Life in Canada

Information for Bulgarian and Romanian Citizens Travelling to Canada

Rasheed Alkhanji QICMS

Published 05:20 AM 20 November 2017
Updated 03:00 PM 3 July 2022

Information for Bulgarian and Romanian Citizens Travelling to Canada

eTA Canada, Romanian Bulgarian Immigrant Investor Program (BGIIP), Canadian Visa, , electronic travel authorization,

The Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced that Starting at 4 p.m. EET (9 a.m. ET) on December 1, 2017, Canada intends to lift the visa requirements for all Romanians and Bulgarians. At that point, all citizens of Romania and Bulgaria would no longer need a visa to travel to Canada.

However, similar to other visa-exempt travelers, they would need an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to board a flight to Canada. Applying for an eTA is a simple. An ETA costs $7 dollars and applicants need to have the details of their passport, a credit or debit card to pay and an email address. Most ETAs are approved within minutes.

The electronic travel authorization (eTA) is mandatory for all the foreign citizens who no longer need a visa and travel to Canada by air. The electronic traveling authorization (eTA) will be valid for five years (or, depending on the case, will remain valid until the passports itself expires). The same source said that the authorization will only be available online.

in order to obtain the electronic travel authorization and be able to enter the Canadian territory, the Bulgarian and Romanian citizens need to have a valid passport, regardless of its type (simple electronic passport, simple passport, simple temporary passport, diplomatic passport and working passport).

For those who want to enter Canada by land (by car, bus or train) or by sea (onboard of a boat, including of a cruise boat), after December 1, they must have a valid passport, without the need to obtain the electronic travel visa (eTA).

The Bulgarian as well as Romanian citizens who intend to study in Canada for more than six months or to work there, no matter for how long, will have to obtain a study or labour permit before entering the country.

Romanians and Bulgarians who already have a valid Canadian visa can continue to travel to or transit through a Canadian airport with that visa until it expires. You do not need to apply for a new eTA. As well, those who already have an eTA can continue to fly to Canada with that eTA until it expires or they get a new passport.

Bulgaria and Romania were the only countries from the European Union (EU) whose citizens required a visa to enter Canada. The two countries made their approval of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) conditional to the repeal of the visa requirement.

For more information about the Bulgarian Immigrant Investor Program (BGIIP), please click here.

For more information on Canadian immigration, please click here.

Fill out our Free Assessment to find out if you qualify for any of the immigration programs offered.

Canada Immigration by investment 2022 to 2024

Calculating citizenship eligibility for PRs

How to move to Canada from the Middle East?

Sunset for Bulgaria Citizenship by Investment Program

Top 7 Myths and Facts about Canada immigration

Related Programs

Bulgarian Immigrant Investor Program (BGIIP)

Permanent Residency through Investment in Canada