As of 12:00 pm EST on Saturday, citizens of St Kitts and Nevis now require a visa to travel to Canada. Following the announcement on Saturday, the St Kitts and Nevis government said that nationals in good standing travelling to Canada between November 22 and 24 would be granted a temporary resident permit upon arrival in Canada, free of charge.
According to a press release by the Canadian High Commission in Bridgetown, Barbados, Canada is implementing the visa requirement on visitors travelling from St Kitts and Nevis due to concerns about the issuance of passports and identity management practices with its citizenship by investment program.
“Canada is acting to protect the safety and security of Canadians and the integrity of the Canadian immigration system. The visa requirement will ensure that Canada will be able to properly determine the true identity of St Kitts and Nevis passport holders and to deny entry to those who would otherwise be inadmissible to Canada,” the release said.
Canada continues to welcome genuine visitors and has a number of programs, including a multiple-entry visa, to make it easy for those genuine visitors to travel to Canada, the High Commission added.“Canada welcomes genuine visitors from St Kitts and Nevis, and we are committed to making it as easy as possible for travellers to get a visa to come to Canada. The visa requirement will help us facilitate the entry of legitimate travellers, while preventing those who are inadmissible or pose a risk to our country from travelling to Canada,” said Richard Hanley, High Commissioner of Canada to Barbados, during a visit to St Kitts and Nevis
The release noted that St Kitts and Nevis citizens can apply online for a visitor visa to travel to Canada, or submit a paper application in person or by mail or courier to any visa application centre (VAC), including the VAC in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
It currently takes no more than 14 days to process a visitor’s visa at the visa office in Port of Spain.
According to the St Kitts and Nevis government a “thorough report” will be made by the minister of immigration pertaining the country’s immigration policy in general, and changes that have been made to St Kitts and Nevis passports in particular. The key changes regarding the latter, in summary, are as follows:
(i) Effective February 2014, any name changes made by a St Kitts and Nevis passport holder has been reflected on the passport.
(ii) Effective July 2014, all passports issued by the government of St Kitts and Nevis have had the place of birth printed in the passport.
iii) New St Kitts and Nevis passports are being issued that will replace any passports in existence that may not indicate the place of birth.
The government said it will continue to work with the government of Canada to maintain and strengthen positive relations.
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