The short answer: Canada decides between an eTA and a visitor visa by the passport you travel on, not by the country where you hold permanent residence. If your passport is from a visa-exempt country you apply for a Canada eTA before you fly, and if it is from a visa-required country you need a visitor visa even with UK, EU or UAE residence, apart from a short list of countries whose citizens can qualify for an eTA under conditions. The one residence status that changes the rule is a U.S. green card. get-eta.com is a paid private service, separate from the Government of Canada.
Applying on canada.ca costs only the government fee. Permanent residents of Canada are a different case: they cannot apply for an eTA and travel with a PR card or a permanent resident travel document. This article is for people whose permanent residence, residence permit or long-term visa is in some other country.
If you also hold a second citizenship, choosing between two passports when you hold dual citizenship is the better starting point, because the passport you pick decides everything here. Once you know which one it is, the full application in six steps shows the form from start to finish.
Does your country of residence matter for a Canada eTA?
Almost never. Canada sorts travellers by citizenship and nationality, by how they travel (air, land or sea), and by the documents they carry. The lists of eTA countries and visa-required countries are lists of citizens, and a residence permit in a third country appears on neither.
Residence matters in only three places. A lawful permanent resident of the United States is exempt from the eTA. A permanent resident of Canada does not use an eTA at all. A French citizen who lives in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon and flies directly from there needs neither a visa nor an eTA. Everyone else is judged by the passport in their hand.
For a broader walk through the three outcomes, see how to tell whether you need a visa, an eTA or nothing.
Passport vs residence: what you need
| Your passport | Where you live | Flying to Canada | By land or sea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa-exempt country, for example Australia, Germany or Japan | UK, UAE or anywhere else | eTA | No eTA, passport only |
| Visa-required country, for example India, Pakistan or Nigeria | UK, EU, UAE or anywhere else | Visitor visa | Visitor visa |
| A conditional-eTA country, for example Mexico, Brazil or the Philippines | UK, EU, UAE or anywhere else | eTA only if you meet the conditions, otherwise a visitor visa | Visitor visa |
| Any nationality | United States, with a green card | No eTA: passport plus green card | Green card alone |
| Any nationality | Canada, permanent resident | PR card or travel document | PR card or other accepted documents |
| Alien’s passport, stateless or refugee travel document | Any country | Visitor visa | Visitor visa |
Read the table from the left: first column first. The second column rarely changes the answer.
Living in the UK, the EU or the UAE on a residence permit
UK. Indefinite leave to remain or settled status does not alter what Canada asks for. A British citizen needs an eTA, and so do holders of several other British categories on the list, such as British national overseas. A person who lives in the UK with a passport from India, for example, needs a visitor visa.
EU. A residence permit or Blue Card in a European country is irrelevant to Canada. Citizens of many EU states, such as Germany, Austria and Belgium, are on the eTA list, with one catch: Romania is listed for electronic passports only, and a non-electronic passport such as a temporary one falls on the visa side.
UAE. Citizens of the United Arab Emirates need an eTA. A resident of Dubai or Abu Dhabi who holds an Indian or Pakistani passport needs a visitor visa, because the passport decides. The visa process is not covered here; the point is only that a UAE residence card is not a substitute for it.
Does a residence card count toward the eTA for visa-required countries?
No. A small group of visa-required countries can qualify for an eTA instead of a visa, but all three of the following must be true: you held a Canadian visitor visa in the past 10 years or you hold a valid U.S. non-immigrant visa; you are visiting temporarily, normally for up to six months; and you fly to or transit through a Canadian airport on a passport from one of the listed countries. The list currently includes Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.
A residence permit appears nowhere in those conditions. A U.S. non-immigrant visa must be valid on the day you apply, although it does not need to be valid when you travel. A green card is not a U.S. non-immigrant visa, and a green card holder is exempt anyway, so they never go through this test. If you arrive by car, bus, train or boat, a visitor visa is required regardless.
What do you enter on the eTA form if you live outside your passport country?
If your passport is from an eTA country, the form is where your residence finally shows up. Fields where residents of another country slip:
- Travel document. Choose the type that matches the document you hold. An ordinary passport is the normal choice. The list also contains “alien passport”, issued to non-citizens who live in the issuing country, and Canada treats alien’s passport holders as visa-required, not as eTA applicants.
- Passport country code and nationality. Both come from the passport itself, from the code on the information page and the nationality noted there. Neither is your country of residence.
- Additional nationalities. The form asks which countries or territories you are a citizen of. A residence permit does not belong in that box.
- Employment. You give the employer or school and its country and city, and the year you started.
- Residential address. The form asks for your permanent home address and says not to enter an address where you live temporarily. The country is the country where that home is.
So your country of residence is on the form, but it does not decide whether you may apply. Passport and nationality do. Check every entry before you pay, because a submitted application cannot be edited. IRCC says that if you made a mistake, you need to apply again.
What if you live in the US with a green card?
A lawful permanent resident of the United States has been exempt from the eTA since April 26, 2022, whatever the method of travel. By air you carry a valid passport from your country of nationality and your valid green card, or equivalent proof of status. If you enter by land or water directly from the United States, the green card alone is enough, but carry your passport anyway.
Some older websites still say green card holders need an eTA. They don’t.
How to confirm what your passport needs before you book
- Take the passport you will fly on.
- Find its country in the lists on the canada.ca page on entry requirements, or answer the few questions in the tool linked from it.
- If the country is on the conditional list, check your visa history against the three conditions above.
- If you are transiting rather than visiting, the same document applies, because a transit through a Canadian airport needs an eTA or a visa as well.
What the border officer may ask about where you live
An eTA does not guarantee entry. On arrival, a border services officer checks your documents and wants to be convinced of several things, including that you have ties such as a job, a home, financial assets or family that will take you back to your home country or territory, and that you will leave at the end of your visit.
Where you live is therefore a normal topic, but the rules do not say that a residence permit counts for or against you. Bring whatever supports your answers about your work, your home and your return flight.
The short version
- Canada looks at the passport, not at the country of residence.
- Visa-exempt passport: eTA by air. Visa-required passport: visitor visa, with a short list of conditional exceptions.
- A residence permit in the UK, EU or UAE does not unlock the conditional eTA.
- The U.S. green card (and, for French citizens, residence in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon) exempts you, and Canadian permanent residents do not use an eTA.
- On the form, nationality comes from the passport and the address from your permanent home.
FAQ
Do I need an eTA if I have permanent residence in another country? It depends on your passport, not the residence. A visa-exempt passport needs an eTA for flights, a visa-required passport needs a visitor visa, and the one exception is a U.S. green card.
Do UK permanent residents need a visa for Canada? UK citizens need an eTA to fly. A resident of the UK with another passport follows the rule for that country, and indefinite leave to remain makes no difference.
Do UAE residents need a visa for Canada? Citizens of the UAE need an eTA. A UAE resident with a passport from a visa-required country, such as India or Pakistan, needs a visitor visa.
Do permanent residents of Canada need an eTA? No, and they cannot apply for one. They travel with a valid PR card or permanent resident travel document.
Can I use my residence permit instead of a US visa to qualify for the eTA? No. The conditional eTA counts only a Canadian visitor visa held in the past 10 years or a valid U.S. non-immigrant visa.