Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations

Marginal note:Visa exemption — nationality

• 190 (1) A foreign national is exempt from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa if they

  • (a) are a citizen of Andorra, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Samoa, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Spain, Sweden or Switzerland;

  • (b) are

    • (i) a British citizen,

    • (ii) a British overseas citizen who is re-admissible to the United Kingdom, or

    • (iii) a citizen of a British overseas territory who derives that citizenship through birth, descent, naturalization or registration in one of the British overseas territories of Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Island, Saint Helena or Turks and Caicos Islands; or

  • (c) are a national of the United States or a person who has been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence.

• Marginal note:Visa exemption — documents

  (2) A foreign national is exempt from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa if they

  • (a) hold a passport that contains a diplomatic acceptance, a consular acceptance or an official acceptance issued by the Chief of Protocol for the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade on behalf of the Government of Canada and are a properly accredited diplomat, consular officer, representative or official of a country other than Canada, of the United Nations or any of its agencies, or of any international organization of which Canada is a member;

  • (b) hold a passport or travel document issued by the Holy See;

  • (c) hold a national Israeli passport;

  • (d) hold a passport issued by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China;

  • (e) hold a passport issued by the United Kingdom to a British National (Overseas), as a person born, naturalized or registered in Hong Kong;

  • (e.1) hold a passport issued by the United Kingdom to a British Subject which contains the observation that the holder has the right of abode in the United Kingdom; or

  • (f) hold an ordinary passport issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan that includes the personal identification number of the individual.

• (2.1) [Repealed, SOR/2015-77, s. 6]

• Marginal note:Visa exemption — purpose of entry

  (3) A foreign national is exempt from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa if they are seeking to enter and remain in Canada solely

  • (a) subject to an agreement between Canada and one or more foreign countries respecting the obligation to hold such a visa,

    • (i) as a member of a crew of a means of transportation other than a vessel or to become a member of a crew of a means of transportation other than a vessel, or

    • (ii) to transit through Canada after working, or to work, as a member of a crew of a means of transportation other than a vessel, if they possess a ticket for departure from Canada within 24 hours after their arrival in Canada;

  • (b) to transit through Canada as a passenger on a flight stopping in Canada for the sole purpose of refuelling and

    • (i) they are in possession of the documents required in order to enter the United States and their flight is bound for that country, or

    • (ii) they were lawfully admitted to the United States and their flight originated in that country;

  • (b.1) to transit through Canada as a passenger on a flight that, owing to an emergency or other unforeseen circumstances, makes an unscheduled stop in Canada;

  • (c) to transit through Canada as a passenger on a flight if the foreign national

    • (i) is transported by a commercial transporter and there is a memorandum of understanding referred to in subsection (4) in effect between the Minister and the commercial transporter concerning the transit of passengers through Canada without a Canadian visa,

    • (ii) holds a passport or travel document that was issued by the country of which the foreign national is a citizen or national and that country is listed in the memorandum of understanding, and

    • (iii) is in possession of any visa required to enter the country of destination;

  • (d) to carry out official duties as a member of the armed forces of a country that is a designated state for the purposes of the Visiting Forces Act, unless they have been designated under that Act as a civilian component of those armed forces;

  • (e) [Repealed, SOR/2015-77, s. 6]

  • (f) to re-enter Canada following a visit solely to the United States or St. Pierre and Miquelon, if they

    • (i) held a study permit or a work permit that was issued before they left Canada on such a visit or were authorized to enter and remain in Canada as a temporary resident, and

    • (ii) return to Canada by the end of the period initially authorized for their stay or any extension to it;

  • (g) to conduct inspections of the flight operation procedures or cabin safety of a commercial air carrier operating international flights, if they are a civil aviation inspector of a national aeronautical authority and possess valid documentation to that effect; or

  • (h) to participate as an accredited representative or as an adviser to an aviation accident or incident investigation conducted under the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act, if they possess valid documentation to that effect.

• Marginal note:Visa exemption — crew member

  (3.1) A foreign national who is a member of a crew and who is carried to Canada by a vessel is exempt from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa if they are seeking

  • (a) to enter Canada as a member of the crew of the vessel; and

  • (b) to remain in Canada solely as a member of the crew of that vessel or any other vessel.

• Marginal note:Content of memorandum of understanding

  (4) A memorandum of understanding referred to in paragraph (3)(c) shall include provisions respecting

  • (a) the countries to which the memorandum of understanding applies;

  • (b) the scheduled flights to which the memorandum of understanding applies; and

  • (c) the commercial transporter’s obligation to control the movement of in-transit passengers.