The Canadian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce has initiated a campaign to urge the Canadian government to remove visa restrictions against Croatian nationals wishing to visit Canada. In addition to signing our national petition, we urge you to contact your local Member of Parliament via telephone as soon as possible and let them know that you disagree with this policy.

Currently, Canada requires Croats to answer an embarrassing and intrusive military service questionnaire requesting them to disclose confidential information about their duties during the Homeland War from 1991-1995 prior to issuing a visa to visit Canada. This policy is not consistently applied by the Canadian government to nationals from other countries. We encourage all Canadians of Croatian descent to let the government know that we want these restrictions removed immediately.

What you can do to help:

1) Click on the link below and print numerous copies of the Visa Petition. Have your family, friends, folklore group, sports team, club or organization, or church parish fill it out at your next community event. Please ensure that the petition is properly completed! There are no age restrictions for petitioners and EACH NAME MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A SIGNATURE in order for the petition to be accepted! Petitions should be blank on one side. When completed, send your petition to:

          The Canadian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce

          630 The East Mall

          Etobicoke, ON      M9B 4B1

Click on this link for a copy of the petition: Visa Petition.pdf

2) Contact your local Member of Parliament and let him/her know that you disagree with the policy and, that as a Canadian citizen, you want it removed immediately. You can contact the constituency office via telephone or send a letter to your representative. Encourage your friends and family to contact their M.P.s as well! The constituency office will document each call and is required to respond to each request. To determine who your Member of Parilament is, enter your postal code on the Parliament of Canada website at www.parl.gc.ca/common/index.asp?Language=E

The Canadian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce would like to thank Mr. Borys Wrzesnewskyj, M.P. for Etobicoke Centre, for his efforts to remove the visa restrictions. “With over 250 thousand Canadians of Croatian origin in Canada, there are tens of thousands of family and business ties between our two countries. My colleagues and I get calls all the time from constituents who aren’t able to get their family members to Canada from Croatia for weddings and funerals, which is particularly heartwrenching. Croatia has come a long way in the last several years and has received a green light for accession talks to join the European Union, is participating in NATO’s Membership Action Plan (MAP), and is actively supporting and participating in NATO-led operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo. At the end of March 2006, the United Kingdom lifted visa restrictions on Croatia and I’m urging the Canadian government to do the same,” stated Wrzesnewskyj (press release, 24 May 2006).

As a result, he has tabled Motion No. 99 in the House of Commons urging the Canadian government to "follow the lead of the United Kingdom by lifting visitor visa requirements for Croatian nationals. Croatia has made huge strides in recent years and today is a democratic free market country on a par with most European states. Croatia is also contributing internationally, standing shoulder to shoulder with Canada in Afghanistan, and is currently the second largest non-NATO troop contributor to the Afghanistan mission. It is time for Canada to lift visitor visa requirements for Croatia." (Wrzesnewskyj petition station in the House of Commons, 27 March 2007, at www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Ses=1&DocId=2805041#OOB-1980304)

Sign the petition! Contact your Member of Parliament! Let us speak with a unified voice! You can help eliminate the visa restrictions!

For further information, contact the Chamber at 416-641-2829 or via email at contactus@croat.ca