13 additional countries are now welcomed to a visa free entry into Canada from today’s announcement given by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Sean Fraser. If a visitor from the new list of eligible countries has held a Canadian visa in the past 10 years or presently holds a valid United States non-immigrant visa, they can now apply for an eTA instead of a visa when traveling to Canada.
As of right now, eligible visitors from the following nations may take use of the program:
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Costa Rica
- Morocco
- Panama
- Philippines
- St. Kitts and Nevis
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Seychelles
- Thailand
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Uruguay
People who already hold a valid visa can still enter Canada using it. If a person is not eligible for an eTA or plans to enter Canada by land, sea, or boat, including a cruise ship, they will still require a Canadian visitor visa. This introduction of visa-free air travel for those eligible will only make Canada’s tourism stronger and help improve processing times for other applications by easing the workload brought on by current visa applications. With these changes it will make the trip to Canada for those now eligible, quicker, simpler, and more economical.
What is an eTA?
eTA or The Electronic Travel Authorization or is a digital system available for a group of countries which assures that the Canadian Government has all your details before your arrival. If you want to apply for an eTA, you need to be eligible and meet the requirements.
