With the European Parliament preparing to vote this summer on canceling short-term visas for Ukrainian citizens, the Canadian government could also consider soon whether to lift travel restrictions on Ukrainians.
Since January, Nicholas Krawetz has been promoting a petition to the Canadian government to relax visa requirements for Ukrainians. Krawetz is an analyst on municipal political issues in Canada and a volunteer worker for Winnipeg’s Ukrainian community. He is also one of 1.3 million Ukrainian-Canadians.
Petition No. 33, initiated by Krawetz, calls on the Canadian government to grant Ukrainian citizens visa-free travel to Canada for visits of up to 90 days.
The petition has so far garnered 2,365 signatures, with only 500 valid signatures required for it to move on to the next stage in the process of consideration. It has also received 90 letters of support from members of the Canadian parliament. Lobbying for the support of Canadian legislators, Kravetz contacted all 338 members of Canada’s House of Commons and the 105 members of the Senate of Canada by email or phone.
The deadline for collecting signatures is May 11. After that, the Canadian government will have 45 days to officially respond to the petition.
Krawetz says the visa regime is a barrier to business activity between Ukraine and Canada as “a permit is very difficult to get for a business person who wants to come here for a week and research possible business opportunities.” By dropping this barrier, Ottawa would show it was serious about a future free trade agreement with Kyiv, Krawetz says. Ukraine and Canada finished talks on the deal in July 2015, but have not yet signed and ratified it.
“My argument to the Canadian government is that if the European Union is going to do this, why can’t the Canadian government do this as well, or at least look at it and speak with Ukraine and tell them what they have to do in order to meet the criteria for Canadian visa policies?” Krawetz said in an interview with the Kyiv Post.
Nicholas Krawetz holds letters from Canadian legislators who back a petition on granting visa-free travel to Ukraine. (Bruce Bumstead/The Brandon Sun)
Meanwhile, Roman Waschuk, Canada’s ambassador to Ukraine, said in an interview with Ukrainian news media on April 8 that Ottawa was planning to follow the U.S. example of visa liberalization — rather than visa-free travel — and would consider issuing 10-year, multiple-entry visas.
“Those who obtain this new visa will effectively have a visa free travel to our country for 10 years,” Waschuk said.
If Waschuk is correct, the Canadian government has no intention at this time of adopting visa-free travel for Ukrainians.
Citizens from 51 countries currently enjoy visa-free entry to Canada.
Ukrainian companies could certainly use the opportunity to drum up business in Canada: In the first 11 months of 2015 the value Ukraine’s exports to Canada dropped by 63.4 percent compared to the same period of 2014, to $25.3 million, while imports increased by 29.5 percent, to $192 million. The countries trade in mineral fuels and oils, iron and steel products, fish and seafood, pharmaceuticals, meat and machinery.
EU visa liberalization
Ottawa’s decision on visa liberalization for Ukraine is likely to overlap with a vote in the European Parliament this summer on whether to allow Ukrainians to make short visits to the European Union’s Schengen zone without visas.
The European Commission proposed on April 20 to lift visa restrictions for citizens of Ukraine. According to a press release from the European Commission, the proposal came after the European executive body gave a positive assessment last December, confirming that Ukraine had met all benchmarks under the visa liberalization action plan. The plan contained almost 140 requirements, including important changes to Ukraine’s Labor Code that eliminate discrimination in the workplace.
Under a visa-free regime, Ukrainian holders of biometric passports will be able to make short visits (up to 90 days within a 180-day period) to Schengen zone countries. This will help to build “people-to-people contacts and strengthen business, social and cultural ties between the EU and Ukraine,” EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos said.
Kyiv has been discussing a visa-free regime with the EU since 2008. The European Commission’s proposal still needs to receive the approval of the European Parliament and the European Council. According to EU Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Commissioner Johannes Hahn, visa restrictions on Ukraine, Kosovo and Georgia could be lifted this year.
“Of course, there is finally the political assessment, but in terms of meeting certain standards, qualifying themselves, they have done what is necessary,” Hahn said in an interview with Radio Liberty on May 3.
