As with the majority of administrative procedures, online ETA applications are payable. Find out how much this procedure costs and what is actually covered by this payment.
Nowadays if you wish to visit Canada for tourism or business reasons you no longer need to apply for a traditional visa. There exists a new system that enables you to obtain a travel authorisation directly online using a simple application form. However, even though this procedure is simpler than that of a standard visa it is still payable and you will need to submit your application with a payment using a debit or credit card for your application to be transmitted and processed by the Canadian authorities. You can learn more here about the price and fees for an ETA application for Canada.
The Electronic Travel Authorisation application system for Canada is a simpler and faster procedure than that for a traditional visa which enables you to save time. However, even though the entire ETA procedure is completed online it will still be necessary to pay the associated costs and fees for the transfer to the relevant Canadian authorities and their processing of your application.
Only once you have duly completed the form provided on this site will you be required to pay these fees. The cost of the eTA visa is $7 Canadian on the official site, with additional charges if you use a site that verifies and corrects the data transmitted.
You may wonder why it is necessary to pay this amount to obtain your ETA visa for Canada as the entire procedure is completed online. The response is easy to understand as all administrative procedures of this type require examination and verification work which therefore requires payment of some kind.
Part of this payment is actually paid directly to the Canadian authorities responsible for processing the numerous ETA applications that they receive every day and sending the responses to the applicants. This work takes time as the officials need to verify all the information supplied by the answers on the applicants application forms.
Another part of this fee is directly used to finance the website that offers the online application form. This website was created to assist and guide you during the application procedure, as well as transferring the form to the Canadian authorities rapidly for swift processing.
The fee is only paid once you have completed your form and wish to validate it. We advise you to reread each of your answers carefully before proceeding to this stage, which will trigger the sending of your application.
Due to its electronic or digital process, and the access which is uniquely through the internet, the ETA procedure can only be completed with a payment using a debit or credit card online. Payments in cash or by personal cheque are in fact less secure and take far longer to process. Of course, the server that processes your online payment is totally safe and secure.
The price fixed for fees and costs relating to the transfer and processing of an ETA application remains the same whatever your personal situation. In fact, this system offers no reduction in price for a group application. For example, if you are travelling with your family, or with children, then you will need to pay the same amount for each of the applicants that will accompany you, even young children.
The same is true regarding the reason for which you are applying for an ETA. Whether you plan to stay in Canada or continue towards another destination with a transit or stopover in Canada, the amount you will need to pay for your ETA visa remains the same. It should be remembered that this travel authorisation is valid for a five year period dating from its approval and it can be reused numerous times for future visits or simply for transits or stopovers during this time. It is therefore only logical that the cost remains the same.
Finally, there is no special or discounted price applicable due to social criteria such as the age, status or professional situation of the applicant.
Let us now look at the case of an ETA renewal, this means when your initial ETA visa expires or a change in personal circumstances or personal information or with official documents occurs and therefore requires an update of information supplied on your application. In these cases you will be required to renew your ETA as a renewal of this type of document is not automatic.
It is actually not by coincidence that the Canadian Government fixed the validity period of this authorisation at five years. It requires a new submission every five years to confirm the validity of the personal information supplied and ensure that it meets all related laws and regulations that also change occasionally.
You will therefore need to proceed in the same way for a renewal as for your initial application by completing the form before submitting it online. The work of examining and verifying the information remains the same as for the initial application so it is logical that the price remains the same.
It should also be noted that it is not possible to obtain a refund of the payment in the case of a refusal of your ETA visa application following its online submission.
As you will note yourself during your ETA application procedure, payment of the fees and costs necessary to obtain this authorisation is completed directly and immediately through the internet upon the submission of your application. Without completing the successful payment of these fees and costs it is impossible to successfully submit your application. Therefore when you make your payment by credit or debit card it will be paid immediately so it is important to ensure you have sufficient funds available on your account.
In any case, if you do not see a confirmation of this payment on your account and you have not received a notification of approval or refusal of your ETA application in your email inbox then you should proceed with verifications relating to your application as it means that it has not been processed, probably due to a problem with payment. However, before contacting your bank or completing the procedures necessary for these verifications ensure you check your email spam or trash inbox as it is possible that the response has been automatically misfiled here. You are also able to confirm the status of your ETA application directly online using your reference number, passport number or the email address that you provided on your application.
If you cannot discover your status or find the email that responds to your application this probably means that your payment has not been completed. This could be due to a simple mistake made when entering your credit or debit card information, a communications breakdown with your bank during the secure payment procedure that has prevented the successful payment and submission or a lack of sufficient funds in your account. In all these cases, you will need to complete a new ETA application, starting from the beginning, and take the time to ensure that the entire procedure continues smoothly until the successful payment and submission and all information is correct including your credit or debit card number. Also ensure that there are sufficient funds on your account for this payment to be completed.
Firstly it is important to remember that ETA applications for Canada are electronic and therefore paper free procedures that can only be completed through the internet. Certain people are wary of making online payments and hesitate to provide their credit or debit card information due to worries that their information will be susceptible to fraudulent use or theft. However, as noted above, an online payment is the only possible way to complete the required payment and the submission procedure necessary to obtain a travel authorisation for Canada.
The service partner that we have chosen to work with applies all possible security precautions to ensure the safe and risk free processing of your transaction relating to the safety and security of your financial transaction details, your credit or debit card details, and even your personal details, all of which are processed totally confidentially.
The online payment is actually completed through a secure server. On the internet you can reassure yourself that a payment page is secure by verifying that the URL (or internet address, which is in the bar at the top of your window) starts with ‘https’ which appears with a small padlock. This means that the server receiving the information submitted, in this case your banking and payment details, cannot store this information or transmit them to a third party and that all information is also encrypted. Due to this security your information cannot be stolen or misused in any way. It should also be noted that only one single payment of the amount stated will be made, no other payments can be authorised or completed without your request or agreement. Finally it should be noted that the majority of current credit and debit cards feature high performance security systems. Therefore, during your payment, it is probable that you will pass through a verification server from your bank that will require you to enter a code that is sent to you by sms or email. Therefore no other person can use your credit or debit card to make payments on the internet as the requested amount will only be paid after completion of this verification process.
To conclude, paying for your ETA application by credit or debit card online is totally secure and risk free and you will not be vulnerable to fraud or theft of your financial, banking or personal information.
In all case, if you still hesitate to use your credit or debit card online then you will be pleased to know that other solutions exist to complete this payment such as, for example, applying for a single use virtual debit card from your bank that can only be used for a single payment or you could purchase a standalone prepaid debit card that is not linked to your bank account onto which you transfer the exact amount you need to pay for this procedure.
As we explained earlier, the required payment of the costs and fees for your ETA application forms part of the submission procedure. We therefore recommend that you verify all your answers and information supplied on your application form before proceeding with its payment and submission. If you discover that you have made a mistake then you can easily correct it at this time. However if you have already paid for and submitted the form then this will be far more complicated.
In fact, only certain information can be modified on your ETA application form such as the following once payment has been completed:
All other information, particularly that relating to your passport number, your name, your address, and even the answers to other questions asked in the application form cannot be modified following the payment. In these cases you will need to submit a new application.
As with the majority of administrative procedures, online ETA visa are payable. Learn how much it will cost for this procedure and what this payment is actually for.
The cost of the eTA is $7 Canadian on the official website, with additional charges if you use our partner's website. If you use our partner's site, you will benefit from assistance, a form in French, verification of the data before it is sent to the Canadian government, and a refund of fees if your application is denied.
No. Unfortunately, it is not possible to benefit from reduced or discounted rates when applying for an eTA, whether for a family with children, for seniors or for groups. The fees for the eTA application procedure are the same, regardless of age, family situation or number of applicants. Each traveller who wishes to obtain this authorisation will therefore have to pay the usual fee to the service provider.
You may want to know if the price you will pay to renew your eTA for Canada is the same as the one you paid when you first applied. The answer is of course yes. Indeed, the procedure you have to follow to apply for the new eTA is exactly the same as the one you followed for your first application and the work involved is therefore equivalent.
There are a number of payment methods accepted for the eTA Canada and these will depend on the website and therefore the service provider through which you are applying. The most popular and convenient way to pay for this process is of course by credit card as it will allow for faster processing of your application. But you can also pay with PayPal or by bank transfer depending on the site.
