As of December 1, Mexican citizens will be able to travel by air to Canada without a visa.
The lifting of the visa requirement comes just over a year after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took office, following an election campaign in which he pledged to drop the unpopular measure.
Canadian government officials believe lifting the visa requirement will trigger an increase in Mexican tourists and business people traveling to Canada.
All Mexicans will, however, need to apply for an online Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA). The procedure, which takes only a few minutes, requires a valid passport, a credit card and an email address.
All foreign nationals from visa-exempted countries (this includes the European Union), with the exception of U.S. citizens, now require an eTA to fly to or transit through Canada.
Mexicans who already have a valid Canadian visa can continue to travel with that visa until it expires. Once their Canadian visa has expired, they will need to apply for an eTA for any future air travel to Canada.
The eTA costs CAD$7 and is valid for five years, or until a person’s passport expires.
Like the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) in the United States, the eTA allows Canadian authorities to screen travelers before they board a plane to Canada.
Applications for an eTA will be open as of 12:01 a.m. EST on Friday, November 25.
Mexicans wanting to work or study in Canada will still need to apply for a work or study permit prior to their arrival in Canada.
Asylum fears
The previous Canadian government imposed the visa requirement in 2009 following a rapid spike in the number of Mexicans applying for asylum in Canada. In 2008, there were more than 9,000 requests, nearly a quarter of all claims filed that year.
Although the number of claims from Mexico has dropped dramatically over the past seven years, Canada’s immigration minister has warned that the visa requirement could be reinstated if there is another surge in asylum requests.
Some fears have been raised that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals to target undocumented immigrants might prompt an escalation in asylum claims from Mexicans.