You think your eTA is lost. It isn’t. Here’s what is—and how to find it. The eTA record itself lives in a government database, tied electronically to your passport. There is no file on your phone or in your inbox that needs to exist for the eTA to be valid. What actually goes missing is one of three things: the confirmation email, the application number that came with it, or the memory of which passport you used when you applied. In some cases, a fourth problem turns up—the approval exists, but the passport number on it doesn’t match the one you’re travelling with. Each of those has a different fix, and none of them require panic. If you’re new to the eTA system, the what is a Canada eTA article explains the basics. ...

Your eTA is still valid. Changing your airline, travel date, or arrival airport does not require you to apply for a new eTA or notify anyone. The eTA is linked to your passport, not to a specific flight or itinerary — so when your travel plans shift, the authorisation simply travels with your passport unchanged. That’s the complete answer for most people who land on this page. What follows explains why the system works that way, and then gets specific about the two situations where action actually is required. ...

Many people assume an eTA is a stamp or sticker you collect in your passport, or that it’s just another name for a visitor visa. Neither is true. An eTA is a digital record — stored in a government database and tied to your passport number — that authorises you to board a flight to Canada. There is nothing to print, nothing to stick in a passport, and nothing to carry through the airport. The authorisation exists electronically, and the connection between it and you runs entirely through one thing: the number on your passport. ...

You’re at the US–Canada border crossing, passport ready, eTA approval email on your phone — and the officer tells you the eTA doesn’t apply here. Or you’re boarding a ferry from Washington State to Victoria and you’re not sure whether your eTA covers the crossing. This is one of the most common points of confusion around the eTA, and the answer is straightforward: an eTA is an air-travel requirement only. If you’re arriving by car, bus, train, ferry, cruise ship, or any other vessel, your eTA is simply not relevant to that entry. ...

IRCC says you should hear something within 72 hours. But pending after that window closes doesn’t mean something went wrong—it means your application is on a slower track that is still moving. That slower track exists because a portion of eTA applications can’t be resolved automatically and need a human review, additional documents, or a more detailed background check. The system flags them, routes them differently, and continues processing them. Your application hasn’t been forgotten. ...

You’re at the check-in desk, your child’s passport in hand, and the airline agent scans it — only to find no eTA linked to it. That moment is avoidable, but only if you’ve applied for your child’s authorisation separately, in advance, using their own passport details. Yes, your child needs their own eTA. Every person who requires an eTA to fly to Canada — regardless of age — must have one individually linked to their own passport. A minor cannot travel on a parent’s eTA, and they cannot be added to yours. The application process itself follows the same basic steps as an adult application, but there are additional documents to prepare and a few details specific to children that are worth understanding before you start. ...

An additional information request does not mean your eTA application will be refused—it is a normal part of processing for some applicants. What it means is that the automated system flagged something in your application that a human officer needs to look at more closely before a decision can be made. That review might be routine identity verification, a question about your travel history, or something in your background that requires a supporting document. None of that is the same as a refusal. ...

Who this route is for Citizens from some visa-required countries may be eligible to apply for an electronic travel authorization (eTA), instead of a visa, to travel to Canada by air. This is a limited route with specific conditions; meeting one condition alone is not enough. The three eligibility conditions are: Your passport is from one of the eligible visa-required countries listed on the official IRCC page. You have held a Canadian visitor visa (temporary resident visa) in the past 10 years, or you currently hold a valid United States (US) non-immigrant visa. You are flying to or transiting through a Canadian airport. If you do not meet all of the requirements, you need a visitor visa (temporary resident visa) to travel to Canada. ...

The document you need to transit through Canada depends on how long the transit will take and other factors, including US permanent resident status or possession of a US visa. A US visa is one element that may affect eligibility for a specific, narrow route — it does not by itself determine what Canadian document you need. Start with your passport and travel mode If you are from an eTA-required country, you need an eTA to transit through Canada by air. If you are from a visa-required country, a different set of rules applies depending on your itinerary and other factors. ...

Before acting on any eTA email, identify which category of message you received. The response that is appropriate for a document request is different from the response for an approval, and a confirmation of receipt is different again. Reading the subject line alone is not enough — and if what you have doesn’t match any of the three categories below, start there instead. The three email categories After you submit an eTA application, the IRCC email-outcomes guidance says you should receive an email that falls into one of three categories. ...