Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA)

Last updated: 5 April 2024

Eta

Citizens of certain countries are exempt from the requirement to obtain a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV). For these individuals, the government of Canada has introduced what is known as electronic Travel Authorization (eTA).

Before the eTA system was introduced, visa-exempt foreign nationals seeking entry to Canada were not systematically screened for admissibility until they arrived at a Canadian Port of Entry.


Overview

The eTA is mandatory for most visitors from countries whose citizens do not require a TRV who are entering Canada by air. Citizens of visa-exempt countries intending to travel to Canada by air are expected to have applied for an electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) before their departure to Canada. Exceptions to this include citizens of the United States, who do not require a TRV or an electronic Travel Authorization (eTA), and Green Card holders in the United States, who need an eTA to come to Canada, regardless of their nationality.

The Canadian pre-approval system is only required for TRV-exempt individuals seeking to enter Canada by air to visit on a temporary basis. To read a comprehensive list of frequently asked eTA-related questions and answers, click here

Individuals requiring an eTA in order to visit Canada are asked to fill out some personal information and answer a few basic questions relating to criminality or medical issues.

To complete the online form, you need:

  • a valid passport from a visa-exempt country,
  • a credit card to pay the $7.00 CAD fee,
  • a valid email address, and
  • access to the internet and a few minutes of your time.

The eTA will be valid for a period of five years from the day on which it is issued to the applicant or until the earliest of the following days, if they occur before the end of that period:

  • the day on which the applicant’s passport or other travel document expires,
  • the day on which the electronic travel authorization is cancelled, or
  • the day on which a new electronic travel authorization is issued to the applicant.

The eTA includes the applicant’s name, date and place of birth, gender, address, nationality, and passport and/or travel document information. If the applicant is unable to make the application by means of the electronic system because of a physical or mental disability, it may be made by another means, including a paper application form.

Exemptions

A number of exemptions from the requirement to obtain pre-approval to travel are in place, including:

  • Nationals of the United States.
  • Her Majesty the Queen of Canada and any member of the Royal Family.
  • Citizens of France who are residents of St. Pierre and Miquelon who seek to enter Canada directly from St. Pierre and Miquelon.
  • Visitors, students and workers, who seek to re-enter Canada after solely visiting either the United States or St. Pierre and Miquelon, providing that they return to Canada by the end of the period initially authorized for their stay or any extension to it.
  • Foreign nationals who are passengers on a flight stopping in Canada for the sole purpose of refuelling and
    • possess proper documents to enter the United States and their flight is bound for that country, or
    • They were lawfully admitted to the United States and their flight originated in that country.
  • Foreign nationals who are passengers on a flight that, owing to an emergency or other unforeseen circumstances, makes an unscheduled stop in Canada.
  • Foreign nationals seeking to transit through Canada under the Transit Without Visa or China Transit Program.
  • Foreign nationals who hold a passport that contains a diplomatic acceptance, a consular acceptance or an official acceptance issued by the Chief of Protocol for the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade on behalf of the Government of Canada and are properly accredited diplomats, consular officers, representatives or officials of a country other than Canada, of the United Nations or any of its agencies, or of any international organization of which Canada is a member.
  • Foreign nationals seeking to enter and remain in Canada solely:
    • As a crew member of a means of transportation that may be used for transportation by air or to become a member of such a crew, or
    • To transit through Canada after working, or to work, as a crew member of a means of transportation that may be used for transportation by air, if they possess a ticket for departure from Canada within 24 hours after their arrival in Canada.
  • Foreign nationals seeking to enter and remain in Canada solely to carry out official duties as a member of the armed forces of a country that is a designated state for the purposes of the Visiting Forces Act, unless they have been designated under that Act as a civilian component of those armed forces.
  • Foreign nationals seeking to enter and remain in Canada solely to conduct inspections of the flight operation procedures or cabin safety of a commercial air carrier operating international flights, if they are a civil aviation inspector of a national aeronautical authority and possess valid documentation to that effect.
  • Foreign nationals seeking to enter and remain in Canada solely to participate as an accredited representative or as an adviser to an aviation accident or incident investigation conducted under the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act, if they possess valid documentation to that effect.

Countries with Conditional Eligibility

Citizens of some countries may be eligible for an eTA if they meet all three of the following conditions. If not they will have to pursue a TRV to travel to Canada. 

To be eligible for an eTA these travellers must:

  • have held a Canadian visitor visa (temporary resident visa) in the past 10 years or currently hold a valid United States (U.S.) nonimmigrant visa;
    • The U.S. nonimmigrant visa must be valid on the day that an individual applies for their eTA, but doesn’t need to be valid when they travel to Canada.
  • be coming to Canada for a short visit, business or tourist activity (normally for stays of up to 6 months); and
  • arriving to Canada by air, or transiting through a Canadian airport using a valid passport from one of the eligible visa-required countries. 

These conditional eligibility rules for an eTA apply to citizens of the following (visa-required) countries:

  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Argentina
  • Brazil
  • Costa Rica
  • Mexico
  • Morocco
  • Panama
  • Philippines
  • St. Kitts and Nevis
  • St. Lucia
  • St. Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Seychelles
  • Thailand
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Uruguay

Country Checklist: Electronic Travel Authorization

TRVs are required for citizens of certain countries. The chart below outlines which individuals require a TRV and which individuals need an eTA in order to enter Canada.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Country
Document/Authorization Required
Afghanistan
TRV
Albania
TRV
Algeria
TRV
Andorra
eTA
Angola
TRV
Anguilla
eTA
Antigua & Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
TRV
Australia
eTA
Austria
eTA
Azerbaijan
TRV
Bahamas
eTA
Bahrain
TRV
Bangladesh
TRV
Barbados
eTA
Belarus
TRV
Belgium
eTA
Belize
TRV
Benin
TRV
Bermuda
eTA
Bhutan
TRV
Bolivia
TRV
Bosnia-Herzegovina
TRV
Botswana
TRV
Brazil
Brunei
eTA
Bulgaria
eTA
Burkina Faso
TRV
Burundi
TRV
Cambodia
TRV
Cameroon
TRV
Cape Verde
TRV
Central African Republic
TRV
Chad
TRV
Chile
eTA
China
TRV
Colombia
TRV
Comoros
TRV
Congo, Democratic Republic
TRV
Congo, Republic of
TRV
Costa Rica
Croatia
eTA
Cuba
TRV
Cyprus
eTA
Czech Republic
eTA
Denmark
eTA
Djibouti
TRV
Dominica
TRV
Dominican Republic
TRV
Ecuador
TRV
Egypt
TRV
El Salvador
TRV
Equatorial Guinea
TRV
Eritrea
TRV
Estonia
eTA
Ethiopia
TRV
Fiji
TRV
Finland
eTA
France
eTA
Gabon
TRV
Gambia
TRV
Georgia
TRV
Germany
eTA
Ghana
TRV
Greece
eTA
Grenada
TRV
Guatemala
TRV
Guinea
TRV
Guyana
TRV
Haiti
TRV
Honduras
TRV
Hungary
eTA
Iceland
eTA
India
TRV
Indonesia
TRV
Iran
TRV
Iraq
TRV
Ireland
eTA
Israel (passport holders)
eTA
Israel (holders of travel document in lieu of passport)
TRV
Italy
eTA
Ivory Coast
TRV
Jamaica
TRV
Japan
eTA
Jordan
TRV
Kazakhstan
TRV
Kenya
TRV
Kiribati
TRV
Korea, North
TRV
Korea, South
eTA
Kosovo
TRV
Kuwait
TRV
Kyrgyzstan
TRV
Laos
TRV
Latvia
eTA
Lebanon
TRV
Lesotho
TRV
Liberia
TRV
Libya
TRV
Liechtenstein
eTA
Lithuania
eTA
Luxembourg
eTA
Macao
TRV
Macedonia
TRV
Madagascar
TRV
Malawi
TRV
Malaysia
TRV
Maldives
TRV
Mali
TRV
Malta
eTA
Mauritania
TRV
Mauritius
TRV
Mexico

TRV/eTA

Moldova
TRV
Monaco
eTA
Mongolia
TRV
Montenegro
TRV
Morocco
Mozambique
TRV
Myanmar
TRV
Namibia
TRV
Nepal
TRV
Netherlands
eTA
New Zealand
eTA
Nicaragua
TRV
Niger
TRV
Nigeria
TRV
Norway
eTA
Oman
TRV
Pakistan
TRV
Palau
TRV
Panama
Paraguay
TRV
Peru
TRV
Philippines
Poland
eTA
Portugal
eTA
Qatar
TRV
Romania
eTA
Russia
TRV
Rwanda
TRV
San Marino
eTA
Sao Tome e Principe
TRV
Saudi Arabia
TRV
Senegal
TRV
Serbia
TRV
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
TRV
Singapore
eTA
Slovakia
eTA
Slovenia
eTA
Somalia
TRV
South Africa
TRV
Spain
eTA
Sri Lanka
TRV
St. Kitts & Nevis
St. LuciaTRV/eTA
St. Vincent and the GrenadinesTRV/eTA
Sudan
TRV
Surinam
TRV
Swaziland
TRV
Sweden
eTA
Switzerland
eTA
Syria
TRV
Taiwan
eTA
Tajikistan
TRV
Tanzania
TRV
Thailand
Togo
TRV
Tonga
TRV
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
TRV
Turkey
TRV
Turkmenistan
TRV
Turks and Caicos
eTA
Tuvalu
TRV
Uganda
TRV
Ukraine
TRV
United Arab Emirates
eTA
United Kingdom
eTA
United States of America
Neither (travel document required at border)
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
TRV
Vanuatu
TRV
Venezuela
TRV
Vietnam
TRV
Yemen
TRV
Zambia
TRV
Zimbabwe
TRV

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