Six Central African States Ratify Visa-Free Agreement. Gabon recently announced that they will waive the short-stay visa requirements for citizens of countries in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC); six central African states including Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, and Equatorial Guinea. This agreement, which is in the process of being implemented throughout CEMAC, reduces barriers to movement for 44.1 million people.
Canada Planning to Increase Immigration. Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau’s government recently unveiled a plan to accept nearly 1 million new immigrants over the next three years. The plan, announced last Wednesday by Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen, is to increase immigration rates by 13 percent by 2020, with more than half of the new immigrants drawn through economic-based immigration categories. The three-year plan demonstrates Canada’s continued efforts to accept an increasing number of new immigrants, particularly employment-based immigrants. Details as to how this will be achieved have not yet been announced.
Turkey: Limited Resumption of Visa Services. Yesterday, the US Department of State announced that the US Embassy and Consulates in Turkey will resume visa services on a limited basis, ending a month-long diplomatic row between the two countries. The move comes after Turkey reassured Washington that no local staff would be detained or arrested for “performing their duties.” In response, the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., said it would also resume processing visa applications for US nationals “on a limited basis.”