After you’ve applied for your eTA, something changed. The action you take depends entirely on what that something is—and most changes don’t require you to do anything at all.
The three situations that genuinely matter are: a mistake in what you submitted, an email address that’s no longer valid, and a passport that’s been renewed, lost, or replaced. Everything else—a new phone number, a different home address, a job change—has no effect on your eTA and needs no action. The decision tree is short. Find your situation below and follow only that path.
What changed: the three situations that require action
Before going further, a quick scan of where you actually stand. If you haven’t yet applied, you can start your eTA application with the right details from the outset using the checklist on this site:
| What happened | Does your eTA still work? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Mistake at submission (wrong passport number, name typo, wrong date of birth) | No — a passport number mismatch means you may be unable to travel | Apply again with the correct details |
| Email address changed after approval | eTA still valid | Check official sources for how to update contact details |
| New, renewed, lost or stolen passport | No — your eTA is tied to the old passport number | Apply for a new eTA on the new passport |
| Address, phone number, employer or job title changed | Yes — none of these affect the eTA | No action needed |
That table is the whole decision. The sections below fill in what each path actually involves.
Mistake on the application: apply again with correct details
There is no edit button once an eTA is submitted. If you entered the wrong passport number, misspelled your name, or put in an incorrect date of birth, the approved eTA carries that error and it cannot be corrected in place.
The passport number is the most consequential mistake you can make. Your eTA is electronically linked to the specific passport you used when applying, and airline staff scan that passport at check-in to confirm a valid eTA exists against it. If the number you entered doesn’t match the number printed in your passport, the scan fails and you don’t board. Entering an incorrect passport number may result in you being unable to travel to Canada—that’s not a theoretical risk, it’s the operational consequence of a mismatch.
The fix is to apply for a Canada eTA with the correct information. The original application with the error stays on record but becomes irrelevant once a valid approval is issued on the correct details. Apply as soon as you spot the mistake; don’t wait until the week before departure. Some applications take several days to process, with an email detailing next steps expected within 72 hours—and if your corrected application triggers a manual review, cutting it close creates a real problem.
If you’re unsure whether the passport number on your approval email matches your physical passport, check it character by character. The eTA approval email explained article on this site walks through exactly what to look for in that email and what the fields mean. A single transposed digit is enough to cause a boarding refusal, and it’s the kind of error that’s easy to make and easy to miss on a quick glance.
For a detailed look at the specific scenario where a wrong passport number was entered, the eTA wrong passport number guide covers what happens and how to resolve it step by step.
Email address changed after applying
If your eTA is already approved and you’ve since changed your email address, the authorisation itself remains valid. The eTA is linked to your passport, not your inbox. You can still travel.
If you need to update your contact details, check official channels for guidance. A full reapplication is not required for a contact detail change—the eTA itself remains valid.
New, renewed, lost or stolen passport: apply for a new eTA
Many travellers handle this situation incorrectly. They renew their passport, assume the existing eTA transfers across, and discover at check-in that it doesn’t.
Because the eTA is electronically linked to the specific passport used at the time of application, a new passport means a new passport number, which means the existing eTA has no connection to the document you’re now carrying. You must present the passport linked to your eTA when checking in for your flight. If you’re carrying a new passport, the airline’s scan finds nothing.
The same applies if your passport was reported lost or stolen and a replacement was issued. The old passport number—and the eTA attached to it—is no longer a document you can travel on.
Apply for a new eTA on your new passport before you book non-refundable flights. The application uses the new passport number, and once approved, the new eTA is linked to that document. The old eTA on the cancelled passport becomes irrelevant.
One edge case worth noting: if you’re a dual national holding both a foreign passport and a Canadian passport, the eTA question doesn’t apply to you for the Canadian document. Dual Canadian citizens must use a valid Canadian passport to travel to or transit through Canada by air—a Canadian passport is the only universally accepted document proving Canadian citizenship and the right to enter without immigration screening. If you’ve been applying for eTAs on a Canadian passport, that’s the underlying issue to resolve, not the eTA itself. The eTA eligibility for dual nationals article covers which passport to use and why in each scenario.
What doesn’t change your eTA (and why you can ignore it)
The rules governing eTAs focus on the link between your eTA and your passport number. It does not specify whether changes to contact details, your address, your employer, your phone number, your marital status, or your travel plans affect eTA validity. What is clear is that none of these are part of what the airline verifies at check-in—the scan checks the passport number against the eTA record, nothing more.
Flight changes are the one that causes unnecessary anxiety. If your itinerary shifts—different dates, different routing, different airline—your eTA is unaffected. It’s not tied to a specific flight. If you want the full picture on that scenario, what happens when flight details change after eTA approval explains it in detail.
The eTA also doesn’t guarantee entry into Canada regardless of its validity. That decision rests with the border officer at the port of entry, and a valid eTA is a precondition for boarding, not a guarantee of admission. Keep that distinction clear.
Your eTA is linked to one specific passport number—if that number is wrong or the passport has changed, the eTA doesn’t work.
A contact detail change does not require a new eTA application.
A name, address, phone number or employer change requires nothing from you at all.