Canadian immigration program
Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA)
An Electronic Travel Authorization is the pre-screening a visa-exempt foreign national needs before flying to Canada. It is tied to the traveller’s passport and turns on admissibility rather than a full visa assessment. The requirements below are quoted from the official IRCC source and link back to it.
Sources on this page last verified Jul 16, 2026.
Eligibility criteria
The requirements below are drawn directly from the governing regulation and IRCC program guidance for Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA). Each is anchored to the verbatim source text, not a paraphrase, so you can read the rule as it is written and follow it to the official page.
“one of the following acceptable methods of payment to pay the $7 CAD fee (non-refundable): - Visa®, Mastercard®, American Express®, - a pre-paid Visa®, Mastercard® or American Express®, - Visa Debit, or Debit Mastercard, - UnionPay®, or - JCB Card®.”
“To apply, you must have a valid passport, a credit or debit card and an email address, and you must answer a few questions in the online application.”
“You must convince the officer that you’re eligible for entry to Canada.”
“You need an electronic travel authorization (eTA) and a valid passport to board your flight to Canada if you’re a citizen of any of the eTA-required countries.”
“if you’re travelling by sea from Saint Pierre-et-Miquelon (excluding cruise ships), you need an eTA to board your boat.”
“You may be eligible to apply for an eTA (instead of a visitor visa) if you’re a citizen of select visa-required countries and you’re travelling to Canada by air.”
“citizens of Indonesia and Malaysia who meet certain requirements may be eligible to apply for an eTA instead of a visitor visa, to travel to Canada by air.”
“Foreign nationals living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Uganda can’t travel to Canada as of May 27, 2026.”
“convince a border services officer that you will leave Canada at the end of your visit”
“have no criminal or immigration-related convictions”
“one of the following acceptable methods of payment to pay the $7 CAD fee (non-refundable):”
“have enough money for your stay”
“convince a border services officer that you have ties—such as a job, home, financial assets or family—that will take you back to your home country”
“You need an official proof of status as a lawful permanent resident of the U.S.”
“have a valid eTA or visitor visa”
“a valid passport from a visa-exempt country”
“have a valid travel document, such as a passport”
Documents and eligibility gates
Every requirement below is quoted verbatim from the official source and linked back to it. Navisa reads and cites the governing text rather than restating a document name from memory. This is a reference summary, not immigration advice, and it does not replace review by a licensed RCIC.
Eligibility gate
“Visitor/eTA routing requires nationality / visa-exempt status facts.”
Eligibility gateselect_visa_required_countries
“You may be eligible to apply for an eTA (instead of a visitor visa) if you’re a citizen of select visa-required countries and you’re travelling to Canada by air.”
Eligibility gate
“Foreign nationals living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Uganda can’t travel to Canada as of May 27, 2026.”
Eligibility gateeta_required_countries
“You need an electronic travel authorization (eTA) and a valid passport to board your flight to Canada if you’re a citizen of any of the eTA-required countries.”
Eligibility gate
“have no criminal or immigration-related convictions”
Eligibility gateeta_required_countries
“if you’re travelling by sea from Saint Pierre-et-Miquelon (excluding cruise ships), you need an eTA to board your boat.”
Eligibility gate
“one of the following acceptable methods of payment to pay the $7 CAD fee (non-refundable): - Visa®, Mastercard®, American Express®, - a pre-paid Visa®, Mastercard® or American Express®, - Visa Debit, or Debit Mastercard, - UnionPay®, or - JCB Card®.”
Eligibility gate
“a valid passport from a visa-exempt country”
Eligibility gateeta
“To apply, you must have a valid passport, a credit or debit card and an email address, and you must answer a few questions in the online application.”
Eligibility gate
“one of the following acceptable methods of payment to pay the $7 CAD fee (non-refundable):”
Eligibility gateus_lawful_permanent_residents
“You need an official proof of status as a lawful permanent resident of the U.S.”
Required document
“foreign passport with an unexpired temporary I-551 stamp (also known as an Alien Documentation, Identification and Telecommunication [ADIT] stamp)”
Required document
“American-Canadians can travel with a valid Canadian or U.S. passport.”
Required documentdual_canadian_citizens
“Dual Canadian citizens need a Canadian passport”
Required document
“If you’re a dual Canadian citizen, you must travel with a valid Canadian passport.”
Required documentus_lawful_permanent_residents
“expired permanent resident card (Form I-551) with Form I-797 (Notice of Action) for pending Form I-751 (Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence)”
Required document
“expired permanent resident card (Form I-551) with Form I-797 (Notice of Action) for pending Form I-751 (Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence) or Form I-829 (Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status)”
Required documentus_lawful_permanent_residents
“expired permanent resident card (Form I-551) with Form I-797 (Notice of Action) for pending Form I-829 (Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status)”
Required document
“expired permanent resident card (Form I-551) with Form I-797 (Notice of Action) for pending Form I-90 (Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card [Green Card])”
Required documentpost_submit_review
“You may need to submit documents before your application can be approved.”
Required documentus_lawful_permanent_residents
“foreign passport with a temporary I-551 printed notation (“Upon endorsement serves as temporary I-551 evidencing permanent residence for 1 year”) on a machine-readable immigrant visa upon endorsement with a U.S. Customs and Border Protection admission stamp”
Required document
“valid re-entry permit (Form I-327)”
Required document
“valid permanent resident card (Form I-551)”
Required document
“Form I-94 with an unexpired temporary I-551 stamp (ADIT stamp) and a passport-style photo”
Required document
“foreign passport with a temporary I-551 printed notation ("Upon endorsement serves as temporary I-551 evidencing permanent residence for 1 year") on a machine-readable immigrant visa upon endorsement with a U.S. Customs and Border Protection admission stamp”
Required document
“You need an electronic travel authorization (eTA) and a valid passport to board your flight to Canada if you’re a citizen of any of the eTA-required countries.”
Required document
“You still need a valid passport.”
Required documentidentity
“You will need a valid passport from a visa-exempt country.”
Required document
“To apply, you must have a valid passport, a credit or debit card and an email address, and you must answer a few questions in the online application.”
Required document
“one of the following acceptable methods of payment to pay the $7 CAD fee (non-refundable): - Visa®, Mastercard®, American Express®, - a pre-paid Visa®, Mastercard® or American Express®, - Visa Debit, or Debit Mastercard, - UnionPay®, or - JCB Card®.”
Required document
“you must travel with a valid permanent resident card or permanent resident travel document”
Required documentcanadian_permanent_residents
“You don’t need an eTA or a visitor visa if you’re a Canadian permanent resident. However, you must travel with a valid permanent resident card or permanent resident travel document.”
Required document
“U.S. citizens are exempt from the eTA requirement and must carry proper identification such as a valid U.S. passport.”
Required document
“a valid passport from their country of nationality (or an equivalent acceptable travel document) and a valid green card (or equivalent valid proof of status in the United States)”
Required documentus_lpr_travel_status
“Lawful permanent residents of the United States are exempt from the eTA requirement and must show a valid passport and a valid green card or equivalent valid proof of status in the United States.”
Required document
“have a valid eTA or visitor visa”
Required documentus_lawful_permanent_residents
“lawful permanent residents of the United States are also exempt from the eTA requirement and must show these documents for all methods of travel to Canada: a valid passport from their country of nationality (or an equivalent acceptable travel document) and a valid green card (or equivalent valid proof of status in the United States)”
Required document
“have a valid travel document, such as a passport”
Recent policy changes affecting this program
Navisa has not tagged a recent tracked change to Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA). The policy tracker carries every IRCC policy change we detect, dated and cited to its official source.
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Navisa is an AI file-prep engine for Canadian immigration firms. It reads the documents on a file, cross-checks them, runs the eligibility analysis against retrieved official sources, and flags what an officer would — citations attached. It does not replace the judgment of a licensed immigration professional; a consultant reviews and approves the work.
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