Beginning 12:01 a.m. EDT on July 14, 2009, Mexican citizens will require a visa to travel to Canada, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today. For the first 48 hours, Mexican citizens may apply for entry on arrival in Canada. After 11:59 p.m. EDT July 15, 2009, a visa will be required.

The reason behind introducing visa for Mexican citizens is the increase in the number of refugee claims from the country. It is said that number of Mexican citizens who sought refugee status in Canada have almost tripled since 2005. It also made Mexico the number one source country for refugee claims.

In 2008, more than 9,400 claims filed in Canada came from Mexican citizens, representing 25 per cent of all claims received. And only 11 per cent were accepted after reviewing the claims by the Immigration and Refugee Board, an independent administrative tribunal.

This is what the Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenny had to say on this subject.

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