Transit Visa for Canada while traveling on Air Canada
I am traveling from US to India via Canada on December 11, 2015, and I am Indian citizen. I applied online for the transit visa on November 13 2015. I have the following questions.
- I wanted to know whether the visa will be approved before my travel date.
- I read somewhere that we don't need transit visa for an outbound flight from the US to India, only while coming back from India. If this is the case then I can book a different ticket while traveling back from India to US through other carriers.
Best Answer
A transit visa is required if you are connecting in Canada to an international destination from the US, unless you're eligible for a visa waiver. Indian citizens are not.
Are you a permanent resident of the US (a green card holder)? If so, you may apply for an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) from the Government of Canada, which is approved in several minutes in most cases.
If you are not a permanent resident of the US, a normal visitor visa (which is what a transit visa is) application made within the US will take 42-52 days to process.
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Does Air Canada need transit visa?
Passengers transiting through Canada on their way to/from the U.S.: Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express are approved air carriers participating in the Canadian government's Transit Without Visa (TWOV) program, and China Transit Program (CTP).Can you transit through Canada by air?
Transit to another country by airYou may be permitted to transit through Canada to reach another country. You must make your travel arrangements well in advance if you are transiting through Canada.Does Canada offer transit visa?
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.Can I use eTA to enter Canada by air?
An Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) is an entry requirement for visa-exempt foreign nationals travelling to Canada by air. An eTA is electronically linked to a traveller's passport. It is valid for up to five years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first.Canada - Transit Visa - How To Confirm You Don’t Need An eTA while Transiting via A Canadian Airport
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Answer 2
I called the immigration for Canada. I asked them whether I need a transit visa if I am not changing terminal. They answered I needed the transit or visitor visa no matter what.
Answer 3
I think you got it backwards. On the US-to-India trip, you will need to pass through Canadian immigration when you transit Canada; on the other hand, on the India-to-US trip, you will not need to pass through Canadian immigration (you directly go through US immigration preclearance in Canada). So you would be more likely to run into problems not having a Canadian visa on the US-to-India direction than on the India-to-US direction.
Regardless, Canadian rules officially require a visa for you to transit in both directions. (Even though you won't interact with Canadian immigration on the return trip, Canadian rules still say you must have a Canadian visa.) And airlines are supposed to enforce these rules, so they may deny you boarding on either direction if you don't have a Canadian visa.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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