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2007 Incident Report for Canadians Abroad

In 2007, Canadians made almost 50 million visits abroad and another 2.5 million citizens resided abroad. With approximately 260 offices in 150 countries worldwide, consular officials are ready to assist 24/7.

Upon receiving consular assistance, clients are invited to complete a feedback form. According to the most recent results, 91% are satisfied with the service they received.

The chart below details the top ten countries where Canadians required the most consular assistace in 2007.

Country	Visits*	All Cases	Arrest	Assault	Death**	Medical Assistance	Passports***
Worldwide Total	49,962,900	92,873	1,842	174	211	813	156,261
United States	38,436,000 77%	11,462 12%	1,009 55%	6 3%	30 14%	68 8%	7,895 5%
China	266,300 0.5%	6,503 7%	100 5%	24 14%	6 3%	34 4%	28,754 18%
Mexico	1,228,500 2.5%	5,470 6%	97 5%	22 13%	23 11%	117 14%	6,106 4%
United Kingdom	995,300 2%	3,134 3%	46 2%	4 2%	2 1%	27 3%	11,456 7%
Thailand	96,600 0.2%	2,752 3%	28 2%	4 2%	5 2%	36 4%	1,653 1%
Cuba	724,000 1%	2,346 3%	20 1%	3 2%	7 3%	56 7%	296 0.2%
France	798,100 1.6%	2,162 2%	8 0.4%	3 2%	2 1%	18 2%	5,114 3%
Kenya	52,900 0.1%	1,874 2%	9 0.5%	1 1%	2 1%	12 1%	873 1%
India	119,900 0.2%	1,694 2%	15 1%	2 1%	9 4%	19 2%	2,258 1%
Australia	131,600 0.3%	1,503 2 %	11 1%	4 2%	1 0.5%	9 1%	5,238 3%

*	Most accurate figures available, based on information from Statistics Canada. STATSCAN figures were used for this report because the target audience is in Canada. These figures should not be directly compared to the number of incidents recorded in country and is why we do not use percentage as a measureof incidents against the number of visitors.
**	Death refers only to cases where the Citizen did not die of natural causes.
***	Passports refer to both regular and temporary passports.
****	Percentage represents portion of all cases compared to worldwide totals.

Overall

While approximately 4 out of 5 visits (86%) are to one of the Top Ten countries, they account for only 42% of all requests for assistance received in 2007.

Of the 1,842 arrest and detention cases, 73% of them were opened in one of the Top Ten countries.

Arrest/Detention

Statistic:

• Almost two thousand Canadians are imprisoned in foreign countries. While the United States had the highest number of arrests (1,009), it also represents 77% of all travel outside of Canada.

Advice:

• Consular officials cannot arrange for a Canadian’s release from prison, post bail, or interfere with a foreign judicial system. See our FAQ on Arrest and Detention for further information. Additional information about arrest and imprisonment can also be found in our publication entitled A Guide for Canadians Imprisoned Abroad.

Assault

Statistic:

• More than 170 assaults occurred worldwide.  The highest number of assaults (24) occurred in China in 2007.

Advice:

• Canadians assaulted abroad should report the assault to the local authorities as well as the nearest Canadian Government office abroad.  Also, emergency financial assistance is available to individual Canadians who are the victims of specified serious violent crimes in a foreign jurisdiction.  This emergency financial assistance is available through the Victims Fund, which is administered by the Department of Justice Policy Centre for Victim Issues (PCVI).

Medical Assistance

Statistic:

• Many Canadians fall ill and require medical assistance while travelling outside Canada. While in Mexico, 97 Canadians required medical assistance.

Advice:

• Canadians who plan to travel outside Canada - even on a day trip to the United States - should buy the best supplemental medical insurance they can afford to cover costly potential bills for hospital or other medical care.

Death

Statistic:

• Canadians travelling or residing abroad may die as a result of a number of causes. There were 30 cases of Canadian deaths in the United States as the result of accidental deaths, murders, and suicides in 2007. This number excludes deaths due to natural causes.

Advice:

• Canadian consular officials overseas and in Ottawa can assist families in making all necessary arrangements in the event of a Canadian dying abroad. Contact the appropriate Canadian Government office abroad for assistance as well as the department's Emergency Operations Centre in Ottawa.

Passports

Statistic:

• Passport issuance is the most common service provided to Canadians while abroad. The highest number of passports issued abroad in 2007 from our list of top 10 countries was in China (28,754).

Advice:

• Canadians should have a valid Canadian passport for all trips abroad. A Canadian passport is the only reliable and universally accepted travel and identification document available to Canadians for the purpose of international travel. Most Canadian Government offices abroad provide the full range of passport services. There are some exceptions, such as consulates headed by honorary consuls, where only limited-validity emergency passports are issued.