Czechs face Canada visa clampdown

July 07 2009 by Mark Johnstone

Canada visas under review for Czechs

Canada is set to review its immigration policies to cope after an influx of people seeking asylum from the Czech Republic.

Ottawa is thought to be currently considering re-imposing Canadian visas to cope with the situation.

Both business people and Czech tourists are likely to suffer if the Canada visa policy is re-introduced.

Already the number of Czechs that have applied for asylum in Canada has exceeded 1,000 and last year the figure was 860 a number that Canadian Immigration officials want to see fall rather than rise.

The general consensus is that the migrants are looking to move to Canada in search of a better life. Roma groups are denying that people want to move to Canada simply for a better life and they point to the sharp rise in far right extremism in the Czech Republic as a contributory factor.

Current immigration reports state that Canada has already granted asylum to more than 40% of claims from the Czechs. Czech officials say that the Canadian visa threat is indeed a reality.

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