Find out how to apply for an urgent eTA Canada visa and how long it takes to get one.
While the standard eTA Canada visa application process usually takes you only 72 hours to obtain this valuable travel authorisation, some travellers need to obtain this visa equivalent more quickly. If this is also your case and you need to obtain a residence permit for Canada in a very short time, you should know that there is an urgent application procedure for the eTA permit. In this article we will explain how to apply for an urgent eTA and how long it takes to process an eTA online.
The urgent eTA visa application for Canada is used by travellers who wish to board a plane or check in luggage on a flight to Canada in less than 72 hours. A traditional online eTA application only guarantees a maximum processing time of 72 hours, but does not guarantee that you will receive your clearance before then.
Generally, an urgent application for an eTA visa for Canada is granted between 10 and 20 minutes after the validation of the form. There are, however, exceptional cases where additional checks are required and which will result in processing that can take up to 72 hours.
If your departure flight is in less than 3 days, we strongly recommend that you submit an urgent eTA application for Canada. This urgent procedure works for regular eTAs, i.e. for business or tourist travel. It is exactly the same as the standard eTA for Canada.
Remember that without this travel authorisation or without a visa, you will not be able to board a plane to Canada.
There are many service providers who offer online eTA application forms. But only some of them allow you to apply urgently.
If you are looking for such a site, we suggest you use the provider we highlight on our page who offers you to get your eTA visa in a very short time.
If you choose to apply for an eTA visa by ticking the "urgent application" box, your residence permit will of course be granted more quickly than with a standard application. To do this, the provider will put you at the top of the list of applications processed by the Canadian approval system.
The only event that may delay the processing of your eTA visa is the selection of your file for manual verification by a customs official.
Typically, urgent eTA requests are processed within minutes and communicated directly to your airline and Canada Customs.
Of course, applying for your eTA urgently will have an additional cost to the process. In order to be able to process your application more quickly than others, the service provider you will be using will ask you to pay an additional fee which will be included in the total price of your application.
Remember also that these fees are compulsory if you want your eTA application to be processed and that you must automatically make payments by credit card through Paypal or another electronic wallet. It is not possible to pay the urgent eTA fee by bank transfer or cheque, as this would delay the announced processing time.
Only once the fee has been paid and cashed will your urgent application be processed within minutes. The average processing and approval time for these payments is 18 minutes. Once granted, your eTA will be notified to you by email confirmation. The eTA will also be automatically attached to your biometric passport and you will not need to print it out to take with you when you travel.
Simply make a note of the number on your eTA confirmation email, which you may be asked for when you check in or board your flight.
If it is possible to apply for an urgent eTA for Canada, it is also possible with visa applications. However, even if you request priority processing of your visa application, it will still take at least a few days to issue the document.
Also, if the purpose of your stay in Canada is a tourist or business stay of less than 6 months and you are eligible, we recommend that you avoid a visa application and apply for an eTA instead as this will allow you to benefit from much shorter processing times.
It is possible to apply for an eTA or Electronic Travel Authorisation for Canada directly online from a Canadian government approved service provider. However, if you want to apply for an eTA urgently, make sure that the service provider you choose gives you this option and the processing times they advertise, as well as any additional fees you may have to pay.
As a general rule, an eTA application is processed within the specified time. You should therefore have received an email response to your request within 72 hours for a standard request and within less than an hour for an urgent request. If this is not the case, check your spam or junk mail folder and check your bank statement to ensure that the debit has been made to your account.
If you choose to apply for an eTA for Canada in the traditional way, i.e. not through an urgent application, the processing time for this application will usually be less than 72 hours. In most cases, travellers who apply online will receive an email confirming their authorization to stay in Canada within one to two working days.
