How to Check Your Canada eTA Status (and What Each Status Means)

Make sure you are running the right check:

• Pending application: you applied recently and want to know if a decision has been made. You will need your application number (from the confirmation email) plus your passport details.
• Existing eTA: you were approved in the past and want to confirm it is still valid for an upcoming trip. You will need your eTA number (starting with "J", from the approval email) or your passport details.

• The passport you applied with — number, issue date, expiry date, and your name exactly as printed.
• Your application number or eTA number from the IRCC emails. Search your inbox for messages from IRCC or "eTA" if you cannot find them.
• If you cannot locate any email, you can still run a check using your passport details, and there is an official process to retrieve a lost eTA number.

• Approved: your eTA is active and linked to your passport. Nothing to print — the airline sees it when scanning your passport. Note the expiry date.
• Pending / under review: a decision has not been made. IRCC emails within 72 hours of submission if more time or documents are needed — watch your inbox and spam folder, and do not reapply.
• Documents requested: the review is paused until you upload what was asked. Respond as fast as possible.
• Refused: the application was not approved. You will have received an email; read the reason carefully — our guide on eTA refusals covers exactly what to do next.
• Expired / not found: either the eTA has passed its five-year validity, the passport it was linked to has been renewed, or the details entered do not match the application. All three mean the same thing in practice: you need a new eTA before flying.

The eTA is valid for five years or until the linked passport expires — whichever comes first. The most common surprise: travellers renew their passport and assume the eTA carries over. It does not. The authorisation is electronically tied to the old document, so a new passport always requires a new eTA, even if the old one had years of validity left. The second most common cause is simpler: a typo in the passport number or date fields during the check itself. Re-enter the details carefully before concluding anything.

Every traveller has their own eTA — including children and babies — so run the check separately for each passport. It is worth doing this a week before any family trip: a child's passport often expires sooner than the parents' (child passports have shorter validity), silently taking the child's eTA with it.

1. Check each traveller's eTA status against the passport they will fly with.
2. Confirm the passport itself is valid for the whole trip.
3. If any eTA is expired, not found, or linked to an old passport — apply for a new one now; most approvals arrive within minutes, but do not gamble on it.
4. Save each approval email offline or in accessible storage.