Canada is a great place to visit. Not only does it afford you incredible metropolitan areas such as Toronto and Montréal, but you will also find some extremely secluded areas if you enjoy such things as hunting, fishing, or just getting out of the woods. Our neighbor to the north is truly a remarkable destination.
What many people don’t realize is that it now requires a passport to be able to enter into Canada. It used to be that you just needed your driver’s license to be able to get in, but that is no longer the case. In some instances, you may even need a visa. If you are about to make a trip to our northern neighbor but aren’t sure if you’re legally allowed to do so, here’s a guide for getting a Canadian visa quicker than usual.
First Check – before you get yourself all stressed out, you need to be sure that you even need a visa. In many instances, all you need is your passport to be able to get across the border and stay in the country for up to 90 days. Check the website of the Canadian government to see if you need one at all.
Use the Electronic Travel Authorization – a great way to make sure that you are able to legally get in is to get yourself an electronic travel authorization, or ETA. This allows you to go on to the website and simply apply for a visa upfront. This way, if you are required to have one, you already have it.
The steps for this are actually quite easy. The form asks you for some basic information about yourself, to include information about your parents like their name, and you are ready to go. For a small filing fee, you can get a whole lot of peace of mind and have this completed and a matter of minutes. The authorization is usually handled through their system within minutes, with you receiving an email letting you know that you are approved.
If there is some issue, they will contact you within a few business days to help resolve whatever questions they have. This is a rare instance, but lets you know that you can still get your authorization in a very short period of time.
Make Sure You Have a Reason to Be There – if you are planning on going to Canada for some specific purpose other than tourism, then it makes sense to have your authorization filled out with a valid reason of why you are going. Be specific, to include dates of when you will arrive and when you are expecting to leave.
You can be sure that tens of thousands of Americans travel across the border into Canada to go to school, work, or other long-term activities. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you making this choice, and they welcome you in doing so.
Now, before you get in your Los Angeles airport transportation or hop the subway to the airport in New York, you have the information you need to get the visa authorization enabling you to get in the Canada.
