Known travellers from 13 more countries can skip visa to come to Canada: minister
Low-risk travellers from 13 more countries will be able to skip a visa application if they want to visit Canada, the immigration minister announced Tuesday.
An expanded program would allow people to instead apply for an electronic travel authorization: a digital travel document that costs $7 and can be processed in minutes.
Travellers from the 13 countries can qualify for the faster, cheaper option if they have either held a Canadian visa in the last 10 years or currently hold a non-immigrant visa to the United States and are travelling by air.
Canada tried the idea as a pilot project in 2017, starting with visitors from Brazil, Bulgaria and Romania. Visa requirements have since been lifted for Bulgaria and Romania, but qualifying people from Brazil can still apply for the electronic travel authorization.
The new process will not only make things easier for travellers to Canada, but will also take the pressure off a backlog of visa applications, Minister Sean Fraser said.
"When we know that someone has been through the screening process recently in Canada, or who has been through the rigorous screening process more recently in the United States, we have faith that they're going to be able to satisfy the requirements of the visa process in Canada," Fraser said at a press conference in the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport Tuesday.
"It means that the current work we're doing within our department to process millions of applications every year is going to be dramatically reduced for people who've been here and continue to take part in repeat travel."
Fraser said he's looking to expand the program to further countries in the future.
The electronic travel authorization is valid for five years or until the traveller's passport expires, whichever comes first.
The expanded list of qualifying countries includes:
- Brazil
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Costa Rica
- Morocco
- Panama
- Philippines
- St. Kitts and Nevis
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Seychelles
- Thailand
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Uruguay
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
It could take years to catch up on child vaccinations in Ontario post-pandemic
Ontario is still playing catch up on routine vaccinations that many children missed during the pandemic and public health officials are warning that it could take years to solve the problem.