Many travellers book a flight first and look into documents later. Canada, however, asks for different documents depending on which passport you hold and whether you arrive by air or by land. Once those two facts are clear, the document you need is almost decided for you.
An eTA and a Visitor Visa are not interchangeable
Short visits to Canada rely on one of two documents. The Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) is an approval linked electronically to the passport of a traveller from a visa-exempt country arriving by air. The Visitor Visa (officially a Temporary Resident Visa) is a visa placed in the passport of a traveller whose nationality requires one.
They are separate systems and nobody holds both. Which one applies is not a matter of preference; it follows from the passport. South Korean passports are visa-exempt, so air arrivals fall under the eTA.
Arriving by air means eTA; land and sea arrivals generally do not need one
The eTA is required when you arrive in Canada by air. Crossing from the United States by car, bus or train, or arriving on a regular vessel such as a cruise ship, generally does not require an eTA for visa-exempt nationals. You still need a valid passport and go through the same border inspection.
This distinction causes confusion on itineraries that mix land entry with an air departure, for example driving from the western United States into Vancouver. The test is how you enter Canada at that moment. Entering by land and later flying out of a Canadian airport to another country does not by itself require an eTA, but if you fly back into Canada afterwards, you need one for that arrival.
A transit is treated like an air arrival
Even when your final destination is the United States or South America, changing planes in Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal means arriving at a Canadian airport, so an eTA is required. Staying inside the transit area does not change this. Airlines verify it at check-in at your departure airport, and without it boarding can be refused.
Round trips often connect through different airports on the outbound and return legs. Check both, and if either leg touches a Canadian airport, get the approval before you leave.
Nationals who need a visa require a Visitor Visa however they travel
If your passport is not visa-exempt, you need a Visitor Visa whether you come by air or by land. An eTA application will not be approved in that case, and transit may call for separate documents. When a family or group includes someone with a different nationality, that person follows a different process, so do not judge the whole party by one member's passport.
Permanent residents and citizens follow their own rules
Canadian permanent residents are not eligible for an eTA and enter with a valid permanent resident card. Canadian citizens, including dual citizens, are expected to enter on a Canadian passport. Both groups sit outside the rules above, so they should not apply for an eTA on another country's passport.
Three things to confirm before departure
- Whether your passport nationality is visa-exempt
- Whether your first entry into Canada is by air, including transits
- Whether the return journey also passes through a Canadian airport
South Korean passport arriving by air or transiting a Canadian airport: eTA. Entering only by land or sea: generally no eTA. Nationality that requires a visa: Visitor Visa.