Canada: new electronic pre-clearance for visa waiver travellers
By Chris C., March 16 2016
Canada's new mandatory Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) system is now in force, with visitors under the Visa Waiver Program expected to obtain eTA clearance online, prior to travel.
Similar to the USA’s ESTA scheme, Australian passport holders visiting Canada for business or leisure must now register their passport and personal details via the Canadian Government's eTA website before checking-in for their flight.
There's a small CAD$7 (A$7.02) charge attached per application which can be paid online by Visa, MasterCard and American Express, with the eTA then valid for up to five years or until your passport expires – whichever comes first – and an unlimited number of trips during that period.
Clearance to fly is typically given within minutes and separate applications aren’t required for business and leisure travel: so if you obtain an eTA through your employer to cover the odd Canuck business trip, you can use that same eTA should you visit again on holiday.
The Canadian Government's website highlights that "as of March 15, 2016, visa-exempt foreign nationals are expected to have an eTA to fly to or transit through Canada," but there are also provisions for those more forgetful.
"Until fall (September-November) 2016, you can board your flight without an eTA, as long as you have appropriate travel documents such as a valid passport. During this time, border services officers can let you enter the country as long as you meet the other requirements to enter Canada."
eTAs are also only required for passengers arriving by air – not for those crossing at land borders or on cruise ships – nor are they required for citizens of Canada, the United States or holders of Canadian work or study visas.
Individual applications must be submitted for each traveller regardless of age, including children, and if your itinerary includes a stop in the United States, you’ll also need to complete an ESTA application as the schemes aren’t interchangeable.
For more information, head to the official eTA website.
More on visas and international travel:
- Visa-free entry to the USA – what you need to know about ESTA
- Government loosens the rules for APEC business travel cards
- China: visa-free stopovers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou
- How frequent flyers can get fast-lane access at Hong Kong airport
- Automated departure SmartGates coming to Sydney Airport
- Indian visa applications to become more tedious
- What the 'Schengen Area' means for your European business trip
Follow Australian Business Traveller on Twitter – we're @AusBT
Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
18 May 2011
Total posts 233
Interesting how it is for flights only - land and sea entry don't require the same procedure.
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 1029
US ESTA is air travel only. Land crossing still require the old I94W green form and payment of the $9 USVISIT fee.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
18 May 2011
Total posts 233
Did't know that!
07 Oct 2012
Total posts 1250
Are you sure about the I94W form for land crossings? I didn't need one last year and certainly didn't see anywhere for you to go in and fill one in.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
18 May 2011
Total posts 233
That's what it was like for me the last time I went between Mexico-US and Canda-US; just walk through, nothing to do.
However, that was a long time ago.
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 1029
07 Oct 2012
Total posts 1250
Yeah well, I certainly didn't leave my car or fill in a form when crossing into ND last Nov.
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 1029
That's odd. Every time I've crossed into the US by land, Amtrak bus and train crossings BC>WA, I've had to fill in the form.
The time I got the bus, it pulled up at the Blaine crossing, everyone got off with bags for CBP processing inside. I was the first off the bus and last back on because I was the only one who had to fill in paperwork (everyone else on the bus was American or Candian and exempt).
On the train, paperwork and customs checks were completed in Vancouver and the train stopped on the border for CBP to get on and take forms/stamp passports.
12 Oct 2011
Total posts 23
It's been years since I've had to fill in the form. Crossing via train, bus, and walking across several checkpoints from Canada to the US since 2012, forms have not been necessary. I've noted the CBP website does state that they are required, but that's not been my experience in practice for quite some time now.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
19 Nov 2011
Total posts 243
Seems like this pre-registration before entering is happening slowly to countries.
Australia, US, Canada, India, Turkey (I think), some ex-Soviet Countries,
United Airlines - Mileage Plus
20 Dec 2013
Total posts 31
1. I fly from MEL-LAX-ANC
2. I cruise from ANC-Vancouver. On the way I drive a car from Skagway (USA) into Canada on a day trip, then back to Skagway. Will I need a Canadian eTA?
3. I have completed the US ETA online which has been approved. Will I need any paperwork to renter the USA on my way back to Skagway?
4. At end of cruise in Vancouver I depart from YVR-LAX-MEL. Will I need a Canadian eTA to enter at Vancouver and go to the YVR airport?
United Airlines - Mileage Plus
20 Dec 2013
Total posts 31
ESTA that is.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 May 2011
Total posts 362
You only need to apply if you are ARRIVING by air. So in this case you don't need a eTA.
QF
04 Apr 2014
Total posts 209
It's deferred 6 months because of a lack of prior information and advertising. Says he sitting in Ottawa having flown in Saturday from the US. It's also not required at all for US citizens, regardless of how the get here.
05 Oct 2011
Total posts 195
HOW might this apply to APEC Card holders?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Aug 2014
Total posts 501
Everything is starting to get complicated!!!
06 Dec 2017
Total posts 1
To add, if you don't need a visa or you only require an ETA, then it’s possible to do it from anywhere you have a computer.
Applying for a visa is also mostly done online on the website https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/eta.asp. You need to fill out an application, and then the system will tell you which VAC (visa center) to send your passport to. I tried my best to do it in person in NYC, but I've been told that Canada now doesn't maintain active consular staff to process visas (even Detroit and Buffalo border consulates are closed), and all your documents are only received by the designated VACs and then sent further to Canada. Each VAC covers a specific area of the United States, and residents of different states can only send their documents to specified consulates. I'm one of those poor souls that needed one to enter until recently. The whole process took about 10–12 days, and this is a timeline given that my visa took only one day to be approved, the remainder of days my passport spent traveling between Canadian officials (they do give you a tracker, that's how I know).
With this in mind, it should be simple enough to apply for a visa if you're a resident (temporary or permanent) of a specific state, and you can prove your residency. If you're a third country national on a tourist visa, you might want to call the VAC you're planning to apply from to confirm that you're allowed to do so.
Don't forget that you have to apply for Canadian visitor visa with the Canadian embassy website https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/eta.asp, this way is cheaper than using some visa services such as https://etacanadaonline.com/.
You may not need a visa if you are from visa exempt country.
I hope it is helpful information.
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