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Jillian Dara is a freelance journalist and fact-checker. Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, USA Today, Michelin Guides, Hemispheres, DuJour, and Forbes.
If you are traveling through a Canadian airport and hold the citizenship of a country that requires a visa to visit Canada, then you will need a transit visa to travel through Canada without stopping or visiting. This is true even if you are in Canada for less than 48 hours and you're not leaving the airport.
There is no fee for a transit visa and you can apply for a transit visa by filling out the application for a visitor visa (Temporary Resident Visa) and selecting transit visa from the list of options on the form.
U.S. citizens do not need a visa to visit Canada and therefore, do not need to worry about a transit visa. To see if your citizenship status requires a visa, a survey is available on the Canadian government's website. Even if you don't need a visa it's possible you may need an eTA (Electronic Travel Authorization) to visit Canada. In this case, you probably will also need an eTA to transit through Canada.
A transit visa is a type of Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) required by anyone from a non-visa-exempt country who is traveling through Canada to another country and whose flight will stop in Canada for less than 48 hours. There is no cost for a transit visa, but the application process is the same as that for the TRV.
If you arrived in Canada without a transit visa, you will not be allowed to continue your journey until you obtain one. This means that, without a transit visa, you could miss your connecting flight and be forced to pay no-show fees.
You can apply for a transit visa for Canada via mail or online. Immigration recommends applying online to avoid processing delays and courier fees. Processing times vary by country of which you can receive an estimate processing time here.
Visitors must apply for a transit visa for Canada from their country of residence prior to travel. Be sure to allow enough time for the visa processing. You may not apply for a visa upon your arrival in Canada. Unless told otherwise, travel agents or cruise lines will not take care of your transit visa—it is your responsibility.
The Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) has three types: single entry, multiple entry, and transit. To apply for any one of these types of TRV, fill out the two-page application for a Temporary Resident Visa Made Outside of Canada or call the nearest Canada Visa Office. At the top of the application, you will choose the box named "Transit." You can mail in your application to a Canada Visa Office or fill it out online, which is must faster. You will not have to include a payment as the Transit Visa is free. To receive the visa you will have to provide your travel itinerary either from the transportation company (airline, train, or bus) or travel agent.
Citizens or passport holders of the below countries will need a visa to visit, work, or travel through Canada. If you are unsure, fill out the visa survey at the Government of Canada website.
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burma (Myanmar), Burundi, Cambodia, Republic of Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, North Korea, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macao, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives Islands, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Sao Tomé e Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
