The short answer: the official Canada eTA application is the one on canada.ca, run by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and the only fee it charges is the 7 CAD government fee. A private service can help you complete the same form, but the decision is always made by IRCC, and any extra charge on top of 7 CAD is that service’s own fee. Either way, you end up with the same thing: an eTA linked electronically to your passport.
If you have never applied, start with what a Canada eTA is and the first application checklist. This page is for the narrower question people search for: what exactly is “the government application”, what does it include, and how do I know what I have submitted?
What is the Government of Canada eTA application?
It is the online form on the Government of Canada website where a visa-exempt foreign national asks IRCC for an electronic travel authorization. You fill in passport details, personal and contact details, employment, travel information and a set of background questions, then pay the fee by card. The government site is on the canada.ca domain, and addresses ending in gc.ca are also government addresses. A website on any other domain is a private company, even if its design looks official.
The application produces one result: a decision from IRCC, sent by email, with an application number. If approved, the eTA is electronically linked to the passport you used. Nothing is posted to you, and airlines check the eTA electronically at check-in.
What does the 7 CAD cover?
The fee covers one eTA application. It is charged when you submit, it is paid by card, and it is not refunded if the application is refused or you change your plans. Canada accepts Visa, Mastercard and American Express, prepaid versions of those, Visa Debit, Debit Mastercard, UnionPay and JCB.
The fee does not buy a faster decision, a guarantee of approval or permission to enter. Whoever fills in the form, the decision and the fee for that decision are the same. A border services officer still decides whether you may enter each time you arrive.
Official application or a private service: what differs?
| Official form on canada.ca | Private service | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | 7 CAD | 7 CAD plus the service’s own fee |
| Who decides | IRCC | IRCC |
| What you get for the fee | Processing of your application | Help completing and checking the form |
| Where the form lives | canada.ca | The company’s own website |
| Result | eTA linked to your passport | The same eTA linked to your passport |
Neither route is better for your chances. Some travellers pick a service for help in their own language or a second look at their answers. get-eta.com is a paid private service, clearly separate from the Government of Canada, where you can start your eTA application. If you want to pay only the government fee, apply on canada.ca yourself.
What information does the form ask for?
Have these to hand before you begin, because the form cannot be saved and started again later:
- Your passport: number, issue and expiry dates, and the country that issued it.
- Personal details: name as in the passport, date and place of birth, marital status.
- Contact details, including an email address you can open right now.
- Employment details.
- Your travel information.
- Background questions about health, previous refusals and criminal history.
Answer them truthfully and consistently with your passport. Our field-by-field walkthrough explains each question. An eTA cannot be edited after you submit, so a mistake means a new application; entering the wrong passport number shows what that looks like.
How do you know your application exists?
After submitting, you should receive an email with an application number. You can also check the application status on the government site. You need your UCI (unique client identifier) or client ID, your application number, your first and last name, your date of birth and your place of birth. Status updates appear only after IRCC has issued an acknowledgement of receipt, so a sparse result a few minutes after submitting does not mean anything went wrong.
If nothing arrives, check your spam folder, then check the status. If your application is still pending after the usual time, what to do when an eTA is still pending lists the next steps.
What if IRCC asks for more documents?
Sometimes IRCC needs more documents before it can decide. Those requests go through your IRCC secure account, which you sign in to with a GCKey username and password or a Sign-In Partner. A decision can take several days after the documents are received. If a message asks you to send documents somewhere else, check it against your account on canada.ca before you reply.
How long does an approved eTA last?
An approved eTA lasts five years at most, and it ends sooner if your passport expires first. In that time you can make multiple short visits. If you get a new passport, the old eTA no longer works with it, and you need to apply again. Multiple entries and validity covers the details.
Frequently asked questions
Is the government application the same as the eTA? The application is the form and the payment. The eTA is the authorization IRCC issues if it approves the application.
Can I apply on the day I fly? Many applications are decided within minutes, but some take several days, so applying earlier is safer.
Do children need their own application? Yes. Every traveller, including infants, needs an eTA linked to their own passport.
Who cannot apply for an eTA? Canadian citizens, including dual citizens, travel on a Canadian passport and cannot apply. US citizens and US lawful permanent residents are exempt.
Is an eTA a visa? No. It is an electronic authorization for visa-exempt travellers, and it does not guarantee entry.
The short version
- The official application is on canada.ca and run by IRCC.
- The government fee is 7 CAD, paid once, by card, and not refunded.
- A private service adds its own fee; IRCC makes the decision either way.
- Have your passport, an email address and a card ready; the form cannot be saved.
- Keep the application number from the confirmation email, and print or save your payment receipt straight away, because the form does not let you print it later.
- The eTA lasts up to five years, or less if your passport expires first.
For the live rules, see the Government of Canada page on how to apply for an eTA.