eTA Canada requirements

Requirements of the eTA Canada

Before you apply for an eTA Canada, it is important to check if you meet all the requirements set to usage of the eTA. Do you meet the requirements? Then you can apply for an eTA online right away. Don’t meet the requirements? Then you might still be able to travel to Canada by making use of the visa for Canada.

The most important requirements of the eTA:

  • You are staying in Canada for a maximum of 6 consecutive months
  • Your trip has a tourist or business purpose, or you are visiting family/friends
  • You are not entering into employment with a Canadian organisation
  • You possess a British passport*
  • Your passport is still valid for the entirety of your stay in Canada
  • You have never committed a crime
  • You do not have any serious contagious diseases
  • You do not have a drug or alcohol addiction
  • You do not have untreated psychiatric problems

* Passport issued by the countries at the bottom of this list also meet the requirements of the eTA Canada.

Requirements passport for travelling with an eTA

Your passport also needs to meet a number of requirements to make use of the eTA. For instance, it has to be valid at least until you leave Canada again. It is important that you travel with the passport that was used to apply for the eTA. Do you wish to travel with a different passport, for example because the passport used during the application has (almost) expired? Then you need to apply for a new eTA with the passport that you want to use during your flight to Canada. Read more about this subject on the page about the passport requirements.

Exceptions to the eTA requirements

All travellers headed to Canada are required to apply for an eTA travel authorisation, except for the following exceptions:

  • Travellers that are not arriving by plane
  • Holders of a Canadian or American passport
  • Holders of a diplomatic passport
  • Holders of a Canadian visa
  • Cabin staff
  • Former citizens of Canada**

** Travellers that have lived in Canada in the pasts have most likely received the status of Canadian citizen, permanent resident, landed immigrant or immigrant reçu. Even if they do not live in Canada anymore, they still possess this old status according to the Canadian civil registry. An eTA cannot be applied for if you possess any of these statuses. To still travel, there are two options: cancel the old status and still apply for an eTA, or travel to Canada with a Canadian passport, a permanent resident card or a permanent resident travel document.

Travel to Canada

What if you do not meet the requirements?

If you do not qualify for an eTA travel authorisation, there are still a few ways to travel to Canada:

If you have never lived in Canada:

What if you do meet the requirements?

If you qualify for an eTA travel authorisation, you can apply for your eTA here:

In urgent need of an eTA? Start an urgent eTA application.

If you have ever lived in Canada:

  • You can apply for a Canadian passport
  • You can apply for a Permanent Resident Card
  • You can apply for a Permanent Resident Travel Document
  • You can renounce your (old) status in writing and apply for an eTA

Complete list of Countries

Aside from holders of a British passport, owners of passports from one of the following countries also meet the requirements for the eTA Canada:

  • Australia
  • Belgium
  • Chile
  • Denmark
  • Germany
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Ireland
  • Iceland
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Croatia
  • Latvia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • Monaco
  • The Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Austria
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Singapore
  • Slovania
  • Slovakia
  • Spain
  • Czech Republic
  • South Korea
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
Last changes on this page: 14 November 2019