Canada’s New Visa-Free Entry Policy for Filipinos: A Hassle-Free Way to Visit Canada

Canada has included the Philippines in its Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) program, which grants eligible Filipinos traveling by air for either business or leisure visa-free entry. Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said in an Embassy of Canada release on Wednesday that “Canada is a destination of choice for so many around the world. We’re making it easier for more people to visit Canada, whether they’re coming to do business, sightsee, or reunite with family and friends.

The eTA program allows Philippine passport holders who have either a valid US non-immigrant visa or a Canadian visitor’s visa issued in the last 10 years to apply for an eTA instead of a visa.

The eTA application through Canada.ca/etA is a simple and quick online process that costs PHP300 or 7 Canadian dollars. It lets Canadian officials screen air travelers before they arrive. Most applications are approved within minutes.

Those who already have a valid visa can still use it to travel to Canada.

The Canadian Embassy said that those who need a visitor visa to travel to Canada by other means than air (e.g., by car, bus, train, and boat, including by cruise ship) are not eligible for an eTA.

“By introducing visa-free air travel, we are making it easier, faster, and cheaper for thousands of known travelers from the Philippines to come to Canada for up to six months for business or leisure,” the Canadian Embassy said. “This will also help boost travel, tourism, and international business between our countries, and help foster stronger people-to-people and cultural ties.”

The Philippines is already a member of Canada’s Transit Without Visa program, which allows eligible Filipino nationals to transit through Canada without a Canadian visa when they are traveling to or from the US. The Philippines also benefit from the Student Direct Stream, which offers faster study permit processing for those who want to study in Canada.

The Philippines is one of 13 countries added to the eTA, along with Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Costa Rica, Morocco, Panama, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.

In the past 10 years, Canada issued 466,936 temporary resident visas to Philippine citizens.

These individuals, along with current US non-immigrant visa holders, may now qualify for visa-free travel, said the embassy.