Czechs rush to apply for Canadian visas in Vienna

July 17 2009 by Mark Johnstone

Czechs now apply for Canada visas in Vienna

Hundreds of Czechs have applied for a Canada visa at the Canadian embassy in Vienna after the Canadian government reimposed visa requirements earlier this week.

342 Canada visa applications were lodged in Vienna inside 72 hours of the new visa ruling. Only two applicants were rejected for a visa during that period.

The Vienna embassy is the nearest visa issuer for Czech citizens who want to apply for a legal move to Canada. The embassy serves many other European countries including Austria, Croatia, Serbia and Hungary.

The Czech government is trying to persuade Canada to open a visa department in Prague. No decision as yet has been made with regard to this.

A Czech Foreign Ministry spokesperson said: “We have not yet received any Canadian reaction to the official request that a visa department be opened at the diplomatic mission in Prague.”

Canadian Ambassador to Prague Michael Calcott has stated no Canada visa department in the Czech capital will open due to financial reasons.

Czechs last had to apply for visas in 2007 but Canada abolished the process. Owing to the growing numbers of Czech asylum applicants, Canada reinstated the visa requirement for Czechs.

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