You’ve just received an email from IRCC about your eTA application. Is it telling you to wait, to submit documents, or that you’re approved? The answer is in the first few lines of the email, and it routes you to one of three completely different next steps. Most applications get a decision within minutes; if yours is taking longer, you’ll receive an email within 72 hours that tells you exactly what’s needed. If you haven’t applied yet, the first Canada eTA application checklist is a useful starting point before you begin. Before you do anything else, figure out which of the three categories below describes what you’re looking at.
| Email type | What it says | Your action |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmation of receipt | Acknowledges your submission; no decision yet | Wait; use the status tracker if needed |
| Document request | Flags that more information is required | Respond promptly with what’s asked |
| Approval | States your eTA is approved; includes your eTA number | Check the passport number immediately |
The three email types and what each one means
A confirmation of receipt tells you IRCC has your application and it’s in the queue. No decision has been made. This is not approval — it’s an acknowledgement, and it’s the email that unlocks the online status tracker for your application.
A document request means the automated system wasn’t able to reach a decision on its own. The email will outline what’s needed from you. This isn’t a refusal; it’s a pause. What you do in the next few days matters.
An approval email is the one that counts. It confirms your eTA has been issued and includes your eTA number. Your eTA is electronically linked to the passport you used when applying — that link is what the airline will verify at check-in, not a printout.
There’s also a fourth type worth knowing: a suspension notice. If temporary public health measures affect your country of last residence — as is currently the case for applicants who listed the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, or Uganda — a previously approved eTA can be suspended, and you’ll be notified by email. When those measures end, the eTA is automatically reactivated without any action on your part.
Confirmation of receipt: what happens next
This email means your application exists in the system. Nothing more, nothing less. Status updates through the IRCC Application Status Tracker only become visible after you’ve received this acknowledgement of receipt, so keep it — you may need the reference information it contains.
For most applicants, the gap between this email and a decision is very short. Many people receive approval within the same session they applied. If several days pass without further contact, the tracker is the right place to look rather than waiting passively.
One practical note: IRCC sends automated emails, and spam filters sometimes catch them. If you applied and haven’t seen anything in your inbox, check your junk folder before assuming the application stalled.
Document request: how to respond
This email is asking you to do something specific. Read it carefully rather than skimming for good or bad news — the instructions will name what’s required and usually indicate how to submit it.
The most common mistake here is delay. An unanswered document request doesn’t resolve itself, and the closer you get to your travel date, the less room you have to manoeuvre. If the request asks for something you don’t immediately have — a translated document, a scanned certificate — start tracking it down the same day.
If the request relates to information you entered on the application, double-check that what you submitted matches your passport exactly. A mismatch in a name, date of birth, or passport number is often what triggers this kind of follow-up. For a detailed walkthrough of what happens after a document request and how the process unfolds, the guide on responding to an eTA additional information request covers the sequence step by step.
Approval: the passport number check you must do before travel
When you receive an approval email, the first thing to do — before you book anything non-refundable, before you pack, before anything else — is open your physical passport and compare the passport number on the document in your hand against the number in the approval email.
This matters because an eTA is electronically linked to one specific passport. Airline staff scan that passport at check-in to confirm the link exists. If the number in your eTA doesn’t match the passport you’re travelling with, the system won’t find a valid authorisation, and you may not be allowed to board. Entering a wrong passport number on the application form can prevent you from travelling to Canada entirely, and reapplying at the last minute may not be possible in time for your flight.
The approval email includes your eTA number. Keep that email somewhere you can find it easily — not because you need to print it or show it at the airport, but because it’s your record of what passport number the eTA was issued against.
Your eTA is valid for up to five years or until the linked passport expires, whichever comes first. If you renew your passport before that window closes, the eTA tied to the old passport doesn’t transfer — you’ll need a new one.
Pro Tips
The passport number in the email is the one that was submitted, not necessarily the correct one. If you made a typo when applying, the approval email will show the wrong number and the check will still appear to pass. Compare the email against your actual passport character by character, not just a quick scan for the right length.
If you’re a dual national, the passport you used for the application is the only one that works at check-in. The eTA is linked to one document. Travelling on a different passport — even a valid one from an eligible country — won’t satisfy the airline’s scan. Decide which passport you’re travelling on before you apply, not after.
An approval email doesn’t expire the way a boarding pass does, but the eTA itself can. If you applied well in advance of travel, verify the linked passport is still valid for the trip. An eTA tied to a passport that expired last month is not a usable eTA, regardless of what the approval email says.
How to track a pending application if you need to
Once you have your acknowledgement of receipt, the status tracker lets you check where things stand without waiting for another email. It won’t show anything before that first email arrives, so there’s no point checking immediately after submitting.
If your application has been pending beyond what seems reasonable and you haven’t received any follow-up, the tracker is the right first stop. It reflects the current state of your file and will show whether a document request has been issued that you might have missed — including one that went to junk mail.
The eTA system is designed to process most applications quickly, but some do sit in review for several days. That’s normal. What isn’t normal is receiving no email at all within 72 hours of applying — if that happens, you can check your eTA status and review your junk folder before assuming something has gone wrong.