Canada Lifts Czech Travel Visa to Aid EU Trade Deal

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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In light of recent lifting of a restriction imposed by the federal government four years ago, Citizens of the Czech Republic will now be able to travel to Canada for up to six months without a visa. The visa requirement, aimed at curbing the number of asylum claimants, were deemed as a hurdle in free trade negotiations with the European Union that led to an agreement called CETA, which was announced by the Conservative government last month. However, the Czech Republic signaled at the time that it will not endorse CETA unless the visa requirement was lifted.

In an announcement made on Thursday, the Canadian government declared that Czech Republic “now meets the criteria for a visa exemption,” so the move is effective immediately. Canada’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Chris Alexander, mentioned in the statement that “this obviously relates to the conclusion of the Canada-Europe comprehensive trade agreement, but also to the hard work that has been done on both sides.” He added that progress between the two countries had “restored trust to the point where this is the right thing to do, and we’re very pleased to see the announcement.”

Record shows that Canada factors in several aspects while deciding to lift a ban, which including the other countries own asylum claim process, the “integrity” of its travel documents, border management, human rights and bilateral relations. The visa restriction was slapped on the Czech Republic and Mexico in 2009, and Mr. Alexander now reiterated on Thursday that “bogus asylum claims” had resulted in those restrictions.