Effective from February 28, 2022, Canada will be easing travel entry requirements for foreign citizens. Under the new guidelines, travelers who have been to a select number of countries in the past ten years will not need visas to visit Canada. This visa-free list includes 18 nations and 3 territories: The United Kingdom, France and Bermuda. Additionally, two countries with which Canada has had a visa waiver agreement in place since March 2001 – Japan and South Korea – will also be added to this list. Citizens of all other countries wishing to visit Canada will still need a valid visitor visa.
Travelers who would like their passport stamped can obtain visas through Canadian embassies or consulates abroad or at designated airports when traveling by air (a fee is required). Electronic travel authorizations (eTA) will be required for all visa-exempt foreign citizens entering Canada by air, except for U.S. citizens and travelers arriving from the United States via a land border crossing.
The eTA is an automated process that determines if a traveler poses a potential risk to Canada’s security before boarding the plane, and can be obtained online or at one of more than 1,000 Visa Application Centers worldwide in approximately 60 minutes or less if submitted online.
Canada expects international tourism and business visitors to contribute $17 billion annually in economic benefits by 2020 through increased spending on goods and services in Canada, including transportation fees and accommodation expenses.
The new policy aims to ease entry requirements for nationals from countries with high refusal rates who pose little security or safety risk, while still maintaining an efficient and secure immigration system. Foreign nationals who pose a security or safety risk will continue to be denied entry.
New visa rules coming into place; citizens of the UK, France & Bermuda won’t need visas to visit Canada; citizens of Japan & South Korea can get eTAs instead (electronic travel authorisations); citizens of all other countries still need visitor/student/business visas; some security/safety risks will still be denied entry; worth $17 billion annually by 2020 – economic benefits expected through increased spending on goods & services in Canada
The Canadian government is planning to ease travel entry guidelines for international visitors starting on February 28, 2022. Under these new guidelines, citizens of the UK, France and Bermuda will no longer need visas to visit Canada; travelers from Japan and South Korea can get an eTA instead (electronic travel authorisations); visitors from all other countries will still need visitor/student/business visas; some security risks will remain denied entry. These changes are expected to bring $17 billion annually in economic benefits by 2020 through increased spending on goods and services in Canada.
