Canada eTA, useful definitions

Do you want to order an eTA (Electronic Travel Authorization) to go to Canada, but all these unknown acronyms or English words scare you? Do not panic, for a better understanding, our team has established and detailed a list of essential terms relating to the Canada eTA. This will make it much easier for you to order your travel authorization. We also invite you to consult our FAQ page as well as our help section.

NAFTA

NAFTA stands for North American Free Trade Agreement. This pact, signed between the USA, Mexico and Canada, facilitates the incoming and outgoing flows of citizens within these territories, within the framework of a professional activity.

NAFTA targets four categories of people:

• businessmen ;
• salaried employees;
• workers transferred within a company;
• investors and traders.

Embassy

The embassy is a diplomatic structure representing a country within a foreign nation. Its objectives are above all to maintain good cooperation with the host country, guarantee the safety of expatriates and allow its citizens to carry out various administrative procedures abroad.

ETA

The eTA (Electronic Travel Authorization) allows nationals from a visa-exempt country to travel to Canada by air. The purpose of this authorization is to ensure that the traveler does not present a risk to Canada’s internal security. It takes the form of an electronic document directly linked to the passport and is valid for a period of 5 years or until the identity document expires.

Consulate

The consulate is a government office based in a foreign country aimed at assisting and protecting nationals of the state represented by the consulate. In particular, he is responsible for issuing civil status documents (identity card, passport, etc.).

ESTA

Acronym for Electronic System for Travel Authorization, the ESTA is the equivalent of the AVE for the United States. The ESTA form allows citizens of one of the member countries of the visa waiver program to stay for a maximum of 90 days on American soil. The request for an ESTA authorization is also done online.

eTA

eTA is the abbreviation for “Electronic Travel Authorization”. It is simply the English term for AVE. Issued by the Canadian government, the eTA is a travel authorization to Canada allowing you to stay for a maximum of 6 months on Canadian territory.

eTA fees

The request for an eTA form generates administrative costs. A sum of $7 CAN is required to finalize the sending of the online request. Additional charges may apply depending on the services provided.

IRCC

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is Canada’s immigration services department. The missions of the latter revolve mainly around:

• the organization and control of flows of nationals arriving in the territory;
• maintaining and strengthening the values associated with citizenship;

As such, the IRCC notably manages the issuance of Canada eTAs and verifies that foreign applicants are indeed admissible under Canadian law.

Biometric passport

Officially launched in France in 2009, the biometric passport replaces the electronic passport. It has the particularity of being difficult to falsify, thanks to an electronic chip contained within the document. The latter includes the holder’s identification data (fingerprints, physiognomic features, photograph, etc.). In addition, a biometric passport is recognized when the term “passport” is underlined on the cover.

Electronic Passport

Introduced in 2006, the electronic passport has an electronic chip containing the identification data of its owner. It has now been replaced by the biometric passport, which is much more difficult to falsify.

PST

The PST (Temporary Residence Permit) is a residence permit issued to individuals who are inadmissible and do not meet the requirements of the law on immigration and protection of refugees. The Canadian authorities only issue this document in the event of exceptional situations of a humanitarian, social or economic nature.

WHV Canada

The Working Holiday Program (WHV) is a temporary work visa that offers eligible nationals the opportunity to live and work in Canada. Depending on the nationality, its duration is 12 or 24 months during which the traveler can do tourism, but also work on Canadian territory.

Permanent resident

Permanent resident status is granted to foreign persons authorized to stay on Canadian territory without time limit. Permanent residents can thus live like any Canadian citizen.

temporary resident

The status of temporary resident is granted to foreigners who meet the criteria established by law with regard to entry into the territory. This authorization to stay only applies to foreigners destined to leave Canada eventually (visitors, students, workers, etc.).

Electronic stamp (electronic facilitation stamp)

The electronic sticker is issued automatically when an application for temporary residence is approved. This virtual sticker, registered in a computer management system grouping eTA requests, is directly attached to the passport of the traveler in question. It is used to officially authorize access to boarding, once the identity verification has been completed.

Visa

The visa is an official authorization issued by foreign embassies to travel to a given country. It takes the form of a sticker inserted in the national’s passport. We find on this sticker, a sticker with specific information entered by the office where the visa was issued. There are two categories of visa in Canada :

• the temporary residence visa (visitor visa);
• the permanent residence visa.

Visitor Visa

The visitor visa, also called tourist visa, refers to the temporary resident visa.