Turkish Canadians May Go To Court To Remove Visa Requirement For Turkish Citizens

There was a time when Turkish citizens could visit Canada without applying for a visa. This changed in 1987 when a corrupt Turkish travel agent made a small fortune by bringing two planeloads of Turks to apply for refugee status as an inexpensive shortcut to Canadian permanent residence and citizenship. Almost immediately Ottawa slapped a visa requirement on Turkish citizens. The abuse continues, as one political or financial crisis in Turkey leads to an increase in bogus refugee applications from Turkish citizens. As a result, most visa applications by Turks are rejected, hurting the bona fide students or those wishing to visit relatives in Canada. It has come to the point where the Canadian Embassy in Ankara suspects that most applications they get are from potential bogus refugees. Recently officials at the embassy appealed for help to Turkish Canadians living in Canada. This does not make any sense, since the key lies in government policy that makes it very easy to become a bogus refugee instead of dishing out a fortune to study at an overpriced Canadian public school, which very few Turks can afford with their substantially devalued currency.

About 3 years ago a Turkish Canadian organization, which does not wish to be named here, petitioned Prime Minister Trudeau to reject refugee applications from students on study permits and those who misrepresented their intentions on visa applications. The petition was disregarded, while the organization was bombarded by hate mail from Turkish ethnic associations. This organization is now talking to class-action lawyers on the possibility of removing the visa requirement for Turkish citizens under the equality provision of Canadian Charter of Rights. Citizens of numerous countries such as Japan and South Korea, and even Bulgaria, can visit Canada without a visa.

September 15, 2021