A Canada eTA is an electronic travel authorization required for visa free air travel to Canada. An eTA application can be submitted online by completing an application form. It costs £49 per applicant.
Who require an eTA when visiting Canada?
Citizens of eligible countries require an eTA when traveling visa free to Canada by air. This requirement is inclusive of trips for the purposes of holiday, business, visiting friends and family, and transit to third countries. The requirement for an eTA also extends to underage travelers, even when they are accompanied by parents or guardians. However, those who are traveling on a visa, such as those traveling to study or work in Canada, are exempt from this requirement.
Eligible travelers
Citizens of the following countries must obtain an eTA when traveling visa free to a Canadian airport:
- Andorra
- Australia
- Austria
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belgium
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Chile
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Republic of Korea
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Mexico
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Papua New Guinea
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States (lawful permanent residents, i.e. those with a Green Card)
- Vatican City State
Being a citizen of an eligible country is not in and of itself a guarantee of an approval of your application. Other factors may also affect this decision, such as whether you can answer all the eligibility questions in a satisfactory way. Even in the unfortunate event that your eTA application is denied, you may still be able to apply for a Canadian visa through an embassy.
How long does it take to apply for an eTA?
You can complete the online application form within a few minutes. However, it may take up to 72 hours of processing time before you receive a response to your application. Remember that you need an approved eTA already when checking in on your flight. Hence we recommend that you apply as early as possible, in order to ensure that any delays in the issuance of your application does not affect your trip.
What is an eTA?
ETA is an abbreviation of Electronic Travel Authorization. A travel authorization is not an eVisa, but rather a pre-authorization of visa free travelers. In this way, travelers going to Canada can be screened in advance, and that those ineligible for entry into Canada are stopped before boarding. This way, arriving passengers have to spend less time in migration when entering the country, and those travelers who could risk facing deportation are now informed ahead of time, and have the option of apply for a visa instead.
The whole process is very simple for most travelers, and the vast majority of applicants receive their approval letter within the same hour they apply. Since an eTA is an electronic authorization, you are not required to bring any physical copies of your approval letter. Instead, your airline and the authorities can look up your eTA status solely based on your passport. Thus, you don’t have to bring anything else on your journey besides your passport.
What is the validity of an eTA?
Normally, an eTA is valid for a period of 5 years. However, this requires that your passport’s validity is the same. If your passport expires earlier, your eTA will expire simultaneously.
You can use your eTA as many times as you would like during it’s period of validity. But each visit to Canada may not last for longer than 6 months.
Traveling on an eTA
When traveling to Canada using an eTA, you also have to satisfy the following requirements:
- You must have a valid travel document, i.e. your passport.
- You must be in good health.
- You cannot have any criminal or immigration-related convictions.
- You must be able to prove that you have ties – i.e. a job, home, assets, family – that means you will return to your home country.
- You must be able to convince an immigration officer that you will leave after your visit.
- You must have sufficient money for your stay (the exact amount depends on whether you are staying at a hotel or with friends or family).
How to apply for an eTA
Applying for an eTA both fast and convenient. You just fill out the online application form, pay the application fees, and soon after you will receive your approval letter at the email address you provided in the form. Therefore, it is important that you make sure that the email address you provide is without typos, as you may otherwise miss the response to your application.
If you have any questions about the process or regarding your application, we are always glad to help. Simply send any queries you might have to our support email and one of our travel authorization specialists will help you out with your query.