Canada will allow Czechs to apply for visas in Prague

Canada will make it possible for Czech citizens to apply for visas at the country’s embassy in Prague, the Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney said in a statement released on Thursday. As of December 21, Czechs will no longer have to travel to Vienna to apply for Canadian visas. Czech officials have welcomed the move as the first step to lifting the visa requirement for Czech nationals altogether.

Ottawa re-introduced visas for Czechs in July this year in reaction to an increasing number of Czech asylum seekers arriving in Canada. The Czech Foreign Ministry then asked the EU for retaliation; Brussels said that the EU would introduce visas for Europe-bound Canadian diplomats if Ottawa does not lift the visa requirement for Czechs by the end of the year.