Canada Delivers Visa Waivers for Poles

By Guest Column —— Bio and Archives April 15, 2008

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Ottawa, Canada (PMN)—Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, announced on March 1, 2008, that citizens of Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania and Hungary no longer require a temporary resident visa to visit Canada.

"Canada enjoys strong ties with these countries," said Finley. "Lifting the visa requirement will help build those relationships to the benefit of Canadians and the citizens of [those countries]." The requirement was lifted on travelers from Estonia in 2006 and the Czech Republic and Latvia in 2007. With the announcement, travel to Canada from all but two of the EU’s 27 countries is now visa-free. "We are committed to the free and secure movement of people between the EU and Canada," said Minister Finley. "We are also committed to the objective of visa-exempt status for all EU member states." U.S. President George Bush has long promised visa waivers for Polish travelers, but has recently indicated that there will be another delay before they will become a reality.