Do Canada passport holders need a visa to visit KP?

Canadian passport holders need a visa to enter North Korea (DPRK), and there is no visa-free, eVisa, or visa-on-arrival option. As of May 2026, North Korea remains effectively closed to general tourism: only Russian passport holders are being admitted as tourists. Canada also maintains its highest-level "Avoid all travel" advisory due to the risk of arbitrary detention. A Canada ordinary passport holder cannot travel visa-free to North Korea. A visa is mandatory and must be arranged before travel through a North Korean state-authorized tour operator (such as Korea International Travel Company, KITC) working with partner agencies abroad; you cannot apply independently or arrive without an organized, guided tour. The visa is issued as a separate tourist card rather than a passport stamp, and approval requires authorization from Pyongyang, making the process slow and uncertain. Critically, as of 2026 North Korea is not issuing tourist visas to Canadians or other Western nationals: after a brief, limited reopening of the Rason Special Economic Zone in February 2025 (suspended on 5 March 2025), only Russian citizens are currently permitted to visit as tourists. The Pyongyang Marathon, which had briefly admitted some foreign runners in April 2025, was cancelled in March 2026. Independent of visa availability, the Government of Canada advises against all travel to North Korea because of the risk of arbitrary arrest and detention and the uncertain security situation. Canada has no embassy in Pyongyang; Sweden acts as Canada's protecting power and provides extremely limited consular assistance. Travelers should treat the route as visa-required and, in practice, currently inaccessible.