Nigeria has been excluded from Canada’s visa-free travel list, while two African countries have been added.
Visitors from 13 different countries in Asia, Africa, Central America, and South America will be able to enter Canada without a visa.
Sean Fraser, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, announced this in a statement on Tuesday.
According to the Canadian government, visa-free travel is now available to Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts-Nevis, Panama, Argentina, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Morocco, Seychelles, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Thailand, and the Philippines.
While Morocco in North Africa and Seychelles in East Africa joined the list, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, did not.
“An expansion of electronic travel authorisation (eTA) programmes makes it easier for “known travellers” from those countries to come here for fun and business.”
The expansion, according to him, will not only improve traveller convenience but also boost tourism, the economy, and ties between the world and these 13 nations.
“The known travellers from these countries can save a lot of money as a result of the visa exemptions.”
A visitor visa currently costs $100 per person and $500 for a family of five or more, but an eTA only costs seven dollars per person and is valid for as long as five years.
The government claims that the implementation of visa-free air travel will make it quicker, simpler, and more affordable for thousands of visitors to Canada to stay for up to six months on either business or pleasure.