Mexicans rushed to airports to enter Canada before the return of the compulsory visa for many of them since yesterday, late in the evening.
“When we landed, the Mexicans were shouting “let us out first!” We disembarked and everyone started running towards customs. There were around thirty of us on the flight,” says Karen Navarro, who barely returned to Montreal, in Spanish.
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The mother and her two children were in their home country when they learned that Canada would resume requiring visas for certain categories of Mexican nationals, including them.
This decision by the Trudeau government aims to curb the increase in the number of asylum seekers from Mexico. In 2023, nearly 24,000 of them had requested refuge in Canada, triple the number from the previous year.
Our American neighbors have also put pressure on the return of mandatory visas for visitors, since more and more Mexicans transit through Ontario and Quebec and then illegally cross the border with the United States.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced the return of visa requirements this Thursday for several categories of Mexican travelers.
Archive photo, AFP
The measure came into force on Thursday at 11:30 p.m., just a few hours after its official announcement the same morning.
Stress and fatigue
On the advice of a lawyer, Karen Navarro therefore decided to bring her family’s return as quickly as possible, even if the new tickets cost her all her savings for a car, or $3,600.
However, their Mexico-Toronto flight was delayed by several hours, which almost compromised the plan. “I experienced horrible stress on the plane. We arrived at 11:34 p.m., but they let us pass,” she recalls, her features drawn with emotion and fatigue, alongside her partner who was waiting for her in Montreal.
Some Mexican visitors were likely refused at the Montreal-Trudeau port of entry overnight because they did not have the new required documents.
At least four of them had to buy a Montreal-Mexico ticket, according to an agent at the Aeromexico counter who testified on condition of anonymity.
While waiting for the visa
Other Mexicans will instead have decided to postpone their trip while waiting to receive the new visa required by Canada. The Immigration Canada website indicates that the average time to obtain it is 40 days.
“There are employers waiting for their workers and who will not be there. I have five today who had a flight to Halifax and who will not come,” testifies Céline Thériault, liaison officer for Arimé, who supports employers in recruiting foreign labor.
Since December 2016, Mexicans only needed a simple electronic travel authorization to enter Canada, like most Europeans.