Canada grants visa-free entry to eligible Filipinos

[Lee]

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MANILA – Canada has included the Philippines in its Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) program granting eligible Filipinos traveling by air for either business or leisure visa-free entry.

“Canada is a destination of choice for so many around the world. We’re making it easier for more people to visit Canada, whether they’re coming to do business, sightsee, or reunite with family and friends," Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said in an Embassy of Canada release Wednesday.

"Expanding the eTA program to include countries like the Philippines is also an important part of our Indo-Pacific Strategy, as we look to further engage in the region, build on people-to-people ties, and make travel to Canada easier, faster, and safer for everyone."

The Canadian Embassy in Manila said the inclusion is effective immediately and covers Philippine passport holders who have held a Canadian visitor’s visa in the past 10 years or a valid United States non-immigrant visa.

 

Read more.    https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1203030

[Joey G]

Just know if you go to Quebec or Montreal ... it helps to know French!!!! 

[MikeB]

59 minutes ago, Lee said:

The Canadian Embassy in Manila said the inclusion is effective immediately and covers Philippine passport holders who have held a Canadian visitor’s visa in the past 10 years or a valid United States non-immigrant visa.

And that is called "burying the lede". 

[JJReyes]

We just returned from a cruise that started in Los Angeles and disembarked in Vancouver.  The Canadian authorities collected the entry declaration card without bothering to look at anyone's passport, including foreigner nationals from the Philippines.  I assume the reason is we started from a US port.  US immigration and customs formalities were also completed at Vancouver international airport.  We just showed the officer our global entry card.  

[Lee]

A follow up to the original post.

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Yikes! Filipinos Reportedly Crashed Canada's Visa-Free Application Website

Just last week, Canada welcomed the Philippines to the list of countries permitted for its electronic travel authorization (eTA) program, which allows travelers to enter Canada sans a visa, with a few stipulations. As expected, the news caused a flurry of excitement for aspiring visitors, so much so that it reportedly faced a system-wide malfunction.

The eTA system's servers experienced a collapse, following a surge of applications for its program. In a report by the CBC, a spokesperson of the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) stated that the largest spike in applications originated from the Philippines.

The system failure not only affected applicants from the new countries added to the program, but other travelers who were already recorded in the system. The news outlet reported that several users were unable to access the website, causing cancellations that came with heavy costs, as some were refused boarding due to the issue.

The eTA system reportedly experienced freezes and error messages on Friday Philippine time. Canada's IRCC acknowledged this in a tweet: "Online service for eTA applications is currently intermittently available. Please try again later. We appreciate your patience," it wrote. "Travellers are still required to have the appropriate travel documents to travel to or transit through Canada."

On Sunday, June 11, the IRCC reported that the system was back up, but several users responded that they were still facing errors on the website.

In an article published on June 6 (Winnipeg time), the Minister of IRCC Sean Fraser announced the addition of 13 countries for its eTA program, including the Philippines. This allowed Philippine passport holders to visit and stay in Canada for up to six months, provided that they previously held a Canadian visa in the last 10 years, or are currently holding a valid United States non-immigrant visa.

 

Yikes! Filipinos Reportedly Crashed Canada's Visa-Free Application Website (msn.com)