On Tuesday, Canada announced that tourists from 13 nations in Asia, Africa, Central America, and South America will no longer need a visa to enter the country.
According to the Canadian government, visa-free travel is now available to citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts-Nevis, Panama, Argentina, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Morocco, Seychelles, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Thailand, and the Philippines.
The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria, didn’t make the list, but east Africa’s Seychelles and north Africa’s Morocco did.
According to a statement from Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, “an expansion of the electronic travel authorization programs, better known as the eTA programs, makes it easier for “known travellers” from those countries to come here for pleasure and business.”
According to him, the expansion will improve traveler convenience as well as promote travel, tourism, and economic benefits as well as fortify ties between the world and these 13 nations.
The visa exemptions “can save the known travelers from these countries a lot of money.”
Currently, a tourist visa costs $100 per person and $500 for families of five or more, whereas an eTA costs just $7 per person and is good for up to five years.
The introduction of visa-free air travel, in the government’s estimation, will make it quicker, simpler, and more economical for thousands of visitors visiting Canada to stay for up to six months, whether on business or for pleasure.
