Find out if you need an eTA or a visa to travel to Canada

Since August 2015, visa-exempt foreign nationals who fly to or transit through Canada need an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA). Exceptions include U.S. citizens and travellers with a valid visa.

Countries and territories whose citizens need an eTA to travel to Canada

Since August 2015, foreign nationals from the following countries need an eTA before boarding their flight to Canada:

Andorra
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
Austria
Bahamas
Barbados
Belgium
British citizen
Anguilla
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Falkland Islands
Gibraltar
Montserrat
Pitcairn Island
Saint Helena
Turks and Caicos Islands
Brunei Darussalam
Chile
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Federal Republic of Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Republic of Korea
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Papua New Guinea
Poland
Portugal
Samoa
San Marino
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
British overseas citizen who is re-admissible to the United Kingdom
British overseas territory citizen who derives that citizenship through birth, descent, naturalization or registration in one of the British overseas territories of:
Anguilla
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Falkland Islands
Gibraltar
Montserrat
Pitcairn Island
Saint Helena
Turks and Caicos Islands

Countries and territories whose citizens need a visa to travel to Canada

Note : Holders of Alien's passport and Stateless individuals need a visa to visit or transit in Canada.

Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Argentina
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burma (Myanmar)
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon, Republic of
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
China, People's Republic of
Colombia
Comoros
Congo, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Republic of
Costa Rica, Republic of
Cuba
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
East Timor
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Fiji
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Ghana
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Ivory Coast
Jamaica
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Korea, North
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Macao Special Administrative Region
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives Islands
Mali
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia, Fed. States
Moldova
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Palestinian Authority
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Qatar
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Sao Tomé e Principe
Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sri Lanka
St. Kitts and Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines (St. Vincent)
Sudan
Surinam
Swaziland
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Other foreign nationals who need an eTA to travel to Canada

Since August 2015, the following foreign nationals need an eTA before boarding their flight to Canada:
  • Persons who have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence (United States Permanent Residents).
  • Holder of a passport or travel document issued by the Holy See.
  • Holder of a national Israeli passport.
  • Holder of a passport issued by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.
  • Holder of a passport issued by the United Kingdom to a British National (Overseas), as a person born, naturalized or registered in Hong Kong.
  • Holder of a passport issued by the United Kingdom to a British Subject which contains the observation that the holder has the right of abode in the United Kingdom.
  • Holder of an ordinary passport issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan that includes the personal identification number of the individual. Note: Taiwanese citizens who hold a passport issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan that does not include their personal identification number need a visa to come to Canada.

eTA Exemptions

The following foreign nationals will be exempt from the eTA requirement:
  • 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 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.