Guides

In a Nutshell An eTA is tied to air travel only. If your plans involve driving across the border or arriving by ferry, your approved eTA has no role at the crossing — what matters is your proof of identity and citizenship. The document requirements differ by entry mode, and knowing which applies to you before you travel is the difference between a straightforward crossing and a real problem at the booth. If you’re still sorting out your air travel plans, an eTA application is the right starting point for that route. ...

You’re at the airline check-in desk with your bags weighed and your boarding pass on your phone — and the agent is telling you the system can’t confirm your eTA. That moment is avoidable, and it’s avoidable with a single decision made weeks earlier. Apply for your eTA before you book your flight. That’s the official guidance, and it’s the right call for almost every traveller. Most approvals arrive within minutes, so there’s no practical reason to wait until you have a ticket in hand. The eTA is valid for up to five years (or until your passport expires, whichever comes first), so applying early costs you nothing in terms of validity — and it removes a real source of risk before you commit money to flights and accommodation. ...

Most dual citizens assume they can pick whichever passport suits them best. For most, that’s true, but for anyone holding a Canadian passport, the situation is more complicated. The rule is absolute: if you’re a Canadian citizen, you cannot apply for an eTA and must travel to Canada on your Canadian passport. For everyone else holding two passports, the question becomes which one to use, and that single choice, made carefully before you open the form, determines everything that follows. If a passport renewal happens mid-cycle, remember that a new passport number breaks the link to your existing eTA, so you’ll need to apply again on the new document. ...

You might think an approved eTA stays with you when you get a new passport. It doesn’t. The eTA is tied to your old passport number, and that link breaks the moment you get a new document. So no — you cannot use your existing eTA with a new passport. The airline will scan your new passport at check-in, find no valid eTA attached to it, and you won’t board. The fix is a new eTA application using your new passport number, and the sooner you do it, the less stress you carry into departure day. If you also hold a second nationality, see the guidance on applying for a Canada eTA with dual citizenship before you start. This is different from an eTA simply reaching the end of its own five-year window — see how long a Canada eTA is actually valid if you’re unsure which situation applies to you. ...

In a Nutshell Your eTA status lives in two places: the email address you used when you applied, and the IRCC Application status tracker online. Most decisions arrive within minutes; a small number take a few days. The moment you see an approval, your job isn’t done — you need to compare the passport number in that email against the number printed in your physical passport, character by character, before you do anything else. A mismatch is a common trap, and fixing it takes time you may not have close to a departure date. If you hold dual citizenship, the Canada eTA and dual citizenship page explains which passport you should use when applying. ...

A refusal splits into two categories — one you can fix in hours, one you often can’t fix before your trip. Your first job is to know which one you’re in. The email you received doesn’t always spell out the reason in plain language. That’s frustrating, but the distinction that matters isn’t the wording of the refusal — it’s whether the problem is a data error on your application or a finding that you’re inadmissible to Canada. Those two situations call for completely different responses, and treating an inadmissibility refusal like a data error (just reapplying) will almost certainly fail. ...