South Africa to Canada visa requirements

South African ordinary passport holders need a visitor visa (Temporary Resident Visa, TRV) to visit Canada for tourism. There is no visa-on-arrival and South Africa is not eligible for the eTA — even travellers who hold a US visa. South Africa is a visa-required country for Canada. As an ordinary South African passport holder, you must obtain a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) before travelling, regardless of how you arrive (air, land or sea). Canada's Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) is reserved for visa-exempt nationals and for a defined list of visa-required nationalities who hold a valid US non-immigrant visa or a recent Canadian visa — South Africa is NOT on that list (which as of June 2026 covers Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Panama, Philippines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay). You apply online through IRCC, pay the CAD 100 visa fee plus CAD 85 biometrics fee, and give biometrics at a Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Cape Town or Pretoria after receiving a biometric instruction letter. IRCC's country-specific visitor visa processing estimate for applications from South Africa is 120 days as of the June 17, 2026 data update. A visitor visa normally permits stays of up to 6 months per entry; the officer at the port of entry sets the actual permitted stay. Multiple-entry visas are normally considered by IRCC and may be valid up to 10 years or until the passport expires.