Ottawa reimposes visa requirements for Mexican citizens travelling to Canada

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Mexican citizens who hold a valid US non-immigrant visa or have held a Canadian visa in the past 10 years and are travelling by air on a Mexican passport will be able to apply for an electronic travel authorization (eTA), the federal government said.

 

The Canadian government has reimposed some visa requirements on Mexican nationals visiting Canada in the backdrop of Quebec Premier François Legault’s repeated calls on the federal government to do more to slow the influx of asylum seekers into his province. 

 

Just a week before the federal government announced the changes, Legault said that Ottawa should bring back the visa requirements for Mexican travellers.

 

In the official release by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the government noted “deep” and positive diplomatic partnership with Mexico over the past eight decades. 

 

“To support travel and people-to-people connections between Canada and Mexico, while also preserving the integrity of our immigration system, the Government of Canada is adjusting its travel requirements for Mexican citizens,” the government said.

 

“As of February 29, 2024, at 11:30 p.m. Eastern time, Mexican citizens who hold a valid US non-immigrant visa or have held a Canadian visa in the past 10 years and are travelling by air on a Mexican passport will be able to apply for an electronic travel authorization (eTA). With the high number of Mexican citizens currently holding US visas, the majority will continue to enjoy visa-free travel to Canada. Those who do not meet these conditions will need to apply for a Canadian visitor visa,” it added.

 

The federal government said that the changes were introduced in response to an increase in asylum claims made by Mexican citizens that are “refused, withdrawn or abandoned.” 

 

However, the “application process for Mexican citizens seeking a work or study permit will not change. Mexican citizens who want to work in Canada will continue to have access to a wide number of existing labour pathways, including the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the International Mobility Program.”

 

“Canada supports ongoing travel, tourism and business with Mexico. We will continue to work with the Government of Mexico to strengthen our regular pathways to immigration, and with our provincial and territorial counterparts to support a system of managed migration as well as to support those in need of protection,” the federal government said.