(CANADA) — Canada expanded eligibility for its electronic travel authorization (eTA) on May 26, 2026, allowing qualifying nationals of Indonesia and Malaysia to apply for an eTA instead of a visitor visa when flying to Canada.

The change applies to travelers from those two countries who held a Canadian visa in the previous 10 years, or who hold a valid U.S. non-immigrant visa. Canada limited the new pathway to air travel.

Officials tied the move to a broader effort to simplify entry for eligible visitors considered low risk. The policy reduces one of the main procedural steps for travelers who would otherwise need a visitor visa before boarding a flight to Canada.

The May 26, 2026 eTA expansion is narrow, but it changes the entry process for a specific group of travelers with recent Canadian screening histories or valid permission to enter the United States on a temporary basis. Instead of going through the full visitor visa route, those eligible passengers can use the eTA system for air travel to Canada.

Nationals of Indonesia and Malaysia do not qualify automatically. Canada requires them to meet one of two conditions: they must have held a Canadian visa in the past 10 years, or they must hold a valid U.S. non-immigrant visa.

Travel mode remains central to the rule. The eTA option under the new policy covers flights to Canada, not all forms of arrival, and Canada’s standard visa or eTA rules continue to apply for other nationalities.

U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents remain exempt from eTA requirements when traveling to Canada by air. That exemption did not change under the new rule.

The travel update lands at a time of rising cross-border movement in North America. One widely cited 2026 report noted that American residents made approximately 1.6 million trips to Canada in May 2026.

Another 2026 business travel report put international inbound travel spending in U.S. destinations at $50.7 billion in 2024. Those figures point to the economic scale around North American travel flows, even though Canada’s latest entry change targets visitors from Southeast Asia rather than travelers from the United States.

The reference to America’s $13 billion traveler source reflects those broader U.S.-Canada travel ties. Canada remains closely linked to American tourism and business mobility, with traffic moving in both directions as travel volumes recover.

Airlines and passengers typically watch changes like this for one reason: documentation rules determine who can board. Under the new framework, an eligible traveler from Indonesia or Malaysia flying to Canada can seek an eTA rather than a visitor visa, provided that traveler meets the prior Canadian visa or valid U.S. non-immigrant visa condition.

That distinction matters in practical terms because the eTA and visitor visa are not the same entry pathway. Canada’s update shifts qualifying travelers into the eTA stream, while leaving the underlying eligibility test intact through past Canadian visa history or current U.S. visa status.

The rule also reflects how Canada increasingly uses prior screening as a gatekeeping tool. A traveler who already held a Canadian visa within the last 10 years, or who currently holds a valid U.S. non-immigrant visa, enters the process with a record that Canadian authorities have decided can support a simpler application route for air travel.

No broader exemption was announced for other foreign nationals. People who do not fall within the new eligibility group continue to face Canada’s existing visa-or-eTA rules based on nationality and how they plan to travel.

Residents of the United States who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents are not covered by any blanket exemption in this change. Their ability to use the new eTA pathway depends on nationality and the same eligibility test set out for Indonesia and Malaysia nationals.

The update places Indonesia and Malaysia inside a more flexible Canadian entry process, but only for a defined group and only for flights. It leaves the broader structure of Canada’s border rules in place, while easing access for travelers whom Canada already classifies as eligible for a lower-friction check before departure.

As cross-border travel rises again, the policy shows how governments are trying to cut paperwork for selected visitors without opening their systems to everyone. Canada’s latest move does that by shifting qualifying travelers from two countries into the electronic travel authorization (eTA) system beginning May 26, 2026, while keeping existing exemptions for U.S. citizens and permanent residents and preserving the standard rules for everyone else.