New visa requirement for citizens of Romania holding non-electronic passports

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that, effective June 5, 2018, Romanian citizens holders of non-electronic passports (such as a temporary passport), are no longer visa-exempt and require a temporary resident visa when travelling to, or transiting through Canada.

Consequently, Romanian citizens holders of non-electronic passports are no longer eligible to apply for an electronic travel authorization (eTA) to travel to or through Canada by air, unless they are also lawful permanent residents of the United States. In addition, IRCC indicates that all eTAs issued to Romanian citizens holders of non-electronic passports between December 1, 2017 and June 5, 2018 at 5:29 a.m. (ET) are invalidated.

Citizens of Romania holding electronic passports continue to be visa-exempt and are able to apply for an eTA to travel to or through Canada by air.

These changes come after Canada's decision to lift visa requirements for citizens of Romania on December 1st of last year.