Applying for the Canada eTA: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you want to complete your Canada eTA application the right way, this step-by-step guide shows you how to apply safely, through the whole process — it only takes a few minutes once you know what really matters.

Check the requirements to apply for Canada eTA

Make sure you’re a citizen of a visa-exempt country, that you hold a valid passport, and that you’re traveling to Canada by air. You’ll find more details in our article on the eTA requirements.

Step 1: prepare your documents

Have your passport, a valid email address and a standard credit or debit card to hand before you start filling out the form.

Step 2: fill out the Canada eTA application form

Enter your personal details, passport information, and travel details accurately and completely. At eta-ca.online, we guide you through every field of the form and check your information before it is submitted.

Step 3: confirm and submit your Canada eTA application

Once the form is filled out, you review the summary and confirm. Your application is then transmitted, and you receive a confirmation by email.

Step 4: wait for confirmation

Most applications are approved within minutes. In some cases, it can take up to 72 hours if additional documents are required. You’ll find more details in our article on eTA processing time.

Step 5: keep your confirmation

Keep the confirmation email in digital form (for example on your smartphone) and, ideally, also printed. No physical document is issued — the eTA is electronically linked to your passport.

Step 6: travel

With a valid eTA, you can enter Canada as often as you like for up to 5 years, as long as your passport remains valid during that period.

Start your Canada eTA application now

Before applying, check the full list of eTA requirements (read more here). Also worth knowing: avoid the most common mistakes. Ready? Start your eTA application here with personalized support at every step.

Canada eTA application field by field: where people hesitate

Most of the form is transcription. Four parts are not, and they are where applications slow down or go wrong.

Personal details. Take them from the machine-readable zone at the foot of the passport photo page. Surname first, every forename included, spelling exactly as printed.
Contact details. The email address is where the decision is delivered. Type it, then read it back character by character. A mistyped address is the most common cause of a decision that “never arrived”.
Employment. Describe what you actually do. Student, retired, homemaker and unemployed are all accepted answers. Inflating a job title to look more settled does not help and creates an inconsistency if anything is checked.
Background questions. Previous refusals, removals, arrests and convictions — any country, any date, including matters considered spent at home. Disclosure is assessed; non-disclosure discovered later is treated far more seriously.

Before you submit your Canada eTA application

Passport number compared against the document, one character at a time.
Passport expiry date confirmed to fall after your return.
Names matched to the machine-readable zone rather than to habit.
Date of birth checked for transposed day and month.
One application open per traveller, with that traveller’s passport in front of you.

After your Canada eTA application is submitted

Most answers return within minutes. Some files go to manual review and take longer, and there is no way to accelerate one once it is there — which is the whole reason to apply at the point of booking rather than the night before. Keep the confirmation, and check that what you received is a decision rather than an acknowledgement of receipt.

The Canada eTA application form, section by section

Knowing the order of the questions in advance removes most of the hesitation. The application moves through the same sequence every time.

1. Who is applying

The form first asks whether you are completing it for yourself or on behalf of someone else. Parents applying for a child, and anyone helping a relative, must say so here. This answer does not change the questions that follow, but it must be accurate.

2. Travel document

Document type, country of issue, passport number, issue date and expiry date. Copy each field from the photo page. Two classic traps: the issue date and the expiry date are easily swapped, and the letter O and the digit 0 are easily confused in passport numbers. If a character is ambiguous, the machine-readable zone at the foot of the page settles it.

3. Personal details

Surname, every given name, date of birth, place of birth, gender and marital status. Enter names exactly as printed, without adding names you use informally and without leaving out middle names that appear in the passport.

4. Contact details and address

Your email address and your home address. The decision is sent to the email address, so it should be one you check regularly and will keep using for years.

5. Employment

Your current occupation, job title, employer and the year you started. Students, retirees, homemakers and people between jobs have accurate options available; choose the one that describes your situation rather than the one that sounds most settled.

6. Background questions

Previous refusals or removals, criminal history and certain medical questions. Answer each one on its own terms. Disclosure is assessed; an omission discovered later is treated far more seriously than the original fact.

7. Travel information

Whether you know when you will travel and, if so, the date. If you are leaving soon, entering the date helps signal that the file is time-sensitive.

8. Declaration

You confirm that the information is true and complete. This is the point at which everything above becomes your responsibility, so it is worth one last read-through before ticking it.

If you make a mistake on your Canada eTA application

Before submitting, correct it on the form. Nothing is transmitted until you confirm.

After submitting, an application cannot be edited. If the error is in your passport number, your name or your date of birth, the authorization will not match your document at check-in. The remedy is a new application with the correct information — and the earlier you notice, the less it matters. For other kinds of error, write to us and we will tell you whether it needs a fresh application.

What you receive, and when

Shortly after submission you receive an acknowledgement with an application number. Keep it: it is the reference for your file. The decision itself follows separately by email. Most arrive within minutes; some files go to manual review and take longer, as set out in our guide to processing times.

Read which message you have. An acknowledgement of receipt is not an approval, and travellers have arrived at the airport believing otherwise.

For general background on the Canada eTA, see the overview of Canada’s visa policy on Wikipedia.

Common questions

Can I save my Canada eTA application and finish later?

Plan to complete it in one sitting. Seven to ten minutes is enough if your passport is in front of you.

Should I use the name on my ticket or on my passport?

Your passport, always. If your ticket differs, correct the ticket with the airline.

Can I apply from my phone?

Yes. The form works on a phone. Take extra care with the passport number, which is easier to mistype on a small keyboard.

What if I am refused?

Read the reason given first. The options that remain are set out in what to do after a refusal.