Starting this Thursday evening (02/29/2024), the Government of Canada will require a tourist visa for Mexicans visiting the country in response to the sharp increase in refugee applications from citizens of the Latin American country , a decision that provoked a “small rebuke” from the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

“Mexican citizens will now have to obtain a visa to come to Canada,” announced Immigration Minister Marc Miller. Some exceptions will apply: Mexicans traveling to Canada will be able to apply for a simple electronic travel authorization if they have held a Canadian visa within the last decade or if they have a valid US visa. The decision also will not affect Mexicans who have work or study permits in the country, he added.

The Canadian government explained that the reimposition of the entry visa for Mexicans “is an important step to preserve the mobility of hundreds of thousands of Mexican citizens while ensuring” the functioning of the country's migration and asylum systems. Canada removed the visa requirement for Mexicans in December 2016.

Mexico responded

The number of Mexican asylum seekers rose from 260 in 2016, when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government abolished the entry visa requirement, to 23,995 applications in 2023, a record number. 60 percent of these requests were rejected by Canadian authorities or abandoned by the petitioners themselves.

“We place great importance on our close ties with Mexico. Mexico is and will remain an important partner,” insisted Minister Miller, acknowledging that the Mexican government had already expressed its dissatisfaction with this change. Ottawa has been under pressure for weeks, notably from Quebec Premier François Legault, who says his province has reached a critical point in immigration and is overwhelmed with asylum requests.

Mexico's reaction was immediate. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador addressed a “small reproach” to Trudeau. “I rather make a little fraternal and respectful reproach to the Prime Minister, because we helped them, and he knows it, so that it is accepted that Canada participates in the free trade agreement (with the United States ) because President (Donald) Trump didn't want it,” the president said.

Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) warned in a statement Thursday that it “reserves, of course, the power to act in reciprocity.” On Wednesday, López Obrador warned that “if there was no respectful treatment,” he would not attend the Summit of North American Leaders, scheduled for April in Quebec.

DZC (EFE,AFP)