Canada grants visa-free status to four more new member states of EU

With immediate effect, Canada has lifted visa requirements for the citizens of Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania and Hungary to visit Canada.

The decision is part of a continuing negotiations between Canada and the European Commission over removing visa requirements for the nine out of twelve most recent European Union (EU) members. Canada and the EU had a reciprocal visa-free status for visitors until 2004, when Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Poland joined the EU, following Romania and Bulgaria in 2007.

After extension in the EU in 2004, Canada did not remove the visa requirements for new member states due to a possible influx of illegal workers or refugee claimants. In past, Canada was granted visa-free status to the Czech Republic and Hungary but Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) was inundated with refugee claims from these two countries. This visa-free status was reinstated for the Czech Republic and Hungary in 1997 and 2001 respectively. Canada continued this practice for two more member states joined the EU in the beginning of 2007.

However, due to a growing demand from the European Commission for tangible progress towards reciprocity, Canada outlined nine criteria last year that will have to be met before the affected countries are exempted from visa requirements. This allows Canada to consider each country's recent history in terms of visa refusal rate, immigration violation rates, and number of refugee claims while these countries share information with Canada and must demonstrate that their passport systems are up to international standards. CIC representatives made technical visits to the affected countries in November 2006 and February 2007 to explain the nine criteria to government representatives.

As a result, visa requirements were dropped for the citizens of Estonia in 2006 and the Czech Republic and Latvia in 2007. After dropping the visa requirements for Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania and Hungary, Canada now has a reciprocal visa-free status for 25 out of 27 EU member countries. CIC will continue to work in cooperation with the two remaining countries, Bulgaria and Romania, with the goal of having visa-free travel for all EU citizens.

In 2006, there were 33,363 temporary resident visas issued for citizens of Poland, 3,780 for citizens of Slovakia, 989 for citizens of Lithuania and 6,385 for citizens of Hungary.

To guard against abuse of older passports, by January 2009, travelers from Poland and Lithuania will be required to carry a more secure e-passport for visa-free travel.