Canada Decides To Re-Impose Mexico Visa Requirements

Colin Singer
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Canada Decides To Re-Impose Mexico Visa Requirements

Canada is re-imposing visa requirements on Mexicans in its bid to curb the number of people coming to Canada who then try to illegally cross the border and enter the United States.

The new requirement went into effect Feb. 29 at 11:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

U.S. Homeland Security, which oversees border security and the enforcement of American immigration laws, has under the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, repeatedly asked  Canada to re-impose visa requirements for Mexican nationals to stem the flow of illegal immigrants across the Canada-U.S. border.

“We talk about this issue and many issues that impact the migration of people,” U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told CBC’s chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton in an interview early last year.

“I think that’s a decision that the Canadian officials are going to make.”

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Quebec Premier François Legault has also urged Ottawa to re-impose visa requirements on Mexican nationals in a letter sent in mid-January in which he called the federal government to stem the flow of refugees into Quebec and to compensate the province for its costs.

According to Legault, Quebec simply cannot handle anymore refugees.

“Mexican nationals represent a growing proportion of the asylum seekers arriving in Quebec, the possibility of entering Canada from Mexico without a visa certainly explains part of the flow of asylum seekers,” the premier wrote.

Under the new rules announced Thursday, Mexican citizens who do not hold a valid American, non-immigrant visa or who have not held a Canadian visa in the past 10 years now need to apply for a Canadian visitor visa.

Those who do hold a valid American, non-immigrant visa or who have not held a Canadian visa in the past 10 years and are travelling by air on a Mexican passport can apply for an electronic travel authorization (eTA).

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“We will continue to welcome Mexican temporary workers, students, visitors and immigrants who bring diverse skills and important contributions to our economy and communities,” said Immigration Minister Marc Miller.

“We strive for balance between the movement of people between our two great countries and the need to relieve pressure on our immigration system so we can provide protection to those who need it the most.”

In the past few years, the number of asylum claims made by Mexican citizens that are refused, withdrawn or abandoned has spiked, reaching a record high last year. Roughly 60 per cent of all asylum claims made by Mexican nationals last year were either rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada or withdrawn or abandoned by the applicant.

Former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper created a visa requirement for Mexicans coming to Canada in 2009. But current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, which has been very bullish on immigration, relaxed that requirement in 2016.

In an apparent quid pro quo, the Trudeau government nixed the visa requirement on Mexican nationals in exchange for the opening up of Mexico to Canadian beef products.

“I’m also happy to announce that Mexico has agreed to open their domestic market to all Canadian beef products,” said Trudeau in making that announcement in 2016. “This is a move that will support Canadian farmers and Canadian families.”

The unintended consequence of lifting that visa requirement as an explosion in the number of asylum claimants from Mexico. Those rose from 260 claims in 2016 to 23,995 last year.

Mexicans Accounted For 17% Of All Asylum Claims Made Last Year In Canada

In 2023 alone, asylum claims from Mexican citizens accounted for 17 per cent of all claims made that year from all nationalities around the world.

Mexican citizens holding a valid work or study permit can still travel by air to Canada with their existing eTA as long as they remain valid and they can continue to study or work in Canada based on the validity and conditions of their permit.

Those already in Canada on an eTA can stay for as long as they are authorized – up to six months from the date they arrive in Canada – but must have the proper travel documents, a visa or new eTA, if they plan to leave and return to Canada.

“All eTAs issued to Mexican passports before 11:30 p.m. Eastern time on Feb. 29, 2024, will no longer be valid, except for eTAs linked to Mexican passports with a valid Canadian work or study permit,” notes Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Most approved visa applicants receive multiple-entry visas, which allow them to visit Canada as many times as they want, for up to 10 years, or until their passport expires.

The eTA is a digital travel document that most visa-exempt travellers need in order to travel to or transit through Canada by air. The IRCC first began expanding its eTA program to eligible citizens from visa-required countries in 2017. Mexico will now be among 15 countries whose citizens can to fly to Canada on an eTA, instead of a visa, if they meet certain requirements.

Application Consent Form Needed For OINP Immigration Applicants

Colin Singer
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Application Consent Form Needed For OINP Immigration Applicants

Canada immigration applicants for the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) now have to complete an Application Consent form but no longer need to provide an Attestation Form under the province’s Expression Of Interest (EOI) system.

“As of Feb. 26, 2024, all new applications for an … OINP nomination must include the Applicant Consent Form,” notes the province.

That form must be:

  • Completed;
  • correctly dated;
  • signed by the applicant;
  • signed by the applicant’s spouse and dependents, if applicable, and;
  • uploaded with other documents in the application.

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“If the form is not completed correctly, your application will be returned as incomplete and your fee will be refunded,” notes the latest OINP update.

Representatives, including immigration lawyers, are not allowed to sign this form on their clients’ behalf.

“You must complete this form after you have received an Invitation To Apply (ITA), or a Notification Of Interest (NOI),” notes the province.

Ontario immigration is advising all new applicants to carefully review the stream specific document checklist to ensure they submit all mandatory documents.

The province also announced this year that it is now also accepting the Pearson Test of English (PTE) Core from Pearson Canada as proof of English proficiency for all OINP streams which require proof of English language proficiency and for OINP EOI points claims.

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“Consistent with recent changes to federal policy, the OINP will The PTE will be an additional test that applicants may submit to the program to demonstrate their language ability,” notes Ontario immigration.

That change came into effect on Jan. 30.

“If you have registered an EOI and have not received an … ITA, you may want to update your EOI if you have taken the PTE,” the province advises.

“This program change will not impact individuals who received an ITA or NOI from the OINP prior to Jan. 30.”

Equivalency Between Canadian Language Benchmarks And PTE Scores

CLB level Listening Reading Speaking Writing
10 89-90 88-90 89-90 90
9 82-88 78-87 84-88 88-89
8 71-81 69-77 76-83 79-87
7 60-70 60-68 68-75 69-78
6 50-59 51-59 59-67 60-68
5 39-49 42-50 51-58 51-59
4 28-38 33-41 42-50 41-50

Immigrants Can Come To Canada Through Its Two-Tiered System Of Programs

Canada operates a two-tier immigration system which allows foreign nationals to gain their permanent residency through the federal Express Entry system’s Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program, Federal Skilled Trades (FST) program and Canadian Experience Class (CEC), as well as the PNPs of the 10 Canadian provinces.

Under the Express Entry system, immigrants can apply for permanent residency online and their profiles then are ranked against each other according to a points-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The highest-ranked candidates will be considered for an ITA for permanent residence.

Those receiving an ITA must quickly submit a full application and pay processing fees, within 60 days.

Through a network of PNPs, almost all of Canada’s ten provinces and three territories can also nominate skilled worker candidates for admission to Canada when they have the specific skills required by local economies. Successful candidates who receive a provincial or territorial nomination can then apply for Canadian permanent residence through federal immigration authorities.

Education Expert Says Caps On Canada Study Permits A ‘Blunt Instrument’

Colin Singer
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Education Expert Says Caps On Canada Study Permits A ‘Blunt Instrument’

The president and CEO of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) says capping study permit applications is a blunt measure that will not completely remove bad actors from preying on international students but will make Canada’s educational sector better in the long run.

“This is not the way we would have chosen to go about addressing these issues of sustainability,” acknowledged Larissa Bezo during a webinar organised by The PIE and Student VIP.

“But if we look at this from 50,000 feet, what these policy measures do is afford us an opportunity to be more strategic and intentional to ensure a sustainable approach for the long term.”

Immigration Minister Marc Miller’s cap on study permit applications handed out to international students is going to allow for only 606,250 study permit applications in the coming year.

“The intent of these Instructions is to ensure the number of study permit applications accepted into processing by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration … within the scope of the instructions does not exceed 606,250 study permit applications for one year beginning on the date of signature,” the Canada Gazette reported on Feb. 3.

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“As stipulated in these Instructions, certain categories of study permit applications are excluded from the conditions set out in these Instructions and the associated application cap established by these Instructions.”

The CBIE issued a statement in January expressing concern the cap on the number of international students might have serious unintended consequences.

“This hasty one-size-fits-all solution may jeopardize the benefits of international education that many communities across the country experience and rapidly unravel a strong global Canadian education brand that has taken years to build,” notes the CBIE on its website.

“A 35 per cent reduction in student visas is ultimately a signal to prospective international students around the world that Canada is closing its doors. These measures have the potential to cause irreparable harm to the EduCanada brand, and in a highly-globally competitive market, students may opt to choose other countries instead, well beyond the two-year duration of these measures.”

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The Canadian non-governmental organization dedicated exclusively to international education is worried that capping international study permits over concerns about housing and healthcare in Canada might erode the value of the international education sector in Canada.

Despite the challenges posed by capping study permits, Bezo remains optimistic about the future of international education in Canada.

“I’m convinced we’ll come out of this with an even stronger offer that will set us up to continue to be attractive internationally,” she said.

“Canada remains open. We are not closed to international students. That’s the last message we want to be going out.”

Five Groups Exempt From International Study Permit Caps

Exempt from this new cap on international study permits are those international students who already have study permits and are seeking to renew them and the family member of a temporary resident who already has either a work or study permit.

Also exempt from the cap on study permits are:

  • members of the armed forces of a country under the Visiting Forces Act, including a person who has been designated as a civilian component of those armed forces;
  • officers of a foreign governments sent, under exchange agreements between Canada and one or more countries, to take up duties with a federal or provincial agency;
  • participants in sports activities or events, in Canada, either as an individual participant or as a member of a foreign-based team or Canadian amateur team;
  • employees of foreign news companies reporting on events in Canada;
  • people responsible for assisting congregations or groups in the achievement of their spiritual goals and whose main duties are to preach doctrine, perform functions related to gatherings of their congregations or groups or provide spiritual counselling.

The cap on study permit applications is expected to reduce the number of study permits by more than a third, The Globe and Mail has reported

“The cap is expected to result in approximately 364,000 approved study permits, a decrease of 35 per cent from 2023,” the immigration minister has reportedly said. “In the spirit of fairness, we are also allocating the cap space by province, based on population.”

Under the cap on study permits, it is expected the provinces and territories will each have a limit on their ability to welcome new international students. The national newspaper reports those proposed limits will allow some provinces to increase their international student population while dramatically cutting it in other provinces, including Ontario.

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