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An additional 13 countries (including Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts and St. Vincent) have been added to Canada’s Electronic Travel Authorisation Programme (eTA) as announced by
Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (Canada).
Passport holders from the following countries are now eligible for visa-free entry to Canada:
Philippines
Morocco
Panama
Antigua and Barbuda
St Kitts and Nevis
St Lucia
St Vincent and Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago
Argentina
Costa Rica
Uruguay
Seychelles
Thailand
Previously, travellers from these countries would have needed to apply for a visitor's visa also known as a temporary residence visa (TRV) or a transit visa, if transiting through an airport in Canada.
Now, all that would be required the is an eTA (basically an e-visa), which has a one time fee of $7 CAD and is valid for 5 years or until the expiration of the holder's passport and you can re-apply once it has expired.
While this news is exciting, there are some eligibility requirements, meaning that, not all passport holders from these countries will immediately be able to benefit from visa free travel to Canada.
So, what are the requirements? To be eligible, travellers must have either held a Canadian Visa within the last 10 years or currently hold a valid United States non-immigrant visa (B1 visa).
Unsure if you qualify for visa free travel to Canada? Find out here via the official Canadian Government site.
If you think you qualify for visa free travel, you can apply for your e-visa here.
Note that, you only need the ETA for air travel, if you are arriving by car, bus, train or boat (including cruise ships) you do not need an ETA.
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