Find a lost Canada eTA

Nature, wide open spaces and a warm welcome, Canada is a country with many resources. Like the ESTA for travel to the United States, visiting Canada requires a travel authorization that will allow you to travel to the country of the Far North.

For a stay of less than 6 months in Canada : You can carry out the formalities for entering Canada directly via the Internet by clicking on the online form. It is not necessary to obtain an appointment at the Canadian embassy or consulate.

If you have obtained your Canada eTA Electronic Travel Authorization but you no longer have proof of it, don’t panic. We will show you the necessary procedure to find your lost Canada eTA.

Procedure for recovering the lost electronic travel authorization

The eTA Canada, or Electronic Travel Authorization (or eTA in English), is an official document allowing you to travel to Canada without a Canadian visa. Compared to the ESTA for USA, the eTA has a longer validity date and longer residence permit time. Indeed, the Canada eTA is valid for 5 years from the day of issue and allows a maximum travel time of 6 months on Canadian lands.

When your eTA application is validated, you will receive an acknowledgment of receipt from IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) at the address you provided, no later than 72 hours after sending the online form. In this e-mail, you will receive an application number which will be used to find your lost electronic travel authorization. The response to your request may take a few minutes or a few days.

Thanks to electronic systems, your passport number is directly linked to the number of your lost Canada eTA, received in the acknowledgment of receipt. As a result, you will neither need the printed version of your authorization to travel to Canada nor find your lost Canada eTA, because in fact it is never lost! Your eTA authorization is still stored on the Canadian government site.

During the identity check, when passing through customs, the immigration officer will ask you to present your valid passport (which covers the entire duration of your trip). Through your passport, it will find your eTA since it is electronically attached to it. The agent may ask you for other documents such as your ticket (return ticket or onward ticket to your final destination). Concerning the trip of a minor child traveling alone, the child must present his passport, a copy of the birth certificate and a letter of parental authorization (addresses and telephone numbers of the parents and the person responsible for the child at the Canada).

Here are some travel tips before you go:

• check the validity of your electronic or biometric passport (it must not reach its expiry date during the trip);
• check that the personal information entered on the passport has not been modified after obtaining the eTA (address, surname, first name, etc.).

If one of these two elements is not respected, do not take the risk and renew your passport and then, subsequently, apply for a new eTA authorization.

I did not receive a confirmation email

After sending your eTA application form, you should receive two e-mails: an acknowledgment of receipt and the response to your eTA application.

If you have not received your confirmation email acknowledging receipt of your application within 72 hours, you will need to complete a form on the Canadian government’s online site, called the IRCC web form. Note that it will take several days to get a response to your request.

Also be sure to check your junk mail as some filters may block IRCC emails. This is all the more important since it is also by email that you will receive your response. Three scenarios are possible:

• approval, your request is validated. The email contains your eTA number, its expiry date and the passport number concerned.
• request for additional information. All instructions will be listed in the email. Note that you may have to submit your application to the Canadian Embassy during an interview with a consular officer;
• refusal, the Canadian authorities were unable to comply with your request. A visa application can be made to the consular services.
  
  

How do I check my eTA application?

If you wish to find your lost electronic travel authorization in order to check the status of the eTA or its validity, simply go to the private site you went through (and go to your personal space) or to the Canadian government website.

To find a lost Canada eTA on the official website, you need:

• specify that you are an eTA holder and that you wish to consult your lost electronic travel authorization file;
• enter the AVE number that was previously sent to you by email;
• enter your passport number, date of issue and expiry;
• your country of issue;
• click on “check the status of your request”;
• There you go, you have found your lost Canada eTA!

This verification tool works only for people who have applied for an eTA for a tourist stay, a business trip or a transit trip as well as those who have had to renew their passport after having received a letter of introduction for an IEC (International Experience Canada ). However, the tool is not useful for travelers who have obtained their eTA automatically along with their letter of introduction for a work, internship or study permit.

Should I print my eTA application?

It is not necessary to print your eTA, it is electronically linked to your passport. In other words, to present your eTA authorisation, you must travel with the passport you used during the application.

Finally, remember that the eTA authorization is not an authorization to enter Canadian territory, but a travel authorization. That is to say, it authorizes you to arrive by air in Canada. After landing, only Canadian customs can judge your admissibility.

For more information about the eTA authorization, we give you an appointment on our FAQ.