Visa exempted overseas nationals who visit or transit through Canada would now require an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) from 15th March 2016. This latest requirement is an outcome of the Canada-US Economic Competitiveness and Perimeter Security Action Plan, which needs Canada and the US to set up the general approach for screening the visa exempted overseas citizens before they travel. As the outcome of the changes to the immigration laws, the latest eTA requirements become effective on 15th March 2016.
The entire visa exempted overseas citizens who visit Canada or transits through it would need an eTA. The list of the visa exempt nations whose citizens would need an Eta is mentioned on the website of Canadian Immigration and Citizenship (CIC).
Citizens from the US does not require an eTA for visit to Canada or transiting through it, but all the legal permanent residents of the US should get an eTA when visiting Canada or transit through it.
Applying and getting an eTA would be done online, the tourist should log on the website of CIC, complete the form and should also pay $7 as processing fee. Tourists who apply for an eTA would get an email from the CIC which displays the status of their application. The tourist does not require to print the status confirmation as the eTA would be electronically linked to the tourist’s passport.
eTA would be valid for five years and the visa exempted overseas nationals who submit their application for work permit or study permit of Canada would automatically be considered for an eTA. And those individuals wont required submitting an application separately.
CIC expects that many of the travelers would get a status confirmation within minutes and some applicants might require more time to process their application. Individuals should also note that the eTA do not guarantee entry in Canada.
