Travelling to Canada? All you need to know about the eTA
When travelling to Canada as an Irish national, you need either a visa or an eTA. The eTA is both cheaper and easier to acquire.
Heading to Canada in the (near) future? Make sure you know how and when to apply for the correct travel permit to avoid being stranded at the airport. There is a big difference between an embassy visa and other travel permits, such as the eTA.
Irish nationals eligible for eTA Canada permit
Unlike nationals from many other countries, Irish visitors to Canada actually don’t need a visa to enter the country. Ireland is part of Canada’s Visa Waiver Program, allowing Irish citizens to instead apply online for a special travel permit: the eTA Canada.
An eTA (electronic Travel Authorisation) is an electronic travel authorisation that can be applied for online, rather than at the embassy. It is issued by the Canadian government to citizens of visa exempt countries, which includes Ireland. The benefit of the eTA is that it is on average granted in a matter of days, compared to weeks or even months for your average embassy visa. All that is required to acquire an eTA is to fill out the online application form.
What are the requirements for the eTA Canada?
However, strict rules apply to being eligible for an eTA for Canada. So while you may be from Ireland, that alone does not qualify you for the eTA. The following requirements must also be met:
- You are travelling to Canada for a holiday, business trip, study or transfer
- You will not be working for a Canadian company
- You do not pose a risk to safety or public health
- You comply with Canada’s COVID-19 laws
- You have never committed a crime or broken the law
If you meet these requirements, the eTA can be applied for online. It is valid for up to five years when granted and allows the holder to travel to Canada an unlimited number of times during this period. Each individual stay may last up to six months. The eTA is electronically linked to the applicant’s passport. In other words, it is not a paper document that needs to be printed. At the airport, the holder’s passport is used to check-in. However, this also means that if your passport expires, your eTA will also automatically expire, which means you will have to first apply for a new passport, and then a new eTA.
Applying for an eTA Canada via e-Visa
When applying for an eTA for Canada through e-Visa, your application is always manually checked by a visa specialist, to weed out any potential errors before the application is made. The application form is also equipped with a wide variety of automated checks to make sure all the details entered are accurate. If an error is found, you are notified straight away to rectify it. Once the application is submitted, all you need to do is wait for the automated e-mail and text message confirming the eTA Canada has been approved. Most important, if for some reason the application is rejected, you enjoy a full refund policy, no questions asked.