Canada Postpones Enforcement of New Travel Requirement to November 10th

The Canadian government has postponed the date travelers to Canada will need to comply with new requirements. The new requirement, which had been scheduled to take effect September 30th but has now been pushed to November 10th, 2016, requires some foreign nationals traveling to Canada or transiting through by air to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) prior to traveling to Canada.

Beginning November 10th, an eTA will be required from foreign nationals who are exempt from obtaining a visa to Canada, such as US Permanent Residents when traveling to Canada by air.

- US and Canadian Citizens are exempt from the new requirement, whether traveling by air, land or sea.

- US Permanent Residents will need to obtain the eTA if traveling toor transiting through Canada by air. An eTA will NOT be required if traveling by land or sea.

- Foreign nationals holding a valid Canadian Visa will not need to obtain an eTA prior to traveling to Canada, whether by air, land or sea.

The eTA online approval process takes minutes and costs $7.

The Electronic Travel Authorization automatically pre-screens travelers, based on information they provide in the form and checks against immigration databases, she said. Travelers who may be inadmissible — if they’re a security risk, have been convicted of a crime or have serious health or financial problems, for example — will be asked to provide additional information and may be asked for an interview, says Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.