CANADA: SOUTH KOREA AND IMPLEMENTING A VISA

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000666 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR CA/VO/BIP, EAP/K, WHA/CAN, G/TIP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CVIS PREL PGOV KCRM CA CIC SUBJECT: CANADA: SOUTH KOREA AND IMPLEMENTING A VISA REQUIREMENT ¶1. (SBU) On February 15, Daniel Jean, Assistant Deputy Minister for Policy and Program Development at Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC),advised post via letter that the Government of Canada (GoC) would continue its policy of a non-immigrant visa exemption for nationals of South Korea. The letter noted that although CIC had identified a limited number of public security concerns related to South Korean document fraud and illegal migration of South Koreans into Canada, CIC nevertheless concluded that a non-immigrant visa was not warranted. ¶2. (SBU) The Ambassador discussed this decision in a phone conversation on March 1 that he initiated with Canadian Immigration Minister Joseph Volpe, in view of our ongoing concerns about the problem of South Koreans illegally entering the U.S. from Canada. The Ambassador noted that it was important for Canada and the U.S. to harmonize our visa requirements, consistent with the letter and spirit of the Shared Border Accords. In responding, Volpe indicated that this decision was not a hard-and-fast position of the GoC, but that CIC would require additional information on the extent of illegal Korean migration into the U.S. before it could revise its visa policy. ¶3. (SBU) COMMENT: Although not specifically addressed in its letter, resource implications no doubt also play a major role in Canadian thinking. There is currently some (though largely anecdotal) evidence of South Koreans being smuggled into the U.S. from Canada. However, given the current absence of data documenting large-scale smuggling, CIC would be hard pressed to justify re-establishing the major consular operation that it would need to handle an anticipated 100,000-plus visa caseload. Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa CELLUCCI