Published on: Jan 13, 2020
Filling out an eTA application online can be tedious. However, applicants should strive to be meticulous when completing the form and submit their applications at least several days or weeks before their departure to Canada. An error on an eTA application may result in a refusal as well as result in additional inconveniences if the traveller is unable to identify the cause of the issue and have it corrected.
There are two types of form errors. Ones that will require resubmission of an eTA application and others which will not require resubmission of an application. Those that do not require resubmission can be edited, however an applicant will need to contact Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to update the application.
Errors on the following fields can be corrected. In most cases, these errors are not critical to obtaining approval on your eTA application. Applicants can send a webform to IRCC to correct any of these errors, however, this is usually not required unless an applicant is prompted to do so through a GCKey request.
The following errors cannot be corrected. Applicants who have made the following mistakes on their eTA application will need to submit a new application, which will overwrite their previous submission.
Incorrect passport information
Passport number, country of citizenship, date of birth, gender, first name, and last name are all important passport identifiers used by IRCC to determine the eligibility eTA and link an eTA application to a traveller. Thus, any mistake to these fields will result in an invalid eTA, if one was approved. Otherwise, if an applicant discovers an error with any of the aforementioned fields before they receive a decision from IRCC, they can submit a new application with the correct information.
Incorrect background information
Incorrectly answering any of the four background questions will require an applicant to resubmit a new application. If IRCC suspects an incorrect or misleading answer on the background questions they may deny the application or send the applicant a GCKey request to provide more information on their responses.
When in doubt, you can check the status of your eTA using your passport number, passport issue and expiry dates as well as the country of citizenship. If there is no status associated to your passport details, or the details on your eTA application are incorrect, you must submit a new application form.
Applicants should be mindful of the types of errors on a Canada eTA application as well as their severity and likelihood to impact IRCC’s decision if uncorrected. Canada eTA applicants should aim to submit their applications several days or weeks before their departure to Canada to allow for time to either update incorrect form fields or submit a new application with the corrected information.
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