Czech foreign minister: Ottawa considering reintroducing visa requirement for Czechs

Ottawa could reinstate a visa requirement for Czech visitors due to the high number of Czech Romanies applying for asylum in Canada, the Czech foreign ministry said on Wednesday. The Czech foreign minister, Jan Kohout, said Canada’s immigration minister, Jason Kenney, had told him a few days ago that Canada was considering measures in reaction to the number of asylum seekers, including reintroduction of a visa requirement. The Czech newspaper Lidové noviny reported that Ottawa would reimpose visas from next Tuesday, though Canada’s embassy in Prague would not confirm whether such a decision had been taken.

If the change is introduced, the Czech government could respond by making Canadian diplomats get visas to enter the Czech Republic, the Czech News Agency reported. A blanket visa requirement for all Canadians would contravene a European Union directive.

While 861 Czech Romanies applied for asylum in Canada in the whole of 2008, over 1000 did so in the first three months of this year. Thirty-four of those who applied between January and April were granted asylum. The asylum seekers say they have been the subject of discrimination in the Czech Republic, a view supported by human rights agencies.

In 1997 Canada brought back a visa requirement for Czechs because of the number of Czech Romany asylum applicants. It dropped the condition in 2007.

Author: Ian Willoughby