Canada: visitor visa or eTA? How to tell, and how to apply

Most visitors to Canada need one of two things before they travel: a visitor visa or an electronic travel authorisation (eTA). Which one depends on your passport and on how you arrive. Your passport decides the category. Arriving by air or by land decides whether an eTA is even an option.

The short version, read off the Government of Canada’s pages on 30 September 2026:

	Visitor visa	eTA
Who it is for	Citizens of visa-required countries	Citizens of visa-exempt countries, flying in
Government fee	CA$100 per person	CA$7
Biometrics	CA$85 per person, in most cases	Not required
What you get	A visa placed in your passport	An electronic link to your passport
How long it lasts	Up to 10 years, or until your passport or biometrics expire	Up to 5 years, or until your passport expires
Works for	Air, land and sea	Air only

Neither one lets you into Canada. That decision is made at the border, and it is covered further down.

Which one do you need?

Canada publishes the country lists on one page, What you need to enter Canada. It sorts every passport into one of three groups.

Visa required. If your passport is on this list, you need a visitor visa and a valid passport to visit or transit through Canada. The list is long. It includes Nigeria, India and China.

eTA required. If your passport is on this list and you are flying to or through a Canadian airport, you need an eTA. The list includes the UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan and South Korea. If you arrive by car, bus, train or boat, you do not need an eTA. You still need a valid passport.

Visa required, but eTA possible. This is the group most people get wrong, and it is covered in the next section.

If you are not sure, check your exact passport on that page. Do not go by what a friend with a different passport was told.

The exception: some visa-required travellers can get an eTA

Citizens of 17 visa-required countries can apply for an eTA instead of a visa, if they meet every condition. The countries, as listed on the official eligibility page (last modified 27 July 2026), are:

Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Panama, Philippines, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay.

All three conditions must be true:

1. You have held a Canadian visitor visa in the past 10 years, or you currently hold a valid US non-immigrant visa.
2. You are coming for a temporary stay, normally up to 6 months.
3. You are flying to or transiting through a Canadian airport on a passport from one of those countries.

The US visa only has to be valid on the day you apply for the eTA. It does not have to be valid on the day you travel.

Two recent changes sit behind this list:

• Mexico. From 11:30 p.m. Eastern time on 29 February 2024, Mexican citizens can only use an eTA if they meet the conditions above. Everyone else with a Mexican passport needs a visitor visa. That is set out on IRCC’s page on the Mexico changes.
• Indonesia and Malaysia. The eTA application page says that from 26 May 2026, citizens of both countries who meet the requirements may apply for an eTA instead of a visitor visa when travelling by air.

The air-only rule matters. If you qualify for an eTA but plan to cross by land from the US, or arrive on a cruise ship, you need a visitor visa.

What each one costs

All figures are from the IRCC fee list, read on 30 September 2026, in Canadian dollars.

Item	Official fee
Visitor visa, per person	CA$100
Visitor visa, per family of 5 or more	CA$500
Electronic travel authorisation	CA$7
Biometrics, per person	CA$85
Biometrics, family of 2 or more applying together	CA$170 maximum

The single-entry and multiple-entry visa cost the same. You do not choose between them; the officer does. So nobody can sell you a multiple-entry visa for more.

For a family of four applying together, the arithmetic is CA$400 in visa fees plus CA$170 in biometrics. For a single traveller applying for the first time, it is CA$185. If an agent quotes you more, the difference is their fee, not the government’s.

Biometrics

Biometrics means your fingerprints and a photo. Most visitor visa applicants give them once, at a collection point, after applying.

According to IRCC’s biometrics pages, you do not need to give them if you are:

• a visa-exempt national coming to visit
• a child under 14
• over 79
• a US visa holder transiting through Canada

IRCC uses your age on the day you submitted the application.

Biometrics are valid for 10 years. If you gave them in the last decade, you usually do not give them again. There is one catch. IRCC cannot issue a visa beyond the date your biometrics expire. If yours are due to expire soon, your new visa may be shorter than you expected. You can choose to give them again with a new application to get a longer visa.

If you are applying for the first time, you pay the biometrics fee when you submit the application. You then get a biometrics instruction letter. Book the appointment as soon as you have it; IRCC says delays here slow the whole application.

How to apply for a visitor visa

IRCC’s application page says you must apply online. Paper is allowed only if you cannot apply online, for example because of a disability, or if you travel on a document issued to a refugee, a stateless person or a non-citizen.

There are two online routes, both on canada.ca:

• The IRCC Portal. The standard route.
• The new version of the IRCC Portal. Open only to some applicants: 18 or over, applying alone, applying for the first time, without a representative.

The steps, in order:

1. Apply online and pay the visa fee and, if needed, the biometrics fee.
2. Wait for your biometrics instruction letter, then book and attend the appointment.
3. Wait for a decision. Keep an eye on your IRCC account.
4. If approved, you get a letter in your account asking you to submit your passport.
5. IRCC places the visa in the passport and returns it.

That last step is easy to miss. You cannot travel to Canada until the visa is in the passport you submitted. An approval email is not a visa.

How to apply for an eTA

The eTA is a short online form on canada.ca. You need a valid passport, a credit or debit card and an email address. The fee is CA$7 and is not refundable.

IRCC says most people are approved by email within minutes, but some requests take several days. Apply before you book flights, not at the airport.

The eTA is electronically linked to the passport you used. If you get a new passport, you need a new eTA. IRCC’s own page puts it plainly: only apply for an eTA on the official Government of Canada website.

Processing times

We do not quote a number here, on purpose. Canada publishes live estimates per country and per application type on its processing times tool.

Two things IRCC says about those figures are worth knowing:

• Estimates for temporary residence, which includes visitor visas, are updated each week.
• The estimate includes the time it takes to give your biometrics.

Check the tool for your country before you book anything, and then check it again closer to the date.

How long you can stay

A visitor visa can be valid for up to 10 years, or until your passport or biometrics expire, whichever comes first. That is how long you can use it to travel. It is not how long you can stay.

On length of stay, IRCC says most visitors can stay for up to 6 months. The border services officer may allow you to stay for less or more than that, depending on the purpose of your visit. The officer may stamp your passport or give you a visitor record showing the date you must leave. If you get no stamp, you can stay for 6 months from the day you arrived, or until your passport or biometrics expire.

A visa is not permission to enter

This is the part people least expect. A Canadian visa or eTA lets you travel to Canada. It does not let you in.

IRCC’s arrival page says it directly: a valid visa and travel document don’t guarantee that you can enter Canada. The eTA facts page says the same about an eTA.

When you land, a border services officer checks your identity and decides whether you meet the entry requirements. The officer needs to be satisfied that you are eligible to enter and that you will leave at the end of your authorised stay. Carry the documents that support your trip. If someone invited you, bring the invitation letter. If you travel with a child under 18, you may need a letter authorising the child to travel to Canada.

The Super Visa, briefly

The Super Visa is for parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens, permanent residents or registered Indians. It allows stays of up to 5 years at a time and multiple entries for up to 10 years. The official fee starts from CA$100.

It has requirements the ordinary visitor visa does not. According to the eligibility page, you need:

• private health insurance valid for at least 1 year from entry, from a Canadian insurer or a foreign insurer approved by the minister
• a signed invitation letter from your child or grandchild
• proof that your child or grandchild meets a minimum income
• an immigration medical exam

You cannot include dependants in a Super Visa application.

If you are refused

If you applied online, the refusal arrives in your IRCC account with an explanation.

Since 29 July 2025, IRCC has been sending officer decision notes with refusals of temporary resident visas, including visitor visas, super visas and transit visas. These are written by the officer who decided the application and explain why it was refused. That is set out on IRCC’s officer decision notes page.

You can still request your file under the Access to Information Act. IRCC’s request page says the fee is CA$5 and that the requester must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or a person or company currently in Canada. If you are outside Canada, someone who qualifies can request it for you, with a signed consent form (IMM 5744) from you.

On what to do next, IRCC’s Help Centre is blunt. Applying again with the same information, even through a consultant or agent, will likely not change the decision. Reapply only if your situation has changed and you have new documents that answer the reasons given. If you believe the process was unfair, you can ask the Federal Court of Canada for a judicial review.

Checklist

• Look up your exact passport on What you need to enter Canada.
• If you are from one of the 17 listed countries, check whether you have held a Canadian visa in the last 10 years or hold a valid US non-immigrant visa. If so, and you are flying, you may only need an eTA.
• Flying in on a visa-exempt passport: apply for an eTA on canada.ca. CA$7.
• Arriving by land or sea on a visa-exempt passport: no eTA needed; bring your passport.
• Visa required: apply online through the IRCC Portal. CA$100, plus CA$85 biometrics if you have not given them in the last 10 years.
• Book biometrics as soon as the instruction letter arrives.
• Check the official processing times tool before booking travel.
• Do not fly until the visa is physically in your passport.
• Carry your invitation letter and proof of funds. The officer at the border decides how long you stay.
• If refused, read the officer decision notes before doing anything else.

For fees and the official links in one place, see our Canada page.