For Malaysians and Indonesians, before flying to countries such as the United States and Canada, we would normally need to apply for a travel visa to these countries first. For Canada in particular, even if a tourist will only be transiting at the country's airport, a visa to enter the country must be applied for in advance through their embassy in Singapore.
Today, the Canadian government, through Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that as a step to strengthen social and beneficial relations between the three countries, Malaysians and Indonesians, the requirement to obtain a visa to visit the country has been replaced by registration for an electronic travel authorization permit.
This means that Malaysians and Indonesians no longer need to send their passports to the Canadian embassy to obtain a visa, and only need to register for this eTA permit on the Canadian Immigration website. However, there are several conditions that visitors need to comply with before they register for this eTA permit.
First, eTA registration is limited to those who have previously held a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) within 10 years of the visa's expiration, or those who already hold a non-resident visa (such as B-1, B-2 and H1-B) from the United States, and have been allowed to enter the United States.
The changes to eTA registration take effect today, and should at least simplify the process for those who need to transit at one of the airports in Canada before going to another destination and simplify the process of visiting Canada if you already have a US visa.
