Minister: Prague, Ottawa must work together to lower Czech asylum claims

The Canadian Minister for Citizenship and Immigration has said that the Czech Republic and Canada must work together to lower the number of Czechs seeking asylum in Canada. Speaking in Prague on Thursday, Diane Finley said that for the time being Canada was not planning to reintroduce visa restrictions for Czechs traveling to the North American country. The Canadian press has suggested, however, that once the number of Czech asylum requests reaches 580, Ottawa will consider visa reintroduction. The number of Czechs thought to have applied for asylum in Canada since visa restrictions were lifted last November is currently put at around 500. Not one of the recent Czech emigrants has been granted asylum, Ms Finley said.