Before you jump on me that I am biased - I am neither Czech nor Mexican so it doesn't affect me.

[LouCypher]

Anything to better control the flow of people into this country should only benefit in the long run. So many places are overpopulated that its become far to problematic to even implement visa requirements. Canada has yet to reach this stage and we are very wise to have more restrictions in place. Might seem like a rather small number of people that it shouldn't matter but in 20 years it may be to late to think ahead.

People may want more freedom but to much freedom leaves not enough to go around for everyone in the long run.

[alltherage]

Sorry this is probably a naive question, but... does that mean anything different for going to Mexico on vacation?

[Zarathustra]

Originally Posted by alltherage

Sorry this is probably a naive question, but... does that mean anything different for going to Mexico on vacation?

Good question, I also wonder about this.

Lchoy mentioned in the other thread that Canada had the same visa policy for Brazil, and in return the government of Brazil put sanctions on travelers from Canada in the form of required tourist visas to visit Brazil (which cost around $200 altogether).

Might we see some reciprocation from the Mexican government? A $50 or $100 tourist visa per person for Canadians would generate significant revenue. But would a Mexican fee encourage Canadians to take their tourist dollars to elsewhere in the Caribbean?

[RW99]

While this is good news for immigration, it's bad news for the tourism industry. With a lot of vacation packages booked based on these direct flights, the tourism industry will be taking another hit this year.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Flame Of Liberty

Gotta love the thumbs up in the thread title... Canada is scooping up people from all over the world, most of them from totaly different cultures all in the name of multiculturalism and PC so no one dares to say a thing in the fear of being called a racist, but when Canada slaps a fellow NATO member with visa, it's an excellent decision...

BTW Before you jump on me that I am biased - I am neither Czech nor Mexican so it doesn't affect me.

Except that this decision does not hamper the legitimate immigration system. People going about it the right way can still petition the government for permanent residency in Canada. However, when a system designed to allow people with genuine need is finding itself strained by a large number of fraudulent claims, overwhelmingly from one country, it makes sense to make it harder for such fraud to happen. That is the entire point of this change.

[jtfrogger]

Originally Posted by Zarathustra

Good question, I also wonder about this.

Lchoy mentioned in the other thread that Canada had the same visa policy for Brazil, and in return the government of Brazil put sanctions on travelers from Canada in the form of required tourist visas to visit Brazil (which cost around $200 altogether).

Might we see some reciprocation from the Mexican government? A $50 or $100 tourist visa per person for Canadians would generate significant revenue. But would a Mexican fee encourage Canadians to take their tourist dollars to elsewhere in the Caribbean?

The Mexican government would be silly to do this. Tourism is a significant industry. Canadians have many other choices. Given the rise in corruption over the last few years and the Swine flu, I suspect that they have been losing substantial tourist dollars. Tacking on a $50 or $100 fee will just continue to deter Canadians even more.

[jtfrogger]

Originally Posted by RW99

While this is good news for immigration, it's bad news for the tourism industry. With a lot of vacation packages booked based on these direct flights, the tourism industry will be taking another hit this year.

Do you really think there are enough Mexican or Czech tourists coming to Canada that this would make much of a difference?

[hockeycop]

This will not at all affect people going through legitimate avenues to get Permanent Resident status. A visa is required for PR landings anyway.

It will hardly inconvenience legitimate tourists. All they have to do is apply and show some supporting evidence that they are legitimate tourists.

This will not (negatively) effect REAL refugees. They will continue to be selected from the poorest, war-torn, impoverished areas around the world. The Canadian govt will continue to assist them in getting out of refugee camps and into Canada with instant PR status. This will address some of the backlog and make these REAL refugees get processed faster.

This will hamper efforts of FAKE refugees, low-skill economic migrants, and those with criminal histories. Airlines will no longer board those without visas, so they will not be able to come here without approval.

Keep in mind, when someone comes to Canada and claims refugee (when they are not really refs), they waste Officer's time, a Ministers Delegate's time, Immigration Boards time, Appeals Courts time, Inland Enforcement's time, and then Removal Officer's time. Guess who pays for all of this.

Some of the reasons I have heard of (from friends and acquaintances who work for Immigration) for claiming refugee:

- Drug dealer being harassed by the police
- Domestic dispute
- Got robbed
- Want welfare
- Want to know Canada

The list goes on and on...

[hockeycop]

Also, Mexico is very unlikely to impose any restrictions on Canada as a retaliation. Mexico thrives on tourist dollars from Canada and the USA.

Most flights to/from Mexico are full of Canadians on hollidays. This will have a minimal impact on tourism either way.

[Flame Of Liberty]

Originally Posted by hockeycop

It will hardly inconvenience legitimate tourism.

Originally Posted by hockeycop

Also, Mexico is very unlikely to impose any restrictions on Canada as a retaliation. Mexico thrives on tourist dollars from Canada and the USA.

How does that work? Visa is no threat to Canadian tourism industry, just a mere inconvenience for tourists but Mexico wont retaliate because visa for Canadians will hurt tourism in Mexico?