Canadian Immigration Update – Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) not mandatory until November 10, 2016

The Canadian government had previously announced that as of September 29, 2016, all visa-exempt foreign nationals other than American citizens would require an eTA to board international flights to Canada. At the same time, permanent residents of Canada would require a valid permanent resident card to fly to Canada. The government has now announced these changes will be postponed until November 10, 2016.

In any event, current or new employees who require an eTA or permanent resident card to enter Canada should be reminded to apply as early as possible and/or confirm the status of an eTA previously issued to them by visiting the CIC website:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/eta.asp

Employers should also be cognizant when making a new offer of employment to a foreign national that admissibility concerns may delay or prevent eTA issuance.

For further information, please refer to our earlier articles here and here or contact Meera Thakrar.