You open the email, see “approved,” and feel a small wave of relief. Then you notice a block of reference numbers and dates and wonder what you’re actually supposed to do with any of it. The short answer: the approval email is your record of a valid eTA, but two details inside it demand your attention right now, before you do anything else. Everything else is context.
Your eTA is now electronically linked to the passport you used when you applied. That linkage is the whole mechanism. The email confirms it happened correctly: or, in rare cases, reveals that it didn’t.
Your eTA Approval Email: The Digital Ticket to Canada
The email itself is a notification, not a boarding pass and not a visa sticker. You don’t present it at the airport, you don’t hand it to a border officer, and you don’t need a printed copy. What the email does is give you the proof that the authorisation exists and the reference details you’d need if anything ever needed to be corrected or looked up.
Most applicants receive this email within minutes of submitting. If yours took longer (up to a few days in some cases) that’s normal; some applications go through additional review. If you applied and heard nothing at all, check the junk or spam folder of the address you used on the application before assuming something went wrong. Automated government emails are a reliable target for spam filters.
Once you have the email, keep it somewhere you can find it. You won’t need to wave it at anyone, but the eTA number inside it is worth preserving.
Decoding Your eTA Status and Validity Period
An approved eTA is linked to the passport you used to apply. If that passport expires, the eTA is no longer valid for travel. An approved eTA covers multiple trips to Canada for as long as it remains valid.
What the eTA controls is your permission to board a flight to or through Canada. It does not set how long you can stay on any given trip. That’s a separate question answered at the border. Most visitors are normally allowed to stay for up to six months, but a border services officer can limit or extend that based on the purpose of your visit. If you don’t receive a stamp in your passport at entry, the default rule is six months from your entry date or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. You can ask an officer for a stamp if you need a clear record of your permitted stay; that’s a reasonable thing to request.
The practical implication: your eTA’s validity period is not your stay limit. Keep those two things separate in your thinking.
The eTA Number: Your Unique Identifier for Travel
The approval email contains your eTA number. It’s a reference identifier assigned to your specific authorisation, tied to you and to the passport you used.
You won’t recite this number at check-in or at the border; airline staff scan your passport and the system confirms the eTA automatically. But the number matters for two situations: if you ever need to check your eTA application status or contact authorities about your authorisation, this is the reference they’ll ask for. Without it, tracing your specific approval is harder and slower. If you hold two passports and want to understand how your eTA interacts with each, see our guide on applying for a Canada eTA with dual citizenship.
Save your eTA number somewhere other than just the original email. A screenshot in your photos app, a note in your password manager, a forwarded email to a second address: any of these works. Losing the email doesn’t cancel the eTA, but it does remove your quickest route to the reference if you need it later.
Passport Association: Why Your eTA is Linked to One Document
This is the detail that matters most and the one people skip past most often.
Electronically, your eTA is tied to the specific passport you used during the application. When airline staff scan your passport at check-in, their system checks for a valid eTA linked to that exact document. If the passport number in the approval email doesn’t match the physical passport you’re travelling with, the system finds nothing, and you don’t board.
The check to do right now: open the approval email, find the passport number listed, and hold your physical passport next to it. Compare character by character. Passport numbers contain both letters and digits, and a single transposed character is enough to create a mismatch.
If the numbers don’t match, you need to apply again with the correct passport number. There’s no amendment process. It’s a new application. And if you’re close to your departure date, that’s a genuine problem, because last-minute reapplications may not be possible in time. Catching this now, with weeks to spare, costs you very little. Catching it at the check-in desk costs you the flight.
One scenario worth knowing: if you renew your passport after your eTA is approved, the old eTA doesn’t transfer to the new passport. The eTA is linked to the document it was issued against, not to you as a person. A new passport means a new application. For more on this, see our article on what happens to your eTA when you get a new passport.
Reviewing Your Personal Details: Ensuring a Smooth Journey
The border services officer who sees you on arrival will check your identity against your travel documents. Their job is to confirm you are the same person approved to travel. If your application contained false or incomplete information, entry will be refused: an eTA approval doesn’t override that, because the approval was based on what you submitted.
Next Steps After Confirmation: Preparing for Departure
Once you’ve confirmed the passport number matches and the personal details look right, the practical checklist is short.
Before you travel:
- Keep the passport that’s linked to your eTA. Don’t travel on a different passport, even if you hold dual nationality. The eTA is tied to one document.
- If you change your email address after applying, update it through the official web form: future correspondence about your eTA goes to the address on file.
- Make sure your passport will remain valid for the duration of your trip. If it expires before your eTA does, your permitted stay is limited to the passport’s expiry, not the eTA’s.
At the airport:
- Present the linked passport at check-in. Airline staff will scan it to confirm the eTA. You don’t need to mention the eTA number or show the approval email.
- You don’t need a printed eTA document. The authorisation is electronic; the passport scan retrieves it.
At the Canadian border:
- A border services officer will examine your passport and travel documents. They’ll confirm your identity and determine whether you meet entry requirements. An approved eTA clears you to arrive; it doesn’t guarantee entry. The officer’s assessment of whether you’re admissible, how long you can stay, and whether your stated purpose is credible. That happens at the port of entry.
- You’ll need to satisfy the officer that you have ties to your home country, that you intend to leave at the end of your stay, and that you have sufficient funds for your visit.
Mistakes That Get People Turned Away at Check-in
1. Not checking the passport number in the email against the physical passport. This is the most consequential mistake and the easiest to make. A single digit transposed during the application creates an eTA that’s valid but attached to a passport that doesn’t exist. The airline’s system finds nothing when they scan your document. You miss the flight. Check the number now, not the morning of departure.
2. Travelling with a different passport than the one linked to the eTA. If you hold two passports and applied with one, you must check in with that same passport. The eTA doesn’t follow you to your other nationality’s document. Dual-nationality travellers sometimes assume the eTA is attached to their identity. It’s attached to a specific document.
3. Renewing your passport and assuming the eTA transfers. It doesn’t. A new passport number means the old eTA no longer applies. Apply for a new eTA before you travel on the renewed passport.
4. Losing the eTA approval email and assuming the number is gone too. The eTA itself isn’t lost. It’s still electronically linked to your passport and will still be found when the airline scans your document. But if you ever need to contact authorities or check the status of your authorisation, the eTA number is what they’ll ask for. Save it somewhere beyond your inbox.
5. Misreading the eTA’s validity as the permitted stay. The eTA can be valid for years; your permitted stay on any single entry is typically up to six months and is set by a border officer, not by the eTA itself. Planning a long trip based on the eTA’s expiry date rather than the standard stay limit is a misunderstanding that creates problems at the border.
FAQ
What if the personal details on my eTA confirmation don’t match my passport exactly? A name discrepancy between your eTA and your passport is worth taking seriously. Border services officers check your identity against your travel documents, and inconsistencies invite scrutiny. If the mismatch is significant (a different name order, a missing middle name that appears in the passport) the safer path is to apply again with the details exactly as they appear in your passport rather than hope it passes unnoticed at the border. If your eTA has been refused or you are unsure how to proceed, see our guide on what happens after a Canada eTA refusal.
**Can I use my eTA to enter Canada multiple times? Yes. An approved eTA is linked to your passport and is valid for travel to Canada for as long as it remains valid, or until the linked passport expires, whichever comes first. Each entry is still subject to a border officer’s assessment of whether you meet entry requirements on that occasion.
Do I need to print my eTA confirmation email? No. You don’t need to print any document for your eTA. It’s electronically linked to your passport, and airline staff confirm it by scanning the passport at check-in. Carrying the email is harmless, but it’s not required at any point in the process.
What happens if my passport expires before my eTA? Your eTA becomes unusable once the passport it’s linked to expires. If you renew your passport, you’ll need to apply for a new eTA tied to the new passport number. The old eTA doesn’t carry over. Also, if your passport expires during a stay in Canada, your permitted stay is limited to the passport’s expiry date regardless of what the eTA says.
How can I retrieve my eTA number if I lose the email? You can look up your eTA status (and find the associated reference details) through the Canada eTA status check process using your passport information. Keeping the number saved somewhere separate from your inbox avoids the need to go looking for it.
Your eTA confirmation email is proof that your authorisation exists and is linked to your passport. The one action it requires is immediate: compare the passport number in the email to the number in your physical passport, character by character. If they match and your personal details are correct, you’re set. Present that passport at check-in, and the rest is automatic.