RSS
Canadian Government to lift visa requirements for Romanian nationals travelling to Canada starting on December 1, 2017
The Romanian Government is hailing the decision of the Canadian Government to fully lift visa requirements for Romanian nationals travelling to Canada starting on December 1, 2017, a provision included in a declaration by a recent EU-Canada summit in Brussels.
"After intense negotiations between Romania's Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Government has confirmed its commitment to fully lift the visa requirements for all Romanian nationals starting on December 1, 2017, after a first partial liberalisation stage starting on May 1, 2017," the Romanian Government said in a press statement released on Sunday.
"This is an important moment to Romania, and not only because access opens for Romanian nationals of the benefits of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), between the EU and Canada, but also because this way the last discrimination against Romanian nationals in relation with the other EU citizens is repealed when it comes to border-free travel to Canada. I also believe that the visa liberalisation will generate significant opportunities for Romanian business people seeking partnerships with Canadian counterparts. I want to thank Mr Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his personal involvement in negotiations over this objective of Romania's and for his openness displayed in our conversations this year on the visa requirements," Ciolos is quoted as saying in the statement.
Romanian officials are expected to work with their Canadian counterparts on a successful to the visa-free travelling status and to develop arrangements for the two countries to better manage any negative migration trends, should such trends appear.
The statement says the objective of visa liberalisation for all Romanian nationals travelling to Canada was achieved at the end of an intense diplomatic exercise on the part of the Romanian Government, with support from MEP Sorin Moisa and in coordination with the European Commission. At the same time, an equally import bat part in the process is ascribed to the consistent technical resources contributed by Romania's Interior Minister Dragos Tudorache and Canada's Immigration Minister John McCallum.