Comprehensive Guide to Canada’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA)

What Is an Electronic Travel Authorization?

An eTA is an entry requirement for visa-exempt foreign nationals travelling to Canada by air. It is electronically linked to the passport used to apply.

An eTA is valid for up to five years, or until the passport expires, whichever comes first. If you get a new passport, you need a new eTA.

With a valid eTA you can travel to Canada as often as you like for short stays, normally up to six months at a time. You do not need an eTA for travel within Canada.

The fee is CAD $7 and you can only apply and pay for one person at a time.

Who Needs an eTA?

IRCC divides travellers into four groups.

Travellers who need an eTA

Visa-exempt foreign nationals flying to or transiting through a Canadian airport. They do not need an eTA when arriving by car, bus, train or boat, including a cruise ship.

One narrow exception is worth noting: travellers from an eTA-required country arriving by sea from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, other than on a cruise ship, do need an eTA to board.

Travellers who may apply for an eTA instead of a visa

Citizens of 17 select visa-required countries who meet IRCC’s conditions and are flying. The requirements are set out below.

Travellers who cannot apply for an eTA

Canadian citizens, including dual citizens, who need a valid Canadian passport; Canadian permanent residents, who need a PR card or permanent resident travel document; and visa-required travellers, stateless persons and alien’s passport holders, who need a visa.

Travellers exempt from the eTA requirement

US citizens, who must carry proper identification such as a valid US passport, and lawful permanent residents of the US, who must carry official proof of status plus a valid passport from their country of nationality.

eTA-Required Countries and Territories

Citizens of the countries and territories listed below need an eTA and a valid passport to board a flight to Canada. They do not need a visitor visa. The full list, together with the visa-required list, is set out in the tables that follow.

Because this list changes when Canada lifts or imposes visa requirements, confirm your own status with IRCC’s entry-requirements tool before booking.

Visa-Required Countries With Partial eTA Access

Seventeen visa-required countries have partial access to the eTA. Their citizens may apply for an eTA instead of a visitor visa, but only for air travel and only if they meet all three of the following requirements.

• They have held a Canadian visitor visa in the past 10 years, or hold a valid US non-immigrant visa on the day they apply for the eTA. The US visa must be valid when they apply, but not necessarily when they travel.
• They are coming to Canada for a temporary stay, normally up to six months.
• They are flying to or transiting through a Canadian airport on a passport from an eligible country.

The eligible countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay.

Indonesia and Malaysia were added on 26 May 2026 as part of Canada’s Indo-Pacific engagement. IRCC described the cohort as travellers already known to Canada or the United States through earlier screening.

Anyone from these countries who does not meet all three requirements needs a visitor visa. So does anyone arriving by car, bus, train or boat, including a cruise ship, even if they do not leave the ship.

Travellers who already hold a valid Canadian visa do not need an eTA and should keep travelling on that visa until it expires.

How to Apply for an eTA

Apply only on the official Government of Canada website. The form takes a few minutes and you will need your passport, a credit card and an email address.

• Complete the online form and pay the CAD $7 fee.
• Most applicants receive an approval email within minutes.
• Some requests take several days if IRCC asks for supporting documents, so apply before you book your flight.

Once approved, the eTA is linked to the passport you used. Present that passport at check-in, where airline staff will scan it to confirm a valid eTA. Without one, you will not be allowed to board.

Common Mistakes and Refusals

The single most common problem is an incorrect passport number. Use the number printed at the top of the photo page of your passport, and check that the number in your approval email matches your passport exactly.

If the numbers do not match, you must apply for a new eTA. The same applies if you renew your passport before travelling.

An approved eTA does not guarantee entry. On arrival you must satisfy a border services officer that you are admissible and that you will leave at the end of your authorised stay. Travellers with a criminal record, including for impaired driving, should resolve their admissibility before travelling.