Now that most of the European Union allows Ukrainians to visit without needing visas, what about Canada?
After all, the North American nation is home to 1.2 million citizens of Ukrainian ancestry, or 3 percent of the population, giving both nations a natural affinity for each other. However, the Canadian government is hesitant to follow the EU’s lead and begin lifting visa requirements for Ukraine.
But that could change.
Liberal party lawmaker Borys Wrzesnewskyj, speaking on June 16 in the Canadian parliament, said “it is time for Canada to study the removal of visa restrictions between Canada and Ukraine, the last Soviet legacy dividing our two countries.”
So far, the process is stalled.
Ukrainians who want to visit Canada face multiple restrictions and costs in obtaining a temporary resident visa. Travelers have to submit valid health insurance, proof of employment and sufficient financial means, a letter of invitation with documents related to the purpose of travel. The process takes up to 10 days and costs $150.
Even once that is done, there’s no guarantee that a visa will be forthcoming.
Canada, in fact, refused 28 percent of applicants in 2016 (nearly 5,000 out of 17,853), according to the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. By contrast, only 15 percent of Russians (3,015 out of 20,073 applicants) were turned down.
In 2015, prior to the last federal elections in Canada, the now-ruling Liberal Party of Canada wrote to the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, one of the most influential Ukrainian lobby groups, stating that they would work towards greater visa liberalization for Ukrainian citizens.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who visited Ukraine in July 2016 recognized the links between the free-trade pact — which will go into effect on Aug. 1 — and visa liberalization.
But, because the election promises are not being fulfilled, Ukraine’s advocates in Canada have decided to step in.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and Deputy Economic Minister Nataliya Mykolska take a selfie with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on his visit to Ukraine on July 11. (UNIAN) (source)
In early 2016, Ukrainian-Canadian community volunteer Nickolas Krawetz started an e-petition to raise awareness of the issue. His petition No. 33 calls for Canada ”to abolish temporary resident visa requirements for Ukrainian citizens” and grant Ukrainian nationals visa-free travel to Canada for periods of stay up to 90 days.
“I’ve been following Canada-Ukraine relations for many years and I felt the EU was further ahead in its support for Ukraine than Canada,” Krawetz, who lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, explains.
Just as Ukraine relaxed visa requirements for Canadians 12 years ago, abolishing visas required for short-term stays, Krawetz was encouraged to see Canadians from every province sign the petition.
He said even many Canadian public officials don’t know what is required of Ukrainian citizens and some didn’t even know visas were required.
After four months of circulation, 2,456 people have signed the petition, including 132 members of parliament and senators from four political parties. Three federal party leaders also formally endorsed the idea.
The Canadian government’s response, however, has disappointed. The Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship said that Ukraine “fell short of the thresholds Canada uses to gauge suitability for a visa exemption.”
Krawetz doesn’t hide his frustration. “According to the information I have, the Government of Canada has never undertaken a formal review of its visa policy for Ukraine since its gained independence. I think it should be done, as Ukraine has completed many reforms and is now in accordance with the EU travel standards.”
Conservative member of parliament James Bezan, who backs the petition, believes that Canada has to improve access to travel visas for Ukrainians. He attacked the Trudeau government, which he said is “shifting away from the previous Conservative government’s support for Ukraine to a position of Russian appeasement.”
Bezan said in a written response to the Kyiv Post that the former Conservative government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper had undertaken a number of educational, humanitarian, defense and political initiatives aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between the countries. “Unfortunately, the Liberal government has not taken many similar initiatives,” Bezan wrote.
While the visa requirement remains, Canada started issuing 10-year tourist visa, just like the United States.
Also, processing times for Ukrainian visitor visa applications now stands at eight days (in 80 percent of cases), than the 14-day service standard in 2015, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship ministry spokeswoman Nancy Caron wrote to the Kyiv Post.
Paul Grod, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, told the Kyiv Post that the organization’s representatives keeps meeting regularly with Canadian officials. The government, Grod said, “has indicated their willingness to work towards visa liberalization for Ukrainians, including establishing a road map and plan for visa liberalization. This is not a political, but rather a technical issue.”
The government has recently dropped the requirement for a temporary resident visa to citizens of Bulgaria, Romania and Brazil who have received such visas in the last 10 years, or who currently hold valid U.S. non-immigrant visas.
As for Ukraine, it still remains on Canada’s waiting list.
