Canada visa requirements for Mexican citizens

IRCC online (Canada.ca) — Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) or, if the exception applies, Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA)

On 29 February 2024 Canada reinstated a visa requirement for Mexicans and cancelled every eTA issued up to that date, so the rule is no longer the one that applied from 2016 to 2024. There are now two situations. A Mexican citizen can still travel on an eTA alone (electronic authorization, CAD 7, obtained in minutes and tied to the passport) if they hold a valid US non-immigrant visa, or if they have held a Canadian visitor visa in the past 10 years and travel with the same passport used to obtain it, and they enter Canada by air. Anyone who fits neither case needs the Temporary Resident Visa (TRV): it is applied for online at IRCC, costs CAD 100 plus CAD 85 for biometrics, and fingerprints must be given at a Canadian visa application centre (VAC) — there are several in Mexico. Check your own situation before buying tickets: the gap between a one-day eTA and a multi-week TRV depends entirely on whether or not you hold that US or Canadian visa.

Authorization system

eTA (Electronic Travel Authorization)

Mandatory for flying to Canada (or making an air transit) if a visa isn't required. Apply only at canada.ca: there are fraudulent third-party websites.

Fee

CAD 7.00

Valid for up to 5 years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first.

Processing time

Usually minutes (approval by email).

Required documents

• A valid passport
• A temporary resident visa or an eTA, depending on your nationality
• Proof of sufficient funds to cover the trip, if you are paying for it yourself. IRCC publishes no fixed figure: it assesses whether the money covers both the stay and the journey home
• A copy of your air ticket and travel itinerary, showing when you plan to return

Vaccinations

• No mandatory vaccines for entry: no international certificate of vaccination (yellow fever included) is required under the International Health Regulations.

Health insurance

Not mandatory for this destination.

Transit rules

As a rule, passing through a Canadian airport in transit calls for the same document as entering: a temporary resident visa or an eTA, depending on your nationality. The exception is two specific programs, Transit Without Visa (TWOV) and the China Transit Program (CTP), which let certain nationals transit through Canada to or from the United States without a Canadian transit visa, provided they meet each program's requirements.

Customs limits

Cash

Declare if cash or monetary instruments reach or exceed 10,000 CAD.

Alcohol

1.5 liters of wine, or 1.14 liters of spirits, or 8.5 liters of beer — only after 48h or more outside Canada; not combinable between companions.

Tobacco

200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, 200g of manufactured tobacco, and 200 tobacco sticks.

Overstay penalties

Every temporary resident must leave Canada when their authorised period ends. Those who do not are in breach of IRPA and face enforcement action — arrest and removal, led by the CBSA — and may have a removal order issued against them. An exclusion order means you cannot return to Canada for 1 year from the date it is enforced; where the order was issued for misrepresentation, the bar is 5 years. Returning sooner requires an Authorization to Return to Canada (ARC).

Common reasons for denial

• Failing to show sufficient funds for the stay and for the journey home.
• Failing to produce a ticket and itinerary showing when you plan to return.
• Carrying an exclusion order from an earlier irregular stay: it bars entry for 1 year from enforcement, or 5 years where it was issued for misrepresentation, and returning sooner requires an Authorization to Return to Canada (ARC).