(CANADA) – Canada began allowing eligible citizens of Indonesia and Malaysia to apply for an eTA instead of a visitor visa on May 26, 2026, easing air travel rules for people who meet two existing screening conditions.

The change took effect at 5:30 a.m. Eastern Time and applies to people flying to Canada or transiting through the country by air. It does not create a visa-free policy for all citizens of either country.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced the measure on May 25, 2026. Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced it in a press release titled “Canada strengthens Indo-Pacific ties through changes to visa requirements for eligible travellers from Indonesia and Malaysia.”

Eligible travelers must be citizens of Indonesia or Malaysia and must be traveling by air. They also must meet one of two conditions: they held a Canadian temporary resident visa in the last 10 years, or they currently hold a valid U.S. non-immigrant visa.

Those travelers can use an eTA in place of a visitor visa when they fly to or through Canada. The measure is narrower than the phrase “drop visa requirement” suggests, because it covers only a defined group and only one mode of travel.

People arriving by car, bus, train, or boat still need a visitor visa. Canada kept that rule in place even as it opened the electronic travel authorization option to eligible air passengers from the two countries.

Current valid temporary resident visas also remain in force. Travelers who already hold a valid TRV can keep using it until it expires, or until their passport expires, whichever comes first.

That leaves the old system intact for many travelers while creating a faster entry path for a narrower pool of passengers. In practice, the new option reaches Indonesian and Malaysian citizens who already passed Canadian screening in the past decade or who hold a valid U.S. non-immigrant visa now.

Canada framed the announcement as a change tied to its Indo-Pacific policy, but the mechanics are precise. The eTA replaces the visitor visa only for eligible air travelers, not for all visitors from Indonesia and Malaysia and not for every border crossing.

The distinction matters because the same traveler may face different document rules depending on how the trip begins. A person who qualifies for the eTA and boards a flight to Canada can use that authorization for air travel, while a person entering by land or sea still falls under the regular visitor visa requirement.

Indonesian and Malaysian citizens who already have a valid TRV do not need to replace it immediately. Canada said those visas remain usable through their normal validity period, unless the passport expires first.

The screening conditions also show that Canada did not create a first-time, open-ended exemption. It limited the new access to people with a recent Canadian visa history or a current U.S. non-immigrant visa, two categories that already carry prior immigration screening.

That structure makes the policy a targeted visa facilitation measure rather than a full removal of visa rules. Canada did not extend the eTA option to every citizen of Indonesia or Malaysia, and it did not remove the visitor visa requirement for land and sea arrivals.

Air travelers from those countries now face a split system based on eligibility. Those who meet the screening conditions can seek an eTA; those who do not, or those entering by car, bus, train, or boat, still need a visitor visa.

The immediate effect falls on trip planning and transit. Citizens of Indonesia and Malaysia who qualify can use the electronic authorization route for flights to Canada or for journeys that pass through a Canadian airport, while others remain subject to the existing visa process.

Canada’s announcement changed who can apply for an eTA, not the basic rule that many foreign nationals need documentation before boarding transportation to the country. By limiting the measure to eligible air travelers and preserving the validity of existing TRVs, Ottawa widened access in one channel while leaving the broader visa framework in place.