Asymmetric Borders: The Canada–Czech Republic ‘Visa War’ and the Question of Rights 1

Abstract

Visa policy is one of the most important areas for contemporary public policy, touching on issues of mobility, citizenship, rights, and security. This paper argues that visa policy must: 1) be placed in a national, historical context, 2) be understood as part of a mobility regime that includes identity documents, passports, preclearance, and refugee status adjudication and 3) be analysed with a view to rights and responsibilities. After providing a history of Canadian immigration and visa policies, it highlights several trends in contemporary mobility policy: the automation of decisionmaking, the use of risk-assessment for security purposes and the reliance on preclearance of Canada-bound travel by specifically focusing on the Canada-Czech Republic ‘visa war’ and the changes to Canadian practices since then. The authors conclude that one of the dominant results of the ‘off-shoring’ of border controls is the bureaucratisation of decision-making in spaces where rights are difficult to invoke. This development must be a matter of concern for those concerned with rights, particularly mobility rights.