The short answer: if your passport needs an eTA, you need one even to change planes in Canada, however short or long the layover, and the 48-hour figure you may have read applies to transit visas, not to eTAs. On a same-day international connection with your bags checked through, if you qualify at Vancouver, Montréal or Toronto Terminal 1, you go straight to the departures area without seeing a border officer. An overnight connection, bags you have to collect, or a walk into the city means clearing the border like any other visitor, and if you don’t have the document yet, apply for a Canada eTA before you book the connection. get-eta.com is a paid private service, separate from the Government of Canada.
Applying on canada.ca costs only the government fee. U.S. citizens and U.S. green card holders do not apply for an eTA, and Canadian citizens fly on a Canadian passport, so this article is for visa-exempt foreign nationals whose route passes through a Canadian airport.
The first checkpoint is not in Canada at all. Why an airline can stop you at the first check-in desk explains how the eTA is checked before you board, and what clearing the border on arrival involves covers the officer’s side. This guide fills the gap between them: what physically happens to you and your suitcase when Canada is only the middle of the trip.
Do you need an eTA if you never leave the airport?
Yes, if your passport is on the eTA list. The requirement covers flying to Canada and also transiting through a Canadian airport, and the length of the layover does not change it. A two-hour stop and a twelve-hour stop take the same document.
The check happens early. Airline staff scan your passport at the first check-in, and without a valid eTA linked to that passport you will not board, even if your first flight departs from another country and Canada is only the middle of the trip. Two narrow exceptions exist: aircraft that only refuel in Canada on the way to or from the United States, and travellers using the no-visa transit programs described below. For the full picture of who needs the document on a connection, see who needs an eTA just to connect.
Does the 48-hour transit limit apply to eTA holders?
No. The 48 hours belong to the transit visa, which is a separate document for travellers from visa-required countries. That visa is for people who connect between two international flights, stay in Canada 48 hours or less, hold no visitor visa and cannot get an eTA. Anyone from a visa-required country who plans to visit, or whose transit runs longer than 48 hours, needs a visitor visa instead. The transit visa itself carries no fee. For the exact conditions, the transit page on canada.ca is the place to check.
An eTA holder has no such countdown. The eTA stays valid for up to five years or until the passport expires, and it works the same for a short connection as for a longer stop.
| Your passport | Document for a connection | What limits the stop |
|---|---|---|
| Visa-exempt (eTA country) | eTA | Nothing on the eTA itself. The 24-hour limit below applies only to the customs shortcut |
| Visa-required | Transit visa, unless you hold a visitor visa or qualify for an eTA | 48 hours or less, between two international flights, no visit to Canada |
| China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan (passport without a personal identification number only; with a number you need an eTA), on a route to or from the United States | May be able to transit with no visa if you meet the conditions | 24 hours, listed airports and a taking-part airline, inside the transit area |
If you are in either of the last two rows, you are not the traveller this article is about. The rest of it assumes an eTA.
Do you have to go through customs on a connecting flight in Canada?
Often not. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) runs a scheme called Free Flow for international-to-international connections, and when it applies you do not present yourself to a border officer or a primary inspection kiosk. You walk to the international departures area and board.
The conditions are specific:
- you connect at Vancouver (YVR), Montréal-Trudeau (YUL) or Toronto Pearson Terminal 1, and Terminal 3 is excluded;
- your documents are in order, including an eTA where one is needed;
- you stay inside the designated international departure area until you board;
- you hold a confirmed ticket for an international flight leaving Canada within 24 hours of arrival;
- your airline transfers bags automatically and your onward flight is on the same day as your arrival.
Miss any of these and you follow the ordinary arrivals route: collect your bags from the carousel, pass CBSA, then go back to the departures area. CBSA names only those three airports. How a connection works at any other Canadian airport is not described there, so check with your airline instead of guessing.
The same page covers international-to-international trips only. If your second flight is within Canada, it does not say how you will be processed, so ask the airline before you travel.
Which layover is yours? Customs, bags and documents by scenario
| Your connection | Border officer (CBSA)? | Your checked bags | Document |
|---|---|---|---|
| Same-day international to international flight, bags checked through, at YVR, YUL or Toronto T1 | No, Free Flow | Transferred for you | eTA |
| Your airline does not transfer bags, for example separate tickets | Yes | Collect from the carousel, then check in again | eTA |
| Overnight, with the next flight on another day | Yes | Collect them | eTA |
| A delay stretches the layover past 24 hours | Yes, Free Flow no longer applies | As directed | eTA |
| You leave the airport to see the city or sleep in a hotel | Yes, this is entering Canada | Depends on your ticket and airline | eTA, and the officer decides on entry |
| Your next flight goes to the United States | No Canadian officer under Free Flow. You go to the U.S. connection area | Re-screened for security there | eTA, plus what the U.S. requires |
Airports differ in layout and in when their zones are open, so confirm the route with your airline before the trip. For a flight to the United States, you and your baggage are re-screened and processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection inside the Canadian airport.
Can you leave the airport during a layover in Canada on an eTA?
Yes, but you are no longer in transit. Walking out of the international departure area is entering Canada, Free Flow ends, and you report to the CBSA like any visitor. That is also why the scheme’s own rules tell you to stay inside the departure area.
An eTA is permission to travel, not a promise of entry. A border services officer looks at your passport and your answers and decides, so a short city trip carries the same decision as a long holiday. The arrival guide above describes that conversation. If you are admitted without a stamp, you may stay six months from the day you entered or until your passport expires, whichever comes first, which is far longer than any layover.
Coming back in means screening again before your flight. How screening works before your onward flight shows what to expect.
The question of how many hours are enough to go out and return is not answered by the government pages, and the figures that circulate on forums are opinions. What takes time is the stuff you can name: the CBSA queue on arrival, collecting bags, the second screening, and the airline’s own deadline for being at the gate or the check-in counter.
One more point matters for travellers from visa-required countries. A transit visa does not let you visit. A visit needs a visitor visa, even a visit of a few hours.
What changes with an overnight layover or a hotel stay?
The day on the calendar matters. Free Flow needs the onward flight to leave on the same day you arrive, so a connection that crosses midnight falls outside it even when the gap is under 24 hours. You collect your bags, pass the CBSA, and then re-enter the departures area for the next day’s flight.
A hotel outside the airport is leaving the airport, covered in the previous section. The length of the night does not affect the eTA, which stays valid for its full term. The government pages do not describe airport hotels or transit-zone accommodation, so do not assume one exists at your airport, and ask the airline what it offers.
What if your connection is delayed or you miss the flight?
If a cancellation or delay pushes the stop beyond 24 hours, or if you leave the designated international departure area, you no longer qualify for Free Flow, and you must report to the CBSA. Short delays inside the same day are not addressed on that page, and the airline decides how to rebook you. Whether the airline must provide a hotel or a new ticket is not set by the pages used here, so treat any promise as the airline’s, not Canada’s.
Your eTA is not affected. A delayed flight does not shorten it. An eTA is valid for up to 5 years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first, and it is tied to the passport number, so if you get a new passport you need a new eTA.
Which passport and details should match for a connection?
Use the passport you applied with. The eTA is linked to that passport electronically, and the airline scans it at the first check-in. A mismatch there causes problems at check-in, so compare the passport number in your approval email with the number in the passport.
When you fill in the form, the opening screen asks what you plan to do in Canada, and one option is transit through Canada by air. Choose the one that matches your trip. If you have already applied and are waiting, you can check your eTA status with your passport details and the application number or UCI.
A quick check before you book a connection through Canada
- Look at the passport you will travel on and confirm that it needs an eTA, not a visa.
- Note the airport and, in Toronto, the terminal. Free Flow covers YVR, YUL and Terminal 1 at Pearson.
- Find out whether your tickets are on one booking with bags checked to the final city.
- Check that the second flight leaves on the same day you land.
- Decide whether you plan to leave the airport, since that means the border and a longer plan.
The short version
- An eTA is required for a connection in Canada, whatever its length.
- The 48 hours belong to the transit visa, not to the eTA.
- Free Flow at YVR, YUL and Toronto T1 skips the border officer if bags are transferred and you depart the same day.
- Overnight, delayed past 24 hours, or leaving the airport means clearing the CBSA.
- For other airports and for a Canadian domestic second flight, ask your airline.
FAQ
Do I need an eTA if I am only in transit? Yes, if your passport is on the eTA list, since the requirement covers transit through a Canadian airport and not just entry. The exceptions are flights that only refuel on the way to or from the United States and travellers in the no-visa transit programs.
Do I have to go through customs for a connecting flight in Canada? Not always. On a same-day international connection through Vancouver, Montréal or Toronto Terminal 1 with transferred bags, you skip it. If you stay overnight, collect your bags, leave the departures area or run past 24 hours, you clear the CBSA.
Can I exit the airport during my layover? With an eTA you can try, because leaving is a normal entry and the officer decides. With a transit visa you cannot, as a visit needs a visitor visa.
Do I need a transit visa if I am not leaving the airport? Only when your passport comes from a country that requires visas, you hold no visitor visa and you do not qualify for an eTA. A holder of an eTA does not need a transit visa.
What is the time limit for using an eTA in Canada? The eTA lasts up to five years or until the passport expires. There is no 48-hour limit on a connection, and the 24-hour mark matters only for Free Flow. Time in Canada after entry is set by the officer, normally up to six months.