Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Electronic Travel Authorization): SOR/2026-87
Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 160, Number 11
Registration
SOR/2026-87 May 20, 2026
IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION ACT
P.C. 2026-448 May 20, 2026
Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Electronic Travel Authorization) under subsections 5(1), 11(1.01)footnote a and 14(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Actfootnote b.
Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Electronic Travel Authorization)
Amendment
| Country |
|---|
| Indonesia |
| Malaysia |
Coming into Force
2 These Regulations come into force at 05:30:00 Eastern Daylight Time on May 26, 2026.
REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT
(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)
Issues
Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (the Regulations), all visitors to Canada require a temporary resident visa (TRV), except for foreign nationals of countries and territories who have been granted an exemption. With exceptions, including citizens and lawful permanent residents of the United States (U.S.), foreign nationals who are visa-exempt require an electronic travel authorization (eTA) to travel to Canada by air. An approved eTA is valid for five years, or until the holder’s passport expires, whichever occurs first. An eTA facilitates travel by allowing the holder multiple entries to Canada for short stays, generally of up to six months.
Canada offers a “partial” visa exemption, allowing a subset of citizens from eligible countries to apply for an eTA instead of a TRV when travelling to or through Canada by air only (otherwise, a visa is required). Unlike the full visa exemption, eligibility criteria for a partial visa exemption require that an applicant from an eligible country must either have held a Canadian TRV within the last 10 years or hold a valid U.S. non-immigrant visa (NIV) at the time of their application. This cohort of travellers is considered lower risk and “known” to Canada because they have previously been screened by Canada or the United States.
The Government of Canada is seeking to diversify Canada’s trade partners to support a stronger, more independent and resilient economy. Safely increasing mobility between Canada and its trade partners helps support these efforts. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has assessed that eligible citizens of Indonesia and Malaysia meet the comprehensive criteria in Canada’s policy review process for a partial exemption from the requirement to obtain a TRV. Improving mobility between Canada and Indonesia and Malaysia is expected to help facilitate efforts to expand trade in the Indo-Pacific region. Regulatory amendments are needed to partially lift the visa requirement on eligible, lower-risk air travellers who are citizens of Indonesia or Malaysia, allowing them to travel to Canada under the Electronic Travel Authorization program.
Background
A visa requirement is considered the most effective tool in managing migration. TRV applicants must satisfy visa officers that they will abide by the conditions of temporary residence in Canada and undergo screening to ensure they are admissible to Canada. They may also be subject to more comprehensive security screening. This is done to prevent individuals that are inadmissible from travelling to Canada.
All decisions regarding Canada’s visa requirements seek to calibrate the protection of the safety and security of Canadians with the benefits of facilitating travel for legitimate temporary residents. Effective calibration brings important economic advantages to Canada, without undermining public safety.
IRCC completed an in-depth review of all related risks and benefits associated with a visa exemption, and concluded that eligible citizens of Indonesia and Malaysia meet Canada’s comprehensive criteria for a partial visa exemption.
Objective
The objective of the Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Electronic Travel Authorization) [the amendments] is to facilitate the travel of eligible citizens of Indonesia and Malaysia to Canada on an eTA in air mode.
Description
The amendments add Indonesia and Malaysia to a list of countries and territories whose citizens are partially exempt from the TRV requirement if they have held a Canadian TRV within the last 10 years or if they hold a valid U.S. NIV at the time of their application. Eligible citizens would instead apply for an eTA for travel to or through Canada in air mode.
Regulatory development
Consultation
Consultations related to the regulatory amendments included, but were not limited to, Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the Public Safety (PS) portfolio, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
IRCC has also engaged with Canada’s air and tourism industries through ongoing mechanisms, such as governance tables and working groups. Both industries strongly advocate for the growth of eTA eligibility as a way to facilitate access to Canada, not just as a destination of choice, but also as a connection hub for transiting traffic; this increased connectivity is equally valuable to airlines, airports and clients.
Canada consulted the United States as part of the countries’ assessment process.
Indigenous engagement, consultation and modern treaty obligations
An assessment of modern treaty implications was conducted.
The regulatory amendments would not apply to, or take effect in, any modern treaty area. No modern treaty implications with respect to the regulatory amendments were identified.
Instrument choice
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) establishes the requirement for most foreign nationals to obtain a visa before entering Canada, and provides for exemptions to this requirement to be set out in regulation. As a result, regulatory amendments are the only viable option to achieve this objective.
Regulatory analysis
Benefits and costs
An important first step in developing a cost-benefit methodology is establishing a baseline scenario against which options may be measured. For this analysis, the baseline scenario is one where visitors who are citizens of Indonesia or Malaysia would be required to obtain a TRV to enter Canada, unless otherwise exempt. The baseline scenario is then compared with the regulatory scenario, in which visitors who are eligible citizens of Indonesia or Malaysia and have held a Canadian TRV in the last 10 years or hold a U.S. NIV at the time of application would be exempted from the TRV requirement to enter Canada. Eligible visitors would need an eTA to enter Canada by air mode, but still require a TRV when entering at land or sea borders.
The amendments are estimated to result in costs to the Government of Canada. These include costs to expand information technology connections, as well as costs of additional processing of foreign nationals at ports of entry and potential downstream enforcement costs due to incentivized travel.
Costs
Cost to Government
IRCC would incur one-time costs of $208,074, and ongoing annual costs of $10,318. These costs include program planning and guidance updates, communication updates and IT system updates. CBSA would also incur one-time costs estimated at $75,607, and ongoing annual costs of $37,827. These costs include pre-border activities, processing new incentivized travellers at ports of entry, potential downstream enforcement and costs related to communication updates.
It should be noted that partially removing the TRV requirement applicable to eligible applicants from Indonesia and Malaysia would not impose incremental application processing costs to the Government of Canada, as this process is cost-recovered through the eTA application fee. Similarly, the Government of Canada would process eTAs instead of TRVs for these potential applicants, thus no longer collecting TRV revenue. The corresponding TRV revenue loss would be fully offset by the reduction in TRV processing. As both eTA and TRV fees are fully cost-recovered, any loss of fee revenue is offset by savings in processing costs, resulting in a neutral impact.
Enforcement and asylum costs
By implementing a partial visa exemption for eligible citizens of Indonesia and Malaysia, as with any partial visa exemption, Canada will be reducing its toolkit for identifying potential risks. However, it is anticipated that the risk is relatively low, given that, historically, Canada has not observed a notable rate of irregular migration from the impacted population. Travellers impacted by this decision are expected to pose a lower risk of irregular migration, as illustrated by a detailed assessment of the impacted cohort, and through monitoring of other partially visa-exempt populations. Given this historical trend, CBSA enforcement volumes and their associated costs are expected to remain minimal following the partial visa exemptions for citizens of Indonesia and Malaysia.
Industry costs
Minimal costs to the air industry are expected, as the infrastructure for processing eTA travellers is already in place. Only minor employee guidance activities are expected.
Benefits
Increased tourism
Air travellers who will be incentivized to visit Canada due to extended eTA eligibility are a key variable in the cost-benefit analysis. IRCC estimates that the amendments would result in a 9% increase in travel from Indonesia, and a 5% increase in travel from Malaysia. It is estimated that approximately 4 300 travellers from Indonesia and Malaysia would visit Canada annually as a result of this eTA eligibility expansion.
The processing of eTAs is faster than the visa screening process. Overall, the eTA program’s faster and more affordable processing will encourage air travel and tourism, benefiting airlines, airports and related industries, such as hospitality and retail.
The benefits of the amendments can be quantified in the form of additional tourism spending that will be generated from extended eTA eligibility, benefiting related industries and the Canadian economy as a whole. On average, visitors from these two countries are expected to spend approximately $1,700 per trip. As a result, facilitating travel to Canada for this low-risk population could result in $7.3 million in additional tourism spending in Canada per year. Qualitative benefits also include easier access for foreign nationals to visit family and friends residing in Canada.
Business benefits
In the long term, Canadians may see benefits through increased people-to-people ties and strengthened bilateral relationships, which could translate into new economic opportunities through trade and an increase in travel for business, stimulating growth in the business sector.
The amendments also advance the Government of Canada’s priorities aimed at diversifying trade and attracting investment to build the economy. The partial visa exemption would streamline access for businesses and skilled individuals by easing visitor entry into Canada.
Bilateral trade
Indonesia is Canada’s largest export market in Southeast Asia. In 2024, bilateral trade in goods and services totalled $6.7 billion.footnote 2 In September 2025, the two countries signed the Canada-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA),footnote 3 marking the culmination of negotiations. An Act to implement the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Canada and Indonesia was introduced on September 24, 2025.footnote 4The CEPA is flagged as a transformative trade agreement that would reflect Canada and Indonesia’s shared objective of unlocking new opportunities for trade and economic diversification, investment, innovation and sustainable growth. This agreement would give preferential tariff treatment to more than 97% of current Canadian exports to Indonesia.footnote 5
Malaysia is one of Canada’s largest bilateral merchandise trading partners in Southeast Asia, with $5.2 billion in bilateral trade in 2024.footnote 6 Malaysia is a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which the Government of Canada recently announced accelerated negotiations on a new Canada-ASEAN free trade agreement,footnote 7 and is also a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free trade agreement between Canada and countries primarily in the Asia-Pacific region.
Small business lens
Analysis under the small business lens concluded that the amendments will not impact Canadian small businesses.
One-for-one rule
The one-for-one rule does not apply, as there are no cost impacts on businesses associated with the amendments.
Regulatory cooperation and alignment
The amendments do not present any challenges with respect to regulatory cooperation and alignment.
International obligations
The amendments do not affect obligations arising from Canada’s international trade agreements.
Effects on the environment
In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment, a preliminary scan concluded that a strategic environmental and economic assessment is not required.
Gender-based analysis plus
A gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) of the amendments found no negative impacts related to gender or other identity factors. Overall, the analysis highlighted that the partial visa lift does not intentionally target specific groups of travellers from a GBA+ perspective. Based on recent data, gender characteristics are broadly gender-balanced.
Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards
Implementation
The amendments come into force on May 26, 2026, at 5:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). At that time, eligible citizens of Indonesia and Malaysia will be exempt from the TRV requirement when travelling to or through Canada by air mode.
IRCC communications will leverage its social media channels to share messaging on visa lift and new travel requirements. Web alerts will be posted on relevant pages linking to the news release to notify eligible citizens of Indonesia and Malaysia of the upcoming changes. Government of Canada websites will also be updated, and IRCC and the CBSA will engage with air industry stakeholders to support air carriers in the transition.
IRCC and the CBSA will monitor the efficacy of these regulatory amendments to ensure the required system changes are properly in place and to determine if new issues or challenges emerge as a result.
Contact
Heather Roberts
Acting Director
Visitors Policy
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
365 Laurier Ave West, 9th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
Email: heather.roberts@cic.gc.ca