Visitor Visa Canada

Some travellers may need an electronic travel authorization (eTA) instead of a visitor visa. If you're travelling as a tourist, visiting family or visiting on business, answer a few questions to find out whether you need a visa or an eTA.

Got a visitor visa that is still valid? You can keep travelling with it until the day it runs out.

Since 26 May 2026, some travellers holding Indonesian or Malaysian citizenship can qualify for an eTA rather than a visitor visa, as long as they meet the set conditions. This works only if you fly to Canada.

You apply online through the IRCC Portal. The portal covers visits for all of these purposes:

• tourism
• business
• visiting family, including a husband, wife, or partner who sponsored your move to permanent residence
• coming to Canada for compassionate grounds
• marine crew joining a vessel
• taking on a diplomatic role in Canada
• passing through Canada in transit
• the parent and grandparent super visa

Inside the portal, the steps run in this order:

1. Fill in the questions about yourself and your trip. Your answers determine which documents you need.
2. Read the document list you get once the questions are done.
3. Upload those documents as part of your application.
4. Give it a bit of time before you check your account, since it can take up to 5 days for an application to appear after it arrives.

Your application may also involve giving biometrics. Plan for this extra step, because the official processing time doesn't include it.

For visitor visa waiting times, check IRCC's processing times tool, since the two times listed here are for other applications. Here are two of today's numbers, taken from the IRCC page that tracks processing times:

These figures are today's averages from IRCC, not a promise about your own case. Visitor visa times depend on the country you apply from: see them by country on our IRCC processing times page before you book flights.

If you're visiting Canada right now and would like to extend that visit, you need to apply for a visitor record. IRCC currently lists the wait at about 341 days, and it can be longer when more people apply to immigrate than Canada can bring in, so apply well before your current stay ends.

For parents and grandparents, the super visa is an option that lets them spend up to 5 years visiting their children or grandchildren. You apply for it through the IRCC Portal as well.

Canada has extended its temporary Ebola measures until 27 November 2026. If you think this could affect your trip, check the official page.

If you get help from a consultant, lawyer or Quebec notary, make sure that person holds a valid licence to represent or advise you, so it's worth checking before you pay anything. This page gives general information, not immigration advice.