Guides

Most people assume a criminal record means they cannot enter Canada at all. In fact, you may still be able to visit: eTA just is not the route. The answer to whether you can still come depends entirely on which category your situation falls into, and each category has a different path forward. This article works through the diagnosis first, then the real options. If you have a criminal conviction or a previous refusal on your record, an eTA application will almost certainly be refused. There is no appeal process for a refused eTA. So before you submit, it is worth spending twenty minutes here to understand whether you are eligible at all: because submitting when you are not only closes a door without opening another one. If you are ready to apply for a Canada eTA, make sure your situation is clear first. ...

In a Nutshell Your study permit or work permit is permission to study or work once you’re inside Canada. It is not what gets you onto the plane or across the border. What does that job is a separate travel document: an eTA, a visitor visa, or a Canadian passport, depending entirely on your citizenship and how you’re entering. The confusion is common because the permit and the entry document are processed together the first time around, which makes it easy to assume they’re the same thing. They aren’t. ...

Before you zip your bag and head for the airport, sort your medications out properly. Border officers in Canada can and do inspect medications closely, and the difference between a smooth crossing and a prolonged secondary inspection usually comes down to paperwork you either have or don’t. The short answer: bring your meds in their original labelled containers, carry a copy of each prescription and a doctor’s note explaining why you take them, keep everything in your carry-on, and declare what you have. That covers most situations. The sections below fill in the details, including the cases where the rules get sharper. ...

A lot of travellers assume that crossing into Canada with a dog or cat is roughly like crossing with extra luggage: declare it, pay a small fee, move on. The reality is that Canada has specific import requirements for animals, and arriving without the right paperwork puts you at genuine risk of delays or, in the worst case, being turned back at the border. The correct documents and health preparations need to be in order before you leave home, not assembled at the crossing. ...

You submitted your eTA application, expected a quick approval email, and instead got a message saying more information is required. The application status now reads something like “Information Requested,” and your flight is sitting on the calendar. This status is not a refusal. It means a human reviewer has looked at your application and flagged something that needs clarification before a decision can be made. It’s a normal part of the process, one that resolves for most people who respond clearly and promptly. What you do in the next few days matters more than the status itself. ...

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. ...

You’re at your desk, refreshing your inbox for the third time this morning. The eTA application went in two days ago and there is nothing there, not even a rejection. Before you start assuming the worst, here’s the direct answer: most eTAs arrive within minutes, but some applications legitimately take several days to process, and that delay has a short list of specific causes. A long wait does not automatically mean a problem; it means your application landed in a queue that requires a closer look. ...

Your nationality decides this question before anything else does. The method you use to travel to Canada decides it a second time. Get those two facts straight, and the answer is usually obvious within a minute. Here’s the short version: if you hold a passport from a visa-exempt country and you’re flying to Canada, you need an eTA. If your country is on the visa-required list, you need a visitor visa for any method of travel. A narrow group of travellers from certain visa-required countries can qualify for an eTA if they’re arriving by air and meet specific criteria, but they’d still need a visa if they crossed by land or sea. U.S. citizens need neither: just a valid U.S. passport… ...

You’re at the check-in counter, bags on the belt, and the agent asks for your passport. That moment is where your eTA either works for you or doesn’t, and it all comes down to one thing: whether the passport in your hand is the exact one linked to your eTA approval..** That is the core of entering Canada with an eTA. Everything else on this list supports the conversation you will have with a border services officer once you land. ...

Yes, you can extend your stay in Canada even though you entered with an eTA, but not by doing anything to the eTA itself. The eTA got you through the boarding gate and past the first checkpoint at the airport. What governs how long you can actually remain in Canada is your visitor status, and extending that means a separate application entirely: a visitor record. That distinction trips up a lot of people, and it’s worth getting clear on before anything else. ...