Canada’s government is extending visa-free travel to a number of new nations in an effort to make travel there simpler, quicker, and less expensive.
13 more countries can now enter the nation without a visitor visa thanks to the electronic travel authorization (eTA) scheme.
The eTA, which is accessible through a straightforward online application, reduces waiting times from weeks to minutes and costs ten times less.
Online applications for Canada’s eTA are only $7 CAD (€5). Certain passport holders may use it to enter Canada for up to six-month business or vacation visits.
When flying into Canada, citizens of the 57 nations that do not require visas and the 10 British offshore territories must submit an eTA application. When coming by vehicle, bus, train, or boat, they do not require an eTA or a travel visa.
This list includes EU passport holders as well as residents of Iceland, Lichtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Switzerland, the Vatican City State, and the United Kingdom.
Up until today, Brazil was the only other nation except Canada that qualified for the eTA. This list has been grown by 13 more nations.
But there’s a catch: in order to be eligible for an eTA, applicants must either now hold a valid United States nonimmigrant visa or have previously held a Canadian visitor visa within the last ten years.
The 13 visa-required countries that can now take advantage of Canada’s eTA programme, alongside Brazil, include:
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
Thousands of tourists will be able to enter Canada more quickly, easily, and affordably because to the expansion of visa-free air travel, according to the Canadian government.
Canada’s visiting visa is 10 times more expensive than the eTA at $100 CAD (€70). You must upload several documents, together with your fingerprints and a photo, to the online application. You will need to send your passport when your application is accepted in order to obtain the visa. Typically, the entire procedure takes a few weeks.
In contrast, the eTA simply needs your passport information and payment information to complete a brief online application. This is then accepted through email in a matter of minutes.
Additionally, Canada thinks that expanding its eTA program to new nations will improve relations between nations while boosting tourism.