Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Canada (CIMC) Minister Jason Kenney recently announced that, effective immediately, travelers from Croatia will no longer need to obtain Temporary Resident Visas to visit Canada. The announcement was made to an audience of Canadian-Croatian immigration associations at the Croatian Cultural Centre in Norval, near Toronto, Ontario.

Representatives of the of 130,000 Croatians in Canada, praised Canada's rescinding of visitor visas, which have previously made it more difficult for family members or business associates in Croatia to visit them in Canada.

"Removing the visa requirement will facilitate travel for Croatian citizens to Canada and will help improve ties between our two countries," said Minister Kenney.

It is expected that the removal of visitor visa requirements for Croatian visitors to Canada will help strengthen business and trade cooperation, encourage cultural and scientific exchanges, and allow a greater flow of tourism between the two countries.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada's (CIC) visa policy decisions are based a country's socio-economic profile, immigration issues, travel documents, safety and security issues, border management, human rights, and bilateral relations. They are performed on a country-by-country basis.

CIC performed a technical review of Croatia in December 2008 to come to its decision to put Croatia on the list of visitor visa-exempt countries.

Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Lithuania were added to this list in March 2008 .