Canada visa requirements by nationality
Whether you need a visa for Canada depends on the passport you hold. Of the 15 most-checked passports, 1 enter visa-free and 14 need to apply for something in advance. Visa-free stays run to 180 days depending on nationality. Find your passport in the table below for the exact rule, the stay length, the passport validity required, and any arrival registration you have to complete separately.
Canada sets its own entry requirements. There is no shared North American permission, so a United States visa does not cover entry to Canada. The answer also depends on why you are travelling. The rule for a holiday is often not the rule for work, study or a long stay, so check that the answer you are reading is the one for your trip.
Entry rules by passport
Select your nationality for the full answer: stay length, passport validity, pre-registration and how to apply.
“Apply” links go to our partner iVisa. trip1 earns a commission if you apply through one, at no extra cost to you. You can always apply directly with the government instead.
Where to stay in Canada
Featured stays on trip1. Book once you know what you need to get in.
Need a Canada visa?
Apply through our partner iVisa. Forms, fees and government submission are handled, with status updates until it is approved.
trip1 earns a commission if you apply through this link. It costs you nothing extra.
What to do next
The part most visa checkers leave out: what actually needs doing before you fly.
Confirm with the official source
Rules change without notice, and only the immigration authority of Canada can tell you where you stand. Search for its official site before you travel.
Check your passport
Passport validity required: valid for period of stay. Renew first if you are close, because this is the most common reason travellers are turned away.
Check the rule for your own passport
What Canada asks for depends on the passport you travel on, and the table above differs from row to row. Open your nationality for the stay length, the validity required and whether anything has to be applied for.
Good to know about Canada
Flights that touch down in the United States on the way need whatever the US requires for transit, on top of anything Canada asks for.
Not your passport?
Check any of the 211 nationalities we hold rules for.
Now pick the passport you travel on.
Once you are in Canada
Where trip1 travellers go, and what to read before you book.
Travelling somewhere else?
Check any passport against any destination