The short answer: yes, you can fly to Canada on a passport that expires soon, as long as it has not expired by the day you travel, but your eTA stops working the day that passport expires, and without a date stamped by the border officer your stay also ends on that day even if six months haven’t passed. If you renew the passport before the trip, the old eTA does not move to the new one, so you apply for a new eTA with the new passport details before you book or board. get-eta.com is a paid private service, separate from the Government of Canada.
Applying directly on canada.ca costs only the 7 CAD fee. This article is for visa-exempt foreign nationals who fly to Canada; U.S. citizens and Canadian citizens do not apply for an eTA, so the advice below is not meant for them.
The arithmetic behind the date is explained in why an eTA can run out long before five years. If a new passport has already arrived, what happens to an approved eTA once a new passport is issued covers that case. Here the focus is on the trip itself: where the expiry date falls compared with your dates, and what each position means.
How long must your passport be valid to travel to Canada?
The passport has to be valid, which in IRCC’s wording means it is legal, not expired and accepted by IRCC. For visitors, IRCC’s page on valid passports does not list a minimum number of months you must have left on the day you fly. What it does say is that IRCC cannot issue a work permit, study permit or visitor record that runs past the expiry date of your passport.
In practice this gives one simple test: the passport should cover the whole trip, from the day you board to the day you leave Canada. Airlines and the countries you change planes in can have requirements of their own, and those are set by them, not by the eTA system. Ask your carrier, and check transit countries, before you buy tickets.
What happens to your eTA when the passport expires?
The authorization is granted for five years at most, and it is cut short if the passport ends sooner. It is electronically linked to one passport, so it cannot outlive that document. While it is valid you can come to Canada as many times as you like, but the moment the passport expires the eTA is finished too, regardless of how many years were left on it.
When does your passport expire compared with your trip?
The date that matters is not how many months are left in general, but where the expiry date sits relative to your travel dates. There are four positions.
| When the passport expires | Can you board with your current eTA? | Length of stay | What to do now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before your departure date | No. The passport is not valid and the eTA has ended with it | Not applicable | Replace the passport, and only then apply for a new eTA |
| During your planned stay | Yes, provided the passport is unexpired when you fly | Without a stamp, only until the passport’s expiry date, unless the officer names another date | Shorten the trip to end before the expiry date, or renew the passport before you go |
| A few weeks after you return | Yes, provided the passport is unexpired when you fly | Usually up to six months; the passport does not limit a stay that ends earlier | You can travel; ask the airline and any transit country about their own rules |
| A year or more away, but you plan to renew before the trip | Not with the new passport: the current eTA is tied to the old one | Depends on the officer’s decision at the border | Apply for a new eTA once the new passport is in your hands |
The word “usually” is deliberate. The officer at the border decides the length of each visit, and the table describes the default, not a promise.
What if your passport expires while you’re in Canada?
This is the case that catches people, because nothing goes wrong at the airport. You are admitted, the eTA did its job, and the problem arrives months later.
- Your stay is capped by the passport. If you used a kiosk and got no stamp, the limit is whichever comes first: half a year after your arrival date, or the day the passport ends. If you want a date written in the passport, you can ask a border services officer for one, including after using the kiosk.
- The officer can set a different date. The officer may shorten or lengthen your stay to fit the purpose of the visit, so a stamp is the most reliable record of your actual deadline.
- No visitor record beyond the passport date. If you need more time, IRCC will not issue a visitor record that is valid past the expiry date of the passport you hold.
- A new passport obtained in Canada opens the way to an extension. If you receive a new passport after arriving, you can apply to extend your stay, and the application has to reach IRCC no later than 30 days ahead of the date your authorized stay runs out. The steps are laid out in how extending a visitor stay works.
- You do not need an eTA to move around inside Canada. That changes only when you leave and fly back in: a flight to Canada on the new passport needs a new eTA linked to it.
How you obtain a replacement passport from your own country is decided by that country, usually through its embassy, consulate or passport office, so contact them early.
Should you renew your passport before you apply for the eTA?
It depends on the calendar. If the new passport will be in your hands before you travel, submit the eTA application once it arrives, using the new details. An eTA made on the old passport would have to be replaced anyway, and you would pay twice.
If the trip is close and the current passport is valid for the entire journey, you can apply now, accepting that the eTA will end with that passport. The form asks for both the issue date and the expiry date of the passport, so enter them from the passport you will actually carry on the flight.
Already renewed? Your old eTA won’t follow you
Airlines scan the passport at check-in and look for an eTA linked to it. A newly issued passport has none, even if your previous one had an approval. Each passport needs its own eTA, and keeping the old approval email does not change that.
Can you update the passport details on an existing eTA?
No. If the number is wrong or the passport has changed, the answer is a new application. The online form IRCC points to after you apply is for a changed email address; it does not change passport details. Once an application is approved, compare the passport number in the approval email with the document in your hand. If the two do not match, you need to apply again.
How do you check whether your current eTA is still valid?
An eTA never outlasts the passport it was issued for, so the passport’s expiry date is the latest date your eTA can have. To confirm the status, you need your application number and the details of the passport used on the application. get-eta.com, a paid private service separate from the Government of Canada, offers a way to check your eTA status with those details. For more on confirming whether an issued eTA is still in force, see how to tell if your Canada eTA is still valid.
A quick check before you book
- Compare the passport expiry date with the date of your return flight, not only the outbound one.
- Confirm which passport your eTA is linked to, if you hold more than one.
- Decide whether you will renew the passport before the trip; if so, file the eTA application only after the new one arrives.
- Ask the airline, and any country where you change planes, what they require.
- Save the email that contains your eTA number.
The short version
- The passport must be valid when you board, and ideally cover the entire trip.
- An eTA never outlives its passport, and never lasts beyond five years.
- Without a stamp, your stay ends on the passport’s expiry date if that comes before six months are up.
- What to do depends on where the expiry date falls compared with your trip.
- A passport received in Canada, like any new passport, needs its own eTA before the next flight to Canada.
- An existing eTA cannot be edited; a different passport means a new application.
FAQ
Can I enter Canada with a passport expiring in 3 months? Yes, provided the passport is unexpired when you arrive. The eTA linked to it works only until the passport expires, and without a stamp your stay ends on that date too. The airline and any transit country may have separate rules, so ask them.
How long must my passport be valid for travel to Canada? The passport must be valid, meaning not expired and accepted by IRCC, and the authorized stay does not run past its expiry date. No minimum number of months is given for visitors, but the passport should cover the whole trip.
Does my eTA expire when my passport expires? Yes. The eTA ends with the passport, or after five years if that is sooner, and a replacement passport needs a fresh eTA. A visa is a different document: a valid visa in an old passport can still be used if you carry both the old and the new passport.
Can I stay more than 6 months in Canada on an eTA? The eTA does not set the length of your stay. Most visitors can stay up to six months, an officer can allow more or less, and an extension is requested by applying for a visitor record at least 30 days before the authorized stay ends. It will not run beyond the passport’s expiry date.
Does renewing my passport early mean another application? Yes. The old eTA may still show time remaining, but it belongs to the old passport, so the replacement needs its own authorization.