Travel To Canada Advisory: Visa-Exempt Foreign Nationals To Undergo Pre-Screening

Effective March 2016, foreign nationals who want to enter Canada but enjoy visa-exempt status will be required to undergo a pre-screening process under the electronic travel authorisation, or eTA scheme. Visitors will need to apply for this in advance before boarding a flight to Canada.

The scheme is part of a 2011 deal between Washington and Ottawa that aims to better protect North America in light of global security threats such as, but not only limited to, potentially returning ISIS Daesh fighters. Travellers from countries that don’t require a visa to visit Canada such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, France and Chile need to pay CAD$7.00 to receive the eTA. It will be valid for five years. Only U.S. citizens are exempted from the scheme.

“These amendments will enable Canada to adopt a strengthened methodology in order to better identify high-risk travellers, such as persons known to be foreign fighters, and prevent them from travelling to Canada,” the federal government said. Canada’s eTA is similar to the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation, or ESTA, of the United States.

According to Canada Gazette, the eTA will include the applicant’s name, date and place of birth, gender, address, nationality, and passport and/or travel document information. Should the applicant be unable to make the application by means of the electronic system because of a physical or mental disability, Canada Gazette notes it can be done by another means, including a paper application form.

While admitting it can be a hassle securing the eTA, David Cohen, a Montreal-based immigration lawyer and managing editor of the Canadian Immigration Newsletter blog, said the scheme is still a positive improvement because travellers will now know whether or not they will be admissible into a Canadian port of entry before actually arriving in the country.

A total of 7,055 people were denied entry to Canada in 2014 simply because “most of those people were just unaware, in all likelihood,” Cohen said. With the pre-screening, Canada expects to prevent over 60,000 unwanted arrivals from entering the country over the next decade, the Globe and Mail reports.

The reasons for entry refusal can include any of the following:

1) Membership in terrorist organisations

2) Espionage

3) Participation in war crimes or crimes against humanity

4) International human rights violations

5) Membership in organised crime groups

6) Criminality

7) Issues endangering public health, such as tuberculosis

To check if you’re required to apply for an eTA, click here.

To report problems or to leave feedback on this article, email: e.misa@ibtimes.com.au.