US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA666

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, Visa, South Korea, CIC, Joseph Volpe 
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