Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Temporary Resident — Romania): SOR/2018-109

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 152, Number 12

Registration

May 30, 2018

IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION ACT

P.C. 2018-603 May 29, 2018

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, pursuant to subsections 5(1) and 11(1.01) footnote a, section 14 footnote b and subsection 26(1) footnote c of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act footnote d, makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Temporary Resident — Romania).

Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Temporary Resident — Romania)

Amendments

1 Subsection 7(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations footnote 1 is amended by striking out “or” at the end of paragraph (b), by adding “or” at the end of paragraph (c) and by adding the following after paragraph (c):

2 Subsection 7.1(1) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

Electronic travel authorization

7.1 (1) A foreign national referred to in paragraph 7(2)(a) who is exempt from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa and who is seeking to enter Canada by air to remain on a temporary basis or a foreign national referred to in paragraph 7(2)(d) who is seeking to enter Canada to remain on a temporary basis is, nevertheless, required to obtain an electronic travel authorization before entering Canada, unless they are exempted by subsection (3) from the requirement to obtain one.

3 Section 12.05 of the Regulations is renumbered as subsection 12.05(1) and is amended by adding the following:

Exception

(2) Paragraph (1)(d) does not apply to an electronic travel authorization that is issued

4 Section 190 of the Regulations is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):

Visa exemption — holders of certain Romanian passports

(2.1) A foreign national who is a citizen of Romania is exempt from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa if they hold a machine-readable passport that contains a contactless integrated circuit chip and that is issued by Romania.

5 Schedule 1.1 to the Regulations is amended by deleting the following:

Romania

Coming into Force

6 These Regulations come into force at 05:30:00 a.m. Eastern daylight time on June 5, 2018, but if they are registered after that time, they come into force at 05:30:00 a.m. Eastern daylight time on the day after the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

On December 1, 2017, citizens of Romania became exempt from the requirement to apply for and obtain a visa before travelling to Canada. Since that time, Canada has seen a substantial increase in asylum claims and non-bona fide traveller from Romania. As a mitigation measure, Canada will restrict Romania’s visa exemption to citizens who hold an electronic passport issued by Romania.

Background

Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, all visitors to Canada require a temporary resident visa, with the exception of those from countries and territories whose citizens have been granted an exemption. Canada requires citizens or nationals of visa-exempt countries and territories to obtain an electronic travel authorization (eTA) for air travel to Canada. Travellers apply online for an eTA by providing basic biographical, passport, and personal information. An automated system then compares this information against immigration and enforcement databases to determine if there is any adverse information that may impact whether or not the traveller is able to obtain an eTA for travel to Canada.

In order to gather information and make decisions on visa requirements, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) conducts ongoing monitoring of country conditions and migration trends to determine if a change in visa policy is warranted. In 2016, the Government of Canada announced its intention to grant a visa exemption for Romania in a phased approach, which began with adding Romania under its eTA expansion program on May 1, 2017. This allowed eligible, lower-risk Romanian citizens (those who had held a Canadian visa in the past 10 years or those who, at the time, held a United States [U.S.] nonimmigrant visa) to apply for an eTA instead of a visa when travelling to or transiting through Canada by air. Canada then fully lifted the visa requirement for Romania on December 1, 2017.

Since the visa lift in December 2017, Canada has seen a substantial increase in asylum intake and non-bona fide travellers from Romania. Particularly, Romania has ranked among the top-10 source countries for asylum claims to Canada, putting pressure on Canada’s immigration system. Further, there have been a number of immigration violations by Romanians since the visa lift (e.g. many entering Canada with intentions to work or stay permanently).

Objectives

The primary objective of the regulatory amendments is to protect the safety and security of Canadians and the integrity of our immigration and refugee system, while continuing to facilitate the movement of bona fide Romanian travellers to Canada.

By limiting Canada’s visa exemption to Romanian citizens with electronic passports, it is likely that some non-bona fide travellers who may not be eligible for, or who would be deterred from applying for, an electronic passport would be prevented from travelling to Canada.

Description

The regulatory amendments will remove Romania from the schedule of countries and territories whose citizens are exempt from the visa requirement for travel to Canada. Amendments will specify that citizens of Romania are only exempt from the requirement to obtain a visa if they hold an electronic passport issued by Romania.

The Regulations will be amended to invalidate eTAs issued to Romanian citizens who did not hold an electronic passport after the visa was lifted on December 1, 2017. eTAs issued to Romanians before the visa lift, and those issued to Romanians with electronic passports after the visa lift, will remain valid to enter Canada.

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to these regulatory amendments, as there is no change in administrative costs to business. Both visa and eTA requirements apply to individuals, so there is no administrative impact on business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply, since no costs will be imposed on small businesses.

Consultation

Comments and input were sought and received from other government departments and agencies on the proposal to exempt citizens of Romania from the requirement to obtain a visa if they hold an electronic passport. These consultations included Public Safety Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Global Affairs Canada, and the Privy Council Office.

Rationale

The Romanian temporary passport issuance process is faster, as it is intended for emergency and special circumstances, and does not involve the collection of the same level of information as the issuance process for the electronic version (e.g. biometric information). Therefore, Canada is restricting its visa exemption to Romanian citizens who hold electronic passports. By restricting the visa exemption in this manner, it is likely that some non-bona fide travellers who may not be eligible for, or who would be deterred from applying for, an electronic passport would be prevented from travelling to Canada.

Romanian citizens without an electronic passport will be subject to pre-departure screening as part of the visa application process to help identify inadmissible persons and/or persons of concern before they attempt to board flights to Canada. The visa application process allows for a more thorough assessment of an individual and their intent in travelling to Canada. For example, migration officers confirm an applicant’s identity based on their passport and other identity documents required by the IRCC office serving that country, as well as access more security databases to vet an individual’s identity while they are still outside Canada, thereby reducing the health, safety and security risks to Canada and Canadians.

Canada will invalidate eTAs that were issued to Romanian citizens who did not hold an electronic passport after the visa was lifted on December 1, 2017. eTAs that were issued to low-risk Romanians who were eligible for the eTA expansion program prior to the visa lift remain valid for travel to Canada. This will help to ensure that individuals are screened at the appropriate level for travel to Canada. Romanian travellers whose eTA has been invalidated will need to obtain a visa or obtain an electronic passport.footnote 2

Any reduction in the number of non-bona fide Romanian travellers who come to Canada will also reduce the costs encountered by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, IRCC, and the Canada Border Services Agency in processing asylum claims and immigration violations.

Restricting the visa exemption to Romanians holding electronic passports could result in some costs and impacts to Canadian tourism, as some legitimate travellers could be deterred from travelling. For example, it is possible that Romanian traveller volumes to Canada could decrease slightly in the initial months following the change to the visa exemption due to the temporary resident visa fee and the related time and administrative costs caused by the visa requirement. However, many legitimate Romanian travellers already possess an electronic passport, and any travellers who are impacted by this visa imposition would have the choice of either applying for a temporary resident visa, or obtaining a Romanian electronic passport. As a result, the impact of this change is expected to be low, and any negative effects on travel are anticipated to decrease over time.

As is the case with all visa policy changes, the Government of Canada will incur costs in communicating and implementing the change (e.g. updating internal manuals, procedures, and web changes; undertaking necessary information technology changes).

The change to the visa exemption is not expected to have any undue impacts on gender and diversity issues requiring mitigation, as decisions to approve or deny a visa are based only on the risk posed to Canada.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

The regulatory amendments come into force at 5:30 a.m. Eastern daylight time on June 5, 2018, but if they are registered after that time, they come into force at 5:30 a.m. Eastern daylight time on the day after the day on which they are registered.

Upon coming into force:

IRCC will work to raise awareness and inform affected travellers of the new entry requirements for Romanian citizens.

IRCC, in conjunction with federal partners, will continue to monitor migration trends and assess the impacts of the restricted visa exemption. The Government of Canada will also continue to work with Romanian and European Commission officials to ensure that the change to the visa exemption is sustainable.

Contact

David Beal
Director
Visa Innovation and Document Policy
Admissibility Branch
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
180 Kent Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1L2
Telephone: 613-437-9340
Email: David.Beal@cic.gc.ca