Canadian Visitor Visas for Mexican Businesspeople
Just under a year ago in July 2009, we reported how the Canadian government imposed Visa restrictions on Mexican nationals in an effort to stem the flow of inland Refugee Claims in Canada from that country.
This was and still is a wrong-headed approach to the Refugee backlogs and we still believe that Mexicans, as members of NAFTA, should be able to visit Canada without the need for applying for visitor visas. However, it appears that Canada Immigration is now seeing the light as there has been an ease in Visa restrictions, at least for Mexican business people.
An “invitation only” program for Mexican business travelers has been established allowing for a 24 hour processing time for their Visa applications. A positive development indeed. Faster Visa processing will certainly aid in the economic recovery for both Canada and Mexico. The question still remains why such applicants need a Visa in the first place?
Let’s hope that if the more recent proposals for Refugee reforms are imposed which promises to improve systemic issues, all Mexican nationals will once again enjoy free travel to Canada.