Visa policy of Canada

A foreign national wishing to enter Canada must obtain a temporary resident visa from one of the Canadian diplomatic missions unless he or she holds a passport issued by one of the 51 eligible visa exempt countries and territories or proof of permanent residence in the United States.^[1]

All visa exempt travelers except Americans to Canada are required to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) when arriving Canada by air since 10 November 2016.^[2][3] Travelers were able to apply early as of 1 August 2015.^[4]

Applications of visitor visas, work permits, study permits and certain types of permanent residency can be lodged online.^[5]

Visa policy map

  Canada

  Countries with visa-free access to Canada
(eTA required when arriving by air, except for United States nationals)

  Electronic Travel Authorization required
(eTA available for citizens who have held a Canadian visa in the last 10 years or who hold a valid United States non-immigrant visa when arriving by air)

  Visa required for entry to Canada

Visa exemptions

Holders of passports issued by the following countries and territories are able to visit Canada without obtaining a visa for a period of up to six months. They are required to obtain an eTA if they arrive by air, except for U.S. nationals and citizens of France residing in Saint Pierre and Miquelon arriving directly from the territory, who are exempt from the eTA requirement. Nationals of certain countries must arrive by air when not holding a Canadian visa.^[6]

Visitors are eligible if they are in good health, can convince an immigration officer that they have ties (job, home, financial assets or family) that will take them back to their home country and have enough money for their stay.^[7] In some cases a medical exam or a letter of invitation may be required.^[8]

All European Union citizens1 2 3  Andorra  Australia  Bahamas  Barbados  Brazil4  Brunei  Chile  Hong Kong5  Iceland  Israel6  Japan  Liechtenstein  Mexico  Monaco  New Zealand  Norway  Papua New Guinea  Samoa  San Marino  Singapore  Solomon Islands  South Korea   Switzerland  Taiwan7  United States8   Vatican City

Notes

1. ^ – citizens of Bulgaria and Romania require a visa unless they hold a valid non-immigrant U.S. visa or if they have held a Canadian visa in the past 10 years and travel by air. They may not enter Canada by land or sea unless holding a valid visa.^[9]
2. ^ – French citizens residing in Saint Pierre and Miquelon and arriving directly from the territory do not require an eTA.
3. ^ – including British citizens holding Guernsey passport, Manx passport or Jersey passport; British Overseas Territories citizens holding Anguillan passport, Bermudian passport, British Virgin Islands passport, Caymanian passport, Gibraltar passport, Montserratian passport, Pitcairn Islands passport, Saint Helena passport or Turks and Caicos Islands passport; British National (Overseas) holding British National (Overseas) passport; and if having the right of abode in the UK — British Overseas citizens holding British Overseas citizen passport and British subjects holding British subject passport.
4. ^ - visa free travel for Brazilian citizens who hold a valid non-immigrant U.S. visa or who have held a Canadian visa in the past 10 years when arriving by air only.^[9] They may not enter Canada by land or sea unless holding a valid visa.
5. ^ – visa free travel for holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports only.
6. ^ – visa free travel for holders of national Israeli passports only.
7. ^ – visa free travel only for holders of the ordinary passport issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan that includes their national identification number.
8. ^ – Including persons lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence who are in possession of their U.S. Permanent Resident Card (Green card) or can provide other valid evidence of permanent residence. U.S. nationals can enter with any proof of citizenship. U.S permanent residents, however, are required to have an eTA with a valid passport, U.S. Re-entry Permit or U.S. Refugee Travel Document.^[10]

Date of visa changes
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. unknown: Andorra, Barbados, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Liehtinshtein, Monaco, Papua New Guinean, Portugal, Samoa, San Marino, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Spain, Switzerland, Vatican[11] Australian, British, French, Irish, New Zealand and United States citizens have never needed a visa to gain access to Canada[12] Visa policy of Canada on March 1978   Canada   Visa free access 1949: Sweden[13] 1949: Netherlands[14] 1949: Denmark[15] 1949: Luxembourg[16] 1949: Belgium[17] 1 April 1950: Norway[18] 9 November 1952: Italy[19] 1956: Austria[20] 1958: Finland[21] 17 October 1962: Iceland[22] 9 March 1984: Israel[23] 1 November 1984: Brunei[24] 1 May 1994: South Korea[25] 1 August 1995: Slovenia[26] 27 September 2006: Estonia[27] 31 October 2007 Latvia[28] 29 February 2008: Hungary (resumed), Lithuania,[29] Poland[30] and Slovakia[31] 28 March 2009: Croatia[32] 22 November 2010: Taiwan[33] 14 November 2013: Czech Republic[34] (resumed) 22 November 2014: Chile[35] (resumed) 1 December 2016: Mexico[36] Cancelled: South Africa 28 September 1978: Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana and Uganda[37] 20 December 1979: Chile[38] (was resumed on 1 February 1995)[39] 25 September 1980: Haiti[40] 15 October 1981: India[41] 7 September 1983: Bangladesh and Sri Lanka[42] 14 March 1984: Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica and Peru[43] 21 November 1985: Dominican Republic[44] 17 July 1986: Portugal[45] (was resumed) 7 January 1987: Gambia, Sierra Leone, Mauritius, Tanzania, Turkey[46][47] 6 July 1987: Brazil[48] 18 September 1987: Bolivia and Honduras[49] 4 December 1987: Fiji[50] 7 September 1988: Panama[51] 28 November 1988: Nicaragua[52] 11 December 1988: Trinidad and Tobago[53] 6 August 1990: Argentina and Kenya[54] 16 May 1991: Tonga[55] 4 May 1992: Belize, Lesotho, Malawi, Paraguay, Seychelles, Surinam, Uruguay and Zambia[56] 1 August 1995: Venezuela[57] 5 June 1996: Chile[58][59] (was resumed in 2014) 8 October 1997: Czech Republic[60][61] (was resumed in 2013) 5 December 2001: Dominica, Grenada, Hungary[62][63] (was resumed in 2008), Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu, Vanuatu,[64] Zimbabwe[65] 5 September 2002: Saudi Arabia[66][67] 24 September 2002: Malaysia[68] 11 May 2004: Costa Rica[69] 13 July 2009: Mexico[70] (was resumed in 2016) 13 September 2012: Botswana, Namibia,[71] Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Swaziland[72] 22 November 2014: Saint Kitts and Nevis[73] 27 June 2017: Antigua and Barbuda[74]

Allowed stay

On entry, Canada Border Services Officer (BSO) stamp passports or travel documents and visitors are granted a stay of 6 months from the date of entry. If a specific date was written on the stamp, however, the visitor must leave Canada before that date.^[75][76] Visitors wishing to extend their status date must apply 30 days before it expires.^[77]

Inclusion criteria

In order to be added to the visa waiver list a country has to fulfill about 40 conditions, grouped into seven categories:^[78]

• socio-economic conditions
• immigration issues
• travel document integrity
• safety and security issues
• border management
• human rights issues
• bilateral considerations.

The decision is made by analyzing all of the criteria in an overall review instead of a checklist so there is a certain level of flexibility.

Electronic Travel Authorization

In December 2013, the Canadian government announced intention to introduce a system named Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA), similar to the U.S. Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), as part of an action plan to establish a common approach to screening visa-exempt foreign nationals.^[79] The Privacy Commissioner of Canada expressed concern over the plan.^[80]

An eTA is mandatory for all visa-free eligible nationals except Americans arriving by air since 10 November 2016. Travellers were able to apply early as of August 1, 2015. An eTA is not necessary for overland entry or entry by sea, but solely for arriving by air.^[81]

Visitors can apply through the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website and are required to pay a cost recovery fee of C$7.^[82] Visitors have to provide biographic details, passport and background information that is otherwise required in visa applications. Other required data includes information on additional citizenship, available funds, employment information and contact details including residential address. Applicants also have to answer questions about their health, immigration history and on any convictions they may have. There are no questions on travel plans in Canada.^[83] Following a risk assessment of the applicant, an eTA valid for multiple entries to Canada over a period of up to five years or until the passport's expiration date should be issued.

Exemptions

The following persons are exempted from obtaining the eTA:^[6]

• French citizens who reside in Saint Pierre and Miquelon and enter Canada directly from the territory;
• holders of Canadian visas;
• visitors, students or workers who only visit the United States or St. Pierre and Miquelon, provided that they return to Canada before the period of their authorized stay expires;
• crew members;
• visiting armed force members from a designated state;
• holders of diplomatic acceptances;
• members of the British royal family;
• persons who are conducting inspections of the flight operation procedures or cabin safety of a commercial air carrier operating international flights and holding valid documentations.

In addition, persons on a flight that originates from or travels to the United States and stops in Canada for refuelling do not need an eTA, nor do those on a flight that has made an emergency landing in Canada.

The following persons are barred from applying the eTA:

• Canadian citizens;
• U.S. citizens and nationals;

• permanent residents of Canada (including those who have not formally renounced their permanent residency).^[84]

Dual Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada

A Canadian citizen who also has citizenship or nationality of a visa-exempt country (except United States) and does not have a valid Canadian passport are barred from applying for an eTA and are required to enter Canada with a Canadian passport when arriving in Canada by air. However, those who have a flight to Canada in 10 days and meet the requirements can apply for a one-time special authorization online, which is valid for a maximum of 4 days from the applicants' travel starting date and a single entry to Canada. To be eligible, the person must meet one of the following requirements:^[85]

• have previously held a Canadian passport;
• have received a certificate of Canadian citizenship; or,
• have been granted Canadian citizenship after becoming a permanent resident.

The special authorization does not apply to Canadian citizens who do not meet the requirements, or those who are entering Canada by land or sea. As U.S. passport holders are not required to apply for an eTA under any circumstances, this measure also does not apply to them, and they can continue to travel to Canada with their U.S. passports by air even if they do not have a Canadian passport.^[85]

Permanent residents of Canada from visa-exempt countries are also barred from applying for an eTA and must travel with their valid PR card or a one-time permanent resident travel document (PRTD) when travelling to Canada by air unless holding a U.S. passport.^[86] Those without valid PR cards or PRTDs are not allowed to board a flight to Canada and, if they no longer wish to maintain their PR status of Canada, must renounce the status in order to be eligible for an eTA.^[84] Alternatively, they may enter Canada by land or sea.

Future expansion

The Canadian government plans to expand the eTA scheme to all citizens of Bulgaria and Romania (regardless of previous visits to Canada or the U.S.) starting from 1 December 2017.^[9]

Transit

In general, a foreign national who needs to transit through Canada to reach his or her final destination needs a transit visa, unless they fulfill one of the conditions listed below.^[87]

A plan was announced in 2015 to allow all passengers to transit without a visa through the Vancouver International Airport.^[88] As of March 2017, the plan has not been implemented.

Visa-exempt nationals

Nationals of visa-exempt countries and U.S. permanent residents are eligible to transit through Canada without a visa regardless of final destination and modes of transport, however all visa-exempt nationals except Americans are required to have an eTA for transit if arriving by air.^[2]

Brazilian, Bulgarian and Romanian citizens may transit through Canada without a visa only when holding a valid eTA and arriving by air if they meet the requirements for an eTA.^[9]

Special waivers for travellers to and from the United States

The Transit Without Visa Program (TWOV) and the China Transit Program (CTP) allow certain non-visa-exempt nationals to transit through Canada on their way to and from the United States without a Canadian transit visa. To be eligible, they must fulfill the following criteria:^[1][89]

• hold a U.S. visa,
• travel on an approved airline (Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge, Air China, Cathay Pacific, China Southern, Hainan Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Westjet as well as Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz Air, Sky Regional Airlines and Air Georgian only; codeshare flights operated by a company not in the list are not eligible),
• transit through a participating Canadian international airport (Only includes Vancouver International Airport, Calgary International Airport or Terminal 1 of Toronto Pearson International Airport),
• clear U.S. immigration and customs at the airport during the CBP's preclearance operating hours on the same calendar day, if arriving from outside the U.S. There are no time limitations for passengers arriving from the U.S. as long as they leave Canada on the same calendar day.

In addition, passengers must remain in the sterile international transit area when arriving from the U.S., or the post-preclearance area when arriving from a third country and have cleared U.S. immigration and customs. Leaving the designated area is not permitted.

When travelling to the U.S., the passenger must hold a valid, unexpired U.S. visa in order to clear U.S. immigration and customs. However, an expired U.S. visa is acceptable for transit when travelling from the U.S. to a third country if the passenger has not overstayed the authorized period in the U.S. and is not under a removal or deportation order.

Nationals of the following countries are eligible for TWOV:^[90]

•  Indonesia
•  Philippines
•  Taiwan (including those who do not qualify for the visa exemption)
•  Thailand

For CTP, the travellers must hold the Chinese passport and leave from airports of one of the following cities as last points of embarkation when travelling to the U.S.: Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Manila, Seoul Incheon, Taipei, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo Haneda, Tokyo Narita, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Chengdu, Shenyang and Harbin. There are no point of embarkation restrictions when the passenger is travelling from the U.S. to a third country.^[91]

Extension of stay for temporary residents

Persons with temporary resident status in Canada can apply to extend their stay by filling an application at least 30 days before their authorized periods of stay expire.^[92][93][77]

Persons affected by the U.S. Presidential executive order

On 31 January 2017, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Ahmed Hussen, enacted a public policy to aid individuals in Canada who are affected by Executive Order 13769 and who have made travel plans while holding applicable documents to travel to the U.S. Those people can apply for temporary resident status or extend their status as a temporary resident of Canada. Persons applying under the public policy can apply for urgent processing and can have their application fee waived.^[94]

Types of temporary residents and Canadian visas

Types of temporary residents

Under Canadian government definitions, a temporary resident, as opposed to a permanent resident, is "a foreign national who is legally authorized to enter Canada for temporary purposes".^[95] Temporary residents are subjected to a number of conditions, such as the length of stay, and the ability to work or study while in Canada.

There are four types of temporary residents:

• Visitors,
• Students,
• Temporary foreign workers (TFWs),
• Temporary resident permit (TRP) holders.

Except for visitors who may enter Canada with proof of citizenship, an eTA or a temporary resident visa depending on their nationality, all other temporary residents must hold valid permits while in Canada, which must be applied before arrival, on arrival or after arrival. They may also need an eTA or a temporary resident visa in order to re-enter Canada.^[96]

Study permit on arrival

Holders of passports issued by Greenland and the United States, permanent residents of the United States, and French citizens residing in St. Pierre and Miquelon are eligible to apply for a study permit on arrival if holding sufficient documentations.^[97]

NAFTA professionals

Nationals of Mexico and the United States whose professions are covered under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are able to apply for a work permit on arrival.^[98]

Working holiday

Canada's working holiday scheme, International Experience Canada (IEC), provides non-Canadian citizens the opportunity to work in Canada as TFWs on an IEC work permit.^[99] IEC is divided into three tiers:^[100]

• Working Holiday,
• Young Professionals,
• International Co-op Internship.

Depending on the agreements with the respective countries, non-Canadian citizens may be eligible to participate in all three tiers, or one or two tiers out of the three. To be eligible, they have to be a citizen of the following countries within the age limit:

Australia  Austria  Belgium  Chile  Costa Rica  Croatia  Czech Republic  Denmark  Estonia  France  Germany

Greece  Hong Kong  Ireland  Italy  Japan  Latvia  Lithuania  Mexico  Netherlands  Norway  New Zealand

Poland  Slovakia  Slovenia  South Korea  Spain  Sweden   Switzerland  Taiwan  Ukraine  United Kingdom

Nationals other than those countries can still participate through a Recognized Organization (RO).^[101]

Temporary resident visa

Citizens of the majority of countries need a temporary resident visa to enter Canada. They need to apply either online or on paper at one of the Canadian Visa application centres (run by VFS Global) or a consular office.^[102][103] There are no separate application forums for business visitors.^[104][105]

Canada has introduced a program known as CAN+ for visitors of some countries who have been to Canada in the last 10 years or who possess a valid U.S. visa. When applying through CAN+, the applicant only needs to submit his or her proof of travel to U.S. or Canada and can submit fewer proof of financial support. The program is only available at certain visa offices or for nationals of certain countries.^{[105][106][107][108][109][110]}

Parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents can apply for the parent and grandparent super visa which allows them to stay for up to two years in Canada without renewing their status.^[111]

Citizens of the following 29 countries, as of December 2013, also must provide biometrics (fingerprints and photograph):^[112]

Afghanistan  Albania  Algeria  Bangladesh  Cambodia  Colombia  DR Congo  Egypt  Eritrea  Haiti

Iran  Iraq  Jamaica  Jordan  Laos  Lebanon  Libya  Myanmar  Nigeria  Pakistan

Palestine  Saudi Arabia  Somalia  South Sudan  Sri Lanka  Sudan  Syria  Tunisia  Vietnam  Yemen

The list is expected to be extended to 148 countries.^[113][114]

Number of tourist visas issued:^[115]

Year	Number of visas
2012	663,911
2013	685,923
2014	834,362
2015	919,761
2016	1,028,834

Most visitor visas in 2016 were issued to the nationals of following countries:^[116]

Application from	Issued visas
China	350,940
India	148,193
Mexico	74,767
Brazil	61,571
Philippines	34,889
Iran	16,752
Pakistan	15,638
Nigeria	15,529
Vietnam	15,013
Indonesia	14,555

Arrival statistics

Most visitors arriving to Canada were from the following countries of nationality:^{[117][118][119]}

Country/Territory	2016	2015	2014	2013
United States	01 23,895,385	01 22,057,860	01 20,345,412	01 20,435,329
United Kingdom	02 850,841	02 733,280	02 695,787	02 663,219
China	03 624,865	03 511,234	04 471,823	04 365,314
France	04 552,109	04 507,627	03 490,185	03 465,548
Germany	05 381,837	05 343,716	05 341,416	05 322,419
Australia	06 352,345	06 307,123	06 300,844	06 279,936
Japan	07 322,220	07 294,934	07 277,305	07 238,474
South Korea	08 254,759	09 204,741	09 183,770	08 158,523
Mexico	09 252,218	08 204,756	10 180,052	09 156,856
India	10 225,121	10 200,094	08 185,888	10 154,409
Hong Kong	11 158,475	11 152,624	11 141,852	11 133,453
Italy	12 138,114	12 128,422	12 125,935	13 100,795
Netherlands	13 136,784	13 120,504	14 106,585	14 100,233
Switzerland	14 131,901	14 118,202	13 116,358	12 110,303
Brazil	15 115,004	15 113,242	15 100,947	15 — 94,555
Taiwan	16 102,629	17 76,124	17 72,436	17 64,036
Spain	17 90,749	16 76,212	18 68,716	19 56,657
Israel	18 75,638	18 71,361	19 66,529	18 62,806
Belgium	19 70,704	20 60,479	20 55,715	20 52,457
Philippines	20 70,644	19 65,409	16 75,746	16 67,401
New Zealand	21 62,118	21 56,622	21 53,186	21 50,809
Sweden	22 51,173	22 43,762	22 43,854	22 40,679
Denmark	23 47,155	23 41,612	23 40,652	23 36,597
Singapore	24 37,702	24 35,370	24 36,511	24 35,689
Jamaica	25 32,915	25 30,340	25 29,553	25 27,805
Trinidad and Tobago	26 25,229	26 23,737	27 22,917	26 24,809
Portugal	27 24,160	27 23,579	26 24,787	27 23,750
Malaysia	28 14,233	29 13,450	28 13,543	29 12,681
Greece	29 13,984	28 13,834	29 12,693	28 12,783
Total	30 30,142,291	30 27,554,943	30 25,558,014	30 25,167,015

Visa policy changes

Canada's visa policy has gone through a number of changes in the recent years. In 1984, citizens of 76 countries could travel to Canada without a visa.^[120] The number of countries has now dropped to 52.

On 5 September 2002, visa restrictions were reintroduced for Saudi Arabian citizens travelling to Canada because "Saudi Arabia has not demonstrated the necessary will nor that it possesses the infrastructure to deny the use of its passports to terrorists, criminals or other inadmissible persons".^[121]

On 24 September 2002, visa restrictions were reintroduced for Malaysian citizens travelling to Canada because "the Malaysian passport and passport issuing system are vulnerable to abuse".^[122][123]

On 11 May 2004, visa restrictions were reintroduced for Costa Rican citizens travelling to Canada because the "number of Costa Rican nationals travelling to Canada to claim refugee protection or to enter the United States illegally, using Canada as a transit point, continues to grow" and also because there is "a growing incidence of Costa Rican document abuse by nationals of neighbouring countries".^[124]

On 26 March 2009, visa requirements were lifted for Croatian citizens travelling to Canada because "immigration violation and visa application refusal rates for Croatian nationals have steadily decreased over the past five years, while the number of refugee claims and removals has remained low".^[125]

On 13 July 2009, visa restrictions were reintroduced for Mexican citizens travelling to Canada because of three main factors: the number of refugee claims for Mexican nationals has substantially increased from less than 3,500 in 2005 to almost 9,500 in 2008, the immigration violation rate has steadily increased over the past three years and the risks related to travel documents, organised crime and corruption.^[126]

Canadian citizens enjoy visa-free access to the Schengen Area, which includes the Czech Republic. When the Czech Republic joined the European Union with 9 other countries in 2004, the European Union started a dialogue with the Canadian government to lift visa requirements for citizens of these countries to receive visa reciprocity between all Schengen countries and Canada. The result was the lifting of visa requirements for Czech citizens in October 2007.^[127] However, on 16 July 2009, Canada reintroduced visa requirements for Czech citizens as the overstay percentage was very high because many Roma filed for asylum.^[128][129] The EU urged Canada that "This highly regrettable situation should be brought to an end as soon as possible."^[130] In October 2013, following a contentious reform of the refugee determination system that significantly brought down the number of false asylum claims, Canada lifted visa requirement for Czech citizens effective immediately on November 14, 2013.^[131]

Starting from 22 November 2010, holders of an ordinary Taiwan passport with a personal identification number were able to enter Canada without a visa because "TRV refusal rates and the number of immigration violations, removals, and asylum claims by Taiwan passport holders are low".^[132]

On 13 September 2012, Botswana, Namibia, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Swaziland were removed from the list of exempted nations. As a result, citizens of these five countries were required to obtain visas in advance to travel to or transit through Canada.^[133] Botswana, Namibia, and Swaziland were removed primarily due to concerns relating to human trafficking (especially of minors) and the use of fraudulent documents. Also, Namibia had the highest immigration violation rate, with 81% of its citizens in Canada committing immigration violations, and 71% of Namibian travellers made asylum claims in 2011 in Canada. Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were removed mainly because of unreliable travel documents, in particular because "criminals from these countries can legally change their names and acquire new passports". In certain cases, citizens of these two countries "who were removed from Canada as security risks later returned using different passports". In addition, the removal of Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was prompted by the "unacceptably high number of asylum claims from St. Lucia and St. Vincent, with about one and a half percent and three percent of the population of these countries making asylum claims in Canada over the past five years".

On 12 May 2014, Canadian government sources announced a possible removal of visa requirements for Chilean citizens, following its participation as the 38th member of the Visa Waiver Program.^[134] Visa requirements were finally lifted on 22 November 2014.^[135]

In October 2014, it was reported that the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union might not be ratified by Bulgaria and Romania unless the visa requirement was lifted for their citizens by Canada.^[136][137] Under Canadian legislation, for a country to be added to the visa waiver list there should be less than 3% immigration violations and visa refusal rate of less than 3% over 3 years. For Bulgarians the immigration violation rate was 4.4% in 2013 and the average 3 year visa refusal rate was 15.76%. For Romanians the immigration violation rate was 2.7% in 2013 and the average 3 year visa refusal rate was 15%. Even though the thresholds are not absolute, Canadian authorities notified the EU that political manoeuvre is not possible when the difference between the threshold and rates is too big.^[78]

As of 22 November 2014, holders of Saint Kitts and Nevis passports need a visa to enter Canada due to national security concerns.^[138]

In December 2014, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird announced changes in legislation that would allow a visa-free regime for all EU citizens.^[139]

In April 2015, the previous Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, announced that Brazilian, Bulgarian, Mexican and Romanian citizens who have recently visited Canada or who have a valid U.S. non-immigrant visa will be able to visit Canada without a visa but with an electronic authorization from 2016.^{[140][141][142]}

Incumbent Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, has committed to abolish visa requirements for Mexicans visiting Canada.^[143][144] On 28 June 2016, Trudeau announced that the visa requirements for Mexican nationals will be lifted on 1 December 2016, although many government officials were critical of the plan and advised against it. The risks identified include Mexico's weak passport controls, a potential rise in fake asylum claims, the increase of human and illegal drug trafficking, and the involvement of organized crime of some travelers. In addition, the U.S. can potentially tighten border controls which may slow the cross-border trades between the two countries and harm Canada's economy.^[145] Opposition parties criticized that the move was "a completely political quid pro quo" in exchange for the Mexican government to lift the ban on Canadian beef since 2003.^[146]

On 31 October 2016, the Canadian government announced that Canada intends to lift visa requirement for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens on 1 December 2017. The visa requirement will be lifted in stages.

According to CBC News, sources confirmed that after Donald Trump had been elected to the U.S. presidency on 8 November 2016, high-level meetings took place between officials at IRCC and other departments in order to prepare for a potential surge of asylum seekers and overstayers from Mexico, although the visa requirements will still be dropped on 1 December as planned. Some officials did state that Canada will reintroduce visa requirements if the number of asylum seekers is too high.^[147]

On 24 November 2016, the Canadian government announced that starting from 25 November 2016, Mexican nationals can apply for the eTA online. However, Mexicans entering Canada before 1 December would continue to need a visa. On the same day, Mexican nationals could no longer apply for a visa online and had to apply on paper through a visa application centre.^[148] The visa requirement was lifted on 1 December as planned and the issuance of visas to Mexican nationals ceased, although Statistics Canada predicts that the net cost of lifting the visa requirement is over C$262 million in the next decade, which includes the additional immigration enforcement resources and the extra costs of processing asylum claims.^[149]

From 1 May 2017, Brazilian, Bulgarian and Romanian citizens who have had a Canadian visa in the last 10 years or who hold a valid U.S. non-immigrant visa can fly to or transit through Canada without a Canadian visa.

As of 27 June 2017, holders of Antigua and Barbuda passports need a visa to enter Canada due to concerns regarding the integrity of Antigua and Barbuda’s travel documents.^[150]

See also

• Visa requirements for Canadian citizens
• Immigration to Canada

References

External links

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
• Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) application
• List of Canadian missions abroad