Canada Opens eTA Pathway for Eligible Indonesian and Malaysian Citizens — Effective 26 May 2026

On 25 May 2026, the Honourable Lena Metlege Diab, Canada's Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced an expansion of the country's electronic travel authorization (eTA) programme to cover eligible citizens of Indonesia and Malaysia. The change took effect the following day, 26 May 2026, at 05:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

Under the new rules, qualifying Indonesian and Malaysian passport holders no longer need to apply for a full temporary resident visa (TRV) — Canada's standard visitor visa — when travelling to or transiting through Canada by air. Instead, they can submit a short online eTA application that typically returns a decision within minutes. Travellers who already hold a valid TRV can continue to use it until it expires, or until their passport expires, whichever comes first.

IRCC has set two alternative qualifying criteria. A traveller needs to satisfy either one — not both — to apply for the eTA in place of a visitor visa. Both pathways rely on the same underlying logic: the applicant has already been screened by either Canadian or United States immigration authorities at some point, which gives Canadian officials a recorded immigration history to draw on for the eTA decision.

The eTA application form asks travellers to declare which pathway they are using and to confirm the underlying document details. Canadian border officials reserve the right to ask for the supporting documentation at the airport, and the eTA decision itself is not an automatic guarantee of entry — admissibility is still determined at the Canadian border on arrival.

The practical difference between the eTA and a traditional Canadian visitor visa is significant. The eTA is a fully online, low-friction process; the TRV is a paper-style application that runs through a visa application centre and typically requires biometrics.

For a qualifying traveller, the headline saving is roughly CAD 178 (about AED 480 at prevailing exchange rates) and several weeks of processing time. The cost gap matters most for families travelling together, where TRV fees compound quickly.

For the wider UAE-resident audience, this change is narrowly scoped — it benefits a specific subset of residents who hold Indonesian or Malaysian passports and who also meet one of the two eligibility tests. Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Bangladeshi, Egyptian and other nationality cohorts in the UAE are unaffected by this announcement and continue to follow the standard Canadian visitor visa route.

In practice, the highest concentration of immediate beneficiaries among UAE residents is likely to be Malaysian and Indonesian professionals in finance, oil and gas, healthcare, hospitality and education who already hold a valid US business or tourist visa from prior travel. For this cohort, the routine path of applying for a separate Canadian visitor visa is no longer necessary — a few minutes on the IRCC eTA portal, the CAD 7 fee paid by card, and an emailed approval is the new normal.

• Air travel only. The eTA is valid for arrival into a Canadian airport and for air transit through Canada. Anyone planning to enter by land from the United States, by cruise ship or by bus or train must still apply for a Canadian visitor visa.
• eTA approval is not an entry guarantee. Final admissibility is determined by a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer at the airport on arrival.
• Work and study visas are unchanged. Indonesian and Malaysian citizens travelling to Canada to work or study must continue to apply for the relevant work permit, study permit or associated visa — the eTA does not replace these.
• Existing TRV holders are not forced to switch. A valid Canadian visitor visa can be used until it expires, or until the passport expires — whichever happens first.
• Apply only via the official IRCC portal. The single official application channel is canada.ca. Avoid intermediary websites that mirror the form and charge inflated fees.
• Carry supporting documentation. Travellers should carry the underlying document (the old Canadian visa or the valid US visa) when flying — Canadian officials may ask for proof of the qualifying pathway.

1. 1Confirm your eligibility. Check whether your current passport contains a valid US non-immigrant visa, or whether your old passport carries a Canadian visa issued within the last ten years.
2. 2Locate your supporting document. Have the relevant US visa or prior Canadian visa accessible — you will reference it on the eTA application and may be asked to show it at boarding or arrival.
3. 3Apply through the official IRCC portal. Use only canada.ca for the eTA application. The standard fee is CAD 7. Most approvals arrive by email within minutes.
4. 4Carry the original supporting document on travel day. Bring the passport containing the qualifying US visa or the old Canadian visa with you to the airport, alongside the passport you are travelling on.
5. 5If you do not qualify, apply for the standard TRV. The visitor visa route remains unchanged for travellers who do not meet either eligibility pathway, and OraVisa can guide you through the application.

This update is based on publicly available information from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada as of 27 May 2026. The eTA pathway for eligible Indonesian and Malaysian citizens took effect on 26 May 2026 at 05:30 a.m. Eastern Time. This analysis is provided for informational purposes to help UAE residents understand the policy change. It does not constitute legal advice. For the latest official information, always refer to the IRCC news release linked above and the official eTA portal at canada.ca.