Antiguans to Canada Visa Requirements: What you need to Know
Are you an Antiguan citizen? Have you been using the Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to travel to Canada? Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) changed the requirements on June 27, 2017. So what’s in play for Antiguans to gain access into Canada?
Visa requirement mandatory
As of June 27, 2017, Antiguans are required to apply for a visa whenever traveling to Canada. This requirement is still in effect, hence you must have your normal visa as stipulated by the Canadian Immigration authorities.
With the issuing of the new decree, any eTAs that had been issued were deemed invalid hence citizens of Antigua and Barbuda won’t be granted entry with ETAs granted before June 27, 2017.
Why you need a visa to Canada
The statement issued by the Canadian government indicated that after the latter had conducted their detailed monitoring of travel documents’ integrity, it determined that passports of citizens from Antigua and Barbuda do not meet the visa exemption criteria.
The new changes to the earlier eTA requirements came into play as the Canadian government expressed its concerns on security of its citizens. Despite the changes, Antiguans are still welcome to travel to Canada.
For detailed information on your visa applications, kindly visit our page on Canadian visa applications.
If traveling in transit through Canada, you will also be required to have a visa, for any other destination across the globe.
Reward for frequent visitors
The new changes of the requirements for Antiguans, however, comes with a ‘reward’ for some; eligible Antiguans can be granted multiple entry visas, which means that Antiguans granted these visas can travel to Canada many times within a time span of 10 years.
For every single visit you make within the 10 years, you will be given a maximum stay of up to 6 months! You can also apply to extend your stay in Canada for longer than 6 months if you have legit reasons to remain in Canada longer.
How long is the processing time?
After submitting your application, it will be processed and, if approved, you can have your visa fairly quickly within a couple of weeks. The processing time is, however, dependent upon the type of visa you are applying for. Applications can be submitted to online or paper applications may be submitted at Visa Application Centers. If applying from Antigua and Barbuda, the closest application center is the one located in Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago:
4 Warner Street
(between Woodford Street and Cipriani Blvd)
New Town, Port of Spain
Trinidad and Tobago
I have dual citizenship
If you have the Canadian-Antiguan and Barbudan citizenship, you don’t need a visa. Only your valid Canadian passport is required to travel to Canada.
If you have dual citizenship where your second citizenship is from another country other than Canada or United States where the country is among those exempted from visa requirements, then you only need to apply for eTA. The eTA, together with your passport for the visa exempt country, will grant you access to Canada with going through immigration border screening.