Canada's visa requirement for Grenada under review; T&T citizens still need visas

Grenada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Peter David, and Canada’s Minister of State of Foreign Affairs, Peter Kent, met on the margins of the 65th Session of the General Assembly of the UN in New York and discussed the removal of the visa requirement

Canada's Minister of State of Foreign Affairs in the North American country has said visa requirement for Grenadian citizens if still open for review by his government.

Peter Kent made the disclosure when he met with Grenada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Peter David during a bilateral meeting on the margins of the 65th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.

“We are aware of the visa issue and let me state that this has nothing to do with the relations between both countries but rather with individuals who took advantage of the economic citizenship programme,” Kent said. He promised to follow up on the progress of the review.

That economic citizenship programme was introduced by Grenada in October 1997 to supplement government revenues. 

It allowed investors to acquire a legal second passport for a specified minimum investment in the local economy. However, the system came under fire from critics who said it allowed criminals to effectively adopt new legal identities for a price.

In 2001 the country's finance minister suspended the program indefinitely. Anthony Boatswain said at thne time that it was "too risky" in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the United States.

However in December 1997 Canada imposed the visa restrictions on citizens from Grenada, Dominica, Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, all of which sold passports. Up to that time anybody holding a passport from one of those countries could have entered Canada without a visitor's visa.

David told Kent the visa matter is important for Grenada noting that a recent study gave Grenada a good rating in the proper enforcement of its passports.

“This continues to be a major issue for our nationals and our hope is that you would examine the review process since we have made tremendous strides in correcting the wrongs of the past,” he added.

Trinidad and Tobago citizens are also required to apply for visas to enter Canada and pay hefty non-refundable fees to apply for the privilege of visiting the country. 

The Conservative government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney imposed the visa rule in 1988 in a bid to end a flood of Trinidad and Tobago citizens who were entering the country and making refugee claims. 

Caricom citizens from The Bahamas, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts-Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent don't need a visitors' visa to enter Canada.

Canadians can enter Trinidad and Tobago without even having a passport so long as they have a valid photo ID.

View the list of countries that need visas to visit Canada