To find out if you need a visa to travel to Canada, visit this site for detailed visa information.
Biometrics (if required): If you are from a country where a visa is mandatory for entry into Canada, make sure to apply for your visa well in advance of your travel date.
U.S. citizens do not need either a Canadian Visa or the Canadian eTA to travel to Canada. If you do not need a visa to travel to Canada, then you are probably going to need an electronic travel authorization (eTA) in order to fly into, or transit through, Canadian airports. In most cases, you will also need a valid Visitor Visa, or an ETA, to enter Canada.
If you are required to have a visa, be sure that your visitors visa is still valid should you decide to leave Canada and enter again. If you are a US citizen or a permanent resident, check with the Canadian government for visa requirements or with Travel Canada for entry requirements.
British citizens generally do not need visas to visit Canada for short periods, however, you must obtain a valid electronic travel authorization prior to your trip (see below). Canadian citizens do not generally need a visa to travel to the U.S. directly from Canada for visits or studies.
U.S. citizens who are also Canadian citizens must carry both a valid Canadian passport and a valid U.S. passport or travel documents when they embark on flights from the U.S. to Canada. If you are a dual Irish-Canadian citizen, you cannot request an ETA on an Irish passport, and you should enter Canada with a valid Canadian passport. All international travellers should bring the appropriate forms of ID, as well as their valid visa if required, to enter Canada.
Along with your usual travel documents required for entry into Canada, you may be required to bring extra documents depending on your country of origin, even if it is only for landing in Canada and re-boarding your connecting flight.
Visit the Canadas website for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship for details of which travel documents are required. If you have questions about whether or not you are eligible to enter Canada (for example, if you have a conviction, or were arrested, even though that did not lead to conviction), or visa issues generally, please consult with the Canadian High Commission before traveling.
For that reason, travelers should apply for your ETA prior to booking a flight to Canada. If you require an eTA and are flying into Canadian airports, be sure you are traveling with the passport electronically linked to your eTA. As of March 15, 2016, travelers not needing a visa to fly into Canada must submit an eTA.
Citizens from the following countries are considered to be exempt from the need for a visa (only an eTA is required when traveling by air into Canada). All EU citizens are considered visa-exempt for stays of up to six months, however, they must all fill out an electronic travel authorization (eTA) prior to taking a flight to Canada.
Citizens from most of Canadas visa-exempt countries are required to sign up for an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) online prior to departing, if they are entering Canada by plane. Although not required to obtain visas for short stays, citizens of countries that are not required to obtain Canadian visas are also required to apply for a visa at an embassy to travel to Canada for longer periods of time or for purposes that are not permitted with visas-exempt or with eTAs.
Visa requirements for Canadian citizens are administrative restrictions placed on Canadian citizens by authorities in other states. Canadian authorities require visitors transiting Canada to obtain an electronic travel authorization (eTA) See Entry requirements, unless otherwise exempted (for example, if holding a valid Canadian visa or Residents Permanente).
Transit Visas are required for all visitors requiring a visa who are stopping in Canada for less than 48 hours en route to another country.
All Canadians entering the U.S. via air require passports, while Canadians entering the United States via land or sea must have Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)-compliant travel documents.
U.S. citizens reentering the U.S. from Canada via air require valid passports. US citizens coming to Canada via automobile, bus, train, or ship must bring the appropriate forms of identification and fulfill basic requirements for entry into Canada.
The following travelers require a visa to enter Canada using any travel mode: airplane, car, bus, train or cruise ship. The following travelers do not need eTAs if they are entering via land or sea - driving from the US, for example, or coming by bus, train, or ship, including a cruise ship.
Upon arriving at the Canadian Port of Entry, travellers must prove to the CBSA Border Services Officer (BSO) that they are eligible to enter Canada. Permanent residents of Canada participating in NEXUS or the FAST Program are required to travel with their passports and evidence of their continued residency, and they may be required to show these documents to an officer when arriving at the border.
Dual citizens, those with Canadian citizenship and citizenship from a country that does not require a visa, such as Ireland, cannot apply for an eTA, as the eTA is designed to check foreign visitors eligibility to enter Canada. Canada has introduced the electronic travel authorization (eTA) entry requirement for foreign citizens without visas flying into Canada or transiting through.
When traveling in a country with no visa restrictions, you may only need to present a passport, and you are ready to go. This means that you will not have to visit an embassy or wait several days to have a visa processed before traveling, though you may occasionally have to obtain advance approval or begin your application online prior to leaving.
If you want to extend your visit, you need to apply at your nearest Canadian immigration centre or online prior to your Visitor Visa expiration date. This list would have been easier to put together if we had mentioned countries that required visas -- but regardless, you can find the list below for all of the countries that Canadians are allowed to visit without visas.