A holiday to Canada: do I get a visa or an eTA?

Sam Richards
Authored by Sam Richards
Posted Tuesday, January 28, 2020 - 9:07pm

Among UK holiday goers, Canada has consistently remained one of the most popular non-European destinations. It’s not hard to see why; the massive country (larger even than the United States) is home to a large number of sights to see, from the Niagara Waterfalls to its lush natural parks. Being a non-European country, and thus not part of the Schengen Agreement which guarantees visa-free travel between countries in the European Union, travellers from the UK need a visa to travel to Canada. However, Canada also offers another travel authorization: the eTA Canada.

eTA Canada? What’s that?

‘eTA’ stands for ‘electronic Travel Authorization’. Like a visa, it is a travel permit which grants holders access to Canada. Unlike the Canada visa, however, the eTA is a digital travel authorization. This means that getting one can be done entirely online. No cumbersome trips need to be made to the Canadian embassy, nor is it necessary to contact them by phone. To acquire an eTA, all that is required is that you are a citizen of one of the visa-exempt countries.

Getting an eTA Canada

To acquire an eTA, all you do is fill in the eTA application form. This can be found online, and only takes about five minutes to fill in. All the usual questions are asked: contact information, travel details, some personal information of each traveller (name, place of birth, passport number, etc.), and two standard background questions to make sure the applicant qualifies for an eTA. After this information has been provided, the payment is made, after which the eTA is sent to you by e-mail. The time between payment and issuing of the eTA is generally not longer than 72 hours. Printing it isn’t necessary, as the eTA is digitally linked to your passport. All you need to do show at the airport is your passport.

What can I do with an eTA?

First and foremost, the eTA grants you official permission to fly to Canada. Airlines will always check before departure whether you possess a valid eTA. An approved eTA is valid for five years. This means that during these 5 years, you can make an unlimited number of trips to Canada. You won’t need to apply for a new eTA each time you go. The maximum length of stay per visit is 6 months; more than enough for most holidays and business trips.

So why would I ever apply for a visa?

An eTA is easier to get, cheaper and is approved faster than a visa. So why even apply for a Canada visa to begin with? Well, the main reason why a visa might still come in handy is that the eTA has a number of requirements a traveller needs to meet in order to apply for one. The most important one, of course, is that your country qualifies for the eTA program. While this is the case for the UK, many other countries do not.

Other examples include needing to travel to Canada by plane; arriving by land or by sea is not permitted. You also can’t work in Canada with an eTA. Business meetings and the like are allowed; you just can’t receive any kind of salary from an employer in Canada. And, as mentioned above, you can’t stay in Canada for longer than 6 months at a time. The best decision is therefore to research whether your trip falls within the regulations of an eTA. If so, it is almost always the better, faster and cheaper option compared to the Canada visa.

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