The short answer: more than 50 countries and territories are fully visa-exempt on Canada’s eTA list, from Andorra to the United Arab Emirates. If your passport is on that list and you are flying to Canada, you apply for an eTA instead of a visitor visa. If it is not on the list, you generally need a visa — though 17 visa-required countries, including Mexico, Brazil and Indonesia, have a separate conditional eTA route open to some of their citizens.
If you already know your country qualifies, the UK, German and Austrian guides cover the country-specific detail. This page is the reference list itself: who is on it, who is exempt from needing anything at all, and what the special cases mean in practice.
The full list of eTA-eligible countries and territories
This is the list published on the Government of Canada’s entry-requirements page, grouped by region for readability. A citizen of any of these, travelling by air, needs an eTA rather than a visitor visa.
Europe: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania (electronic passport holders only), San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Vatican City State (passport or travel document issued by the Vatican).
Middle East and Asia-Pacific: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (passport must be issued by Hong Kong SAR), Israel (national Israeli passport), Japan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Taiwan (ordinary passport issued by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the personal identification number), United Arab Emirates.
Americas: Bahamas, Barbados, Chile.
British categories: British citizen; British national overseas; British overseas citizen (re-admissible to the United Kingdom); British overseas territory citizen through birth, descent, naturalization or registration in Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Island, Saint Helena, or Turks and Caicos Islands; British subject with a right of abode in the United Kingdom. This is where the United Kingdom sits on the list — Canada groups it by these citizenship categories rather than by a single “United Kingdom” line, and most UK travellers apply under the first one, British citizen.
The parenthetical notes matter. Hong Kong, Israel, Romania, Taiwan and Vatican City each carry a passport condition — being a citizen isn’t enough if your specific travel document doesn’t match the requirement. One more exception worth knowing if you are arriving by sea rather than air: eTA-eligible travellers arriving from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon are treated like other sea arrivals and generally don’t need an eTA for that leg either.
Who doesn’t need an eTA at all
Three groups skip the eTA question entirely, because a different rule covers them:
- Canadian citizens and dual Canadian citizens travel on a valid Canadian passport. No eTA, no visa.
- Canadian permanent residents travel with a valid PR card or PR travel document.
- US citizens flying to Canada don’t need an eTA or a visa, though they still need a valid passport or other approved document.
US lawful permanent residents (green card holders) are a separate case worth naming directly, because the question comes up often: since April 26, 2022, they need an eTA, not a visa, when flying to Canada. The application asks for a valid passport from their country of citizenship and their valid green card. The full walkthrough for green card holders covers the application details.
If your passport is on the eligible list and you would rather have the form walked through for you, get-eta.com is a paid private service, clearly separate from the Government of Canada, where you can start your eTA application.
The conditional eTA route for 17 visa-required countries
Most citizens of countries not on the list above need a visitor visa, not an eTA, to fly to Canada. There is one group that gets a narrower alternative: citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay can apply for an eTA instead of a visitor visa — but only if they also meet every one of these conditions:
- They have held a Canadian visitor visa in the past 10 years, or currently hold a valid US non-immigrant visa.
- The trip is a temporary stay, normally up to six months.
- They are flying to, or transiting through, a Canadian airport on a valid passport from one of these countries.
Miss any one of the three and the eTA route is closed — a visitor visa is needed instead, and arriving by car, bus, train or boat always needs a visitor visa regardless of the other conditions. Indonesia and Malaysia were the most recent additions to this group, as of May 26, 2026. If you already hold a valid Canadian visitor visa, you can keep using it until it expires — you don’t need to switch to an eTA. The eTA eligibility guide for US visa holders and this conditional group walks through the three conditions in more detail.
What “eligible” doesn’t guarantee
Being on the list means you apply for the right document. It doesn’t mean the application is automatically approved, and it isn’t a guarantee of entry. The application form itself accepts a citizenship code for every country in the world, eligible or not — the form doesn’t filter you out at that step. Eligibility, and the decision on your specific application, are assessed separately. A border services officer still has the final say when you arrive, regardless of what your eTA says.
| Situation | What’s needed |
|---|---|
| Citizen of a listed country/territory, flying to Canada | eTA |
| Citizen of a listed country, arriving by land, bus or cruise ship | Generally nothing extra beyond a valid passport |
| US citizen | No eTA, no visa |
| US green card holder | eTA (since April 26, 2022) |
| Citizen of one of the 17 conditional-route countries, meeting all three conditions | eTA, or an existing valid visitor visa |
| Citizen of a visa-required country outside both groups | Visitor visa |
| Canadian citizen or permanent resident | Neither — Canadian passport or PR document |
Frequently asked questions
Is the eTA list the same as the visa-exempt list? Mostly, with two exceptions. The main list above is fully visa-exempt. The 17-country conditional group is technically visa-required but can use an eTA if its members meet the three extra conditions. And US citizens are visa-exempt but don’t need an eTA either — they need neither document.
My country isn’t on the main list. Can I still get an eTA? Only if you’re a citizen of one of the 17 conditional-route countries and meet all three conditions — a past Canadian visa or valid US visa, a temporary stay, and air travel. Otherwise you need a visitor visa.
Does the eTA list ever change? Yes, IRCC updates both lists periodically, most recently by adding Indonesia and Malaysia to the conditional route in 2026. Check the current list before you apply if your trip is some time away.
I have dual citizenship — one eligible country, one that needs a visa. Which do I use? Apply with the passport you will actually travel on. If that passport is on the eligible list, you apply for an eTA with it.
Do children need to be on the list too? The eTA requirement follows the passport, not the age of the traveller. A child holding a passport from an eTA-eligible country needs their own eTA, linked to their own passport.
The short version
- More than 50 countries and territories are fully visa-exempt; citizens of any of them apply for an eTA, not a visa, to fly to Canada.
- A handful of entries carry passport conditions — Hong Kong SAR, Israel, Romania, Taiwan and Vatican City each have a specific document requirement.
- Canadian citizens, Canadian permanent residents and US citizens don’t need an eTA at all.
- US green card holders need an eTA, not a visa, since April 26, 2022.
- 17 visa-required countries, including Mexico, Brazil and Indonesia, have a conditional eTA route for citizens who also hold a past Canadian visa or a valid US visa and are staying temporarily.
- Being eligible means applying for the right document — it doesn’t decide the outcome of your specific application or guarantee entry.
For the current official list, see the Government of Canada’s page on entry requirements by country.