The document that matches your answers
Every result states the agency rule it matched and links to a live guide. Read the guide before you book anything. The official page linked in the guide is the authority.
Free tool · Canada · Passport, NEXUS, eTA, and PR card
Travel Document Checker
Answer three questions about who you are, where you are going, and how you will travel, and see which travel document the agencies say matches — with the guide that walks through the next step. This checker states what each document is for, as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency, and the Passport Program state it. It gives no travel advice beyond document selection, and the official pages govern if anything here differs.
The document rules turn on status first. Canadian citizens, including dual citizens, need a valid Canadian passport to travel to Canada. Canadian permanent residents need a valid permanent resident card or permanent resident travel document.
This checker covers entry to Canada and Canada to United States crossings. For any other destination, the destination government entry rules decide: this checker names that check rather than guessing at it.
The eTA answer turns on the mode: visa-exempt foreign nationals need an eTA to fly to or transit through a Canadian airport, and do not need an eTA when arriving by car, bus, train, or boat, including a cruise ship.
How the matching works (agency rules, stated as the agencies state them)
Canadian passport. Canadian citizens, including dual citizens, need a valid Canadian passport to travel to Canada. A new adult passport application in Canada needs proof of Canadian citizenship, a document to support your identity, 2 identical passport photos, a guarantor, and 2 references. The guarantor must be 18 or older, have known you personally for at least 2 years, be a Canadian citizen, hold a Canadian passport issued for 5 or 10 years that is valid or has been expired for less than 1 year, and have been 16 or older when they applied for that passport. Your references must be 18 or older, have known you for at least 2 years, and cannot be your guarantor or a member of your family. Passport fees and processing times are not stated on this page: check the official page, as they change.
Permanent resident card. The permanent resident card is the official proof of status as a permanent resident in Canada. Permanent residents must carry and show their valid permanent resident card or permanent resident travel document when boarding a flight to Canada, or travelling to Canada on any other commercial carrier. If you are travelling in a private vehicle such as a car, truck, motorcycle, or recreational vehicle that you own, borrow, or rent, you can use your permanent resident card, permanent resident travel document, or other documents to return to Canada. A card is usually valid for 5 years, and in some cases for only 1 year. If your card is still valid for more than nine months (270 days), do not apply for a renewal, unless your legal name or gender has changed: otherwise your application will be returned. If you are outside Canada and do not have a valid card to return, you must apply for a permanent resident travel document. The residency obligation and the renewal fee are not stated on this page: check the official guide before you apply.
Electronic travel authorization (eTA). An eTA is an entry requirement for visa-exempt foreign nationals travelling to Canada by air. It is electronically linked to the passport used to apply, is valid for up to five years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first, and a new passport means a new eTA. It costs CAD $7, and you can only apply and pay for one person at a time. With a valid eTA, you can travel to Canada as often as you want for short stays, normally for up to six months at a time. You do not need an eTA for travel within Canada. Citizens from select visa-required countries may be eligible to apply for an eTA, instead of a visa, to travel to Canada by air, but those travellers need a visitor visa when arriving by car, bus, train, or boat, including a cruise ship. United States citizens are exempt from the eTA requirement and must carry proper identification such as a valid United States passport. Lawful permanent residents of the United States are exempt from the eTA requirement and must carry official proof of status and a valid passport from their country of nationality.
NEXUS. NEXUS is designed to speed up border crossings into Canada and the United States for low-risk, pre-approved travellers. It is jointly run by the Canada Border Services Agency and United States Customs and Border Protection. Memberships are valid for 5 years, with a $120 (USD) non-refundable application processing fee, and children under 18 are free. United States and Canadian citizens and permanent residents may apply. If you are a permanent resident, you must have been a legal resident of Canada or the United States for at least 3 years before applying, physically present for at least 183 out of the 365 days for each of the 3 years before applying, with stated exemptions. To be eligible you must be admissible to Canada and the United States under immigration laws, provide true and complete information, and not have violated customs, immigration, or agriculture laws. If you pass the risk assessments, you will need to complete the interview to finalize your membership. From April 1, 2027, the temporary 5-year extension for scheduling the enrolment interview ends: applicants conditionally approved on or after that date must schedule within 2 years, and those approved before it must schedule within 5 years of approval or by April 1, 2029, whichever comes first.
Work and study permits. An eTA lets you travel to Canada if you are eligible, but it does not let you work or study. Coming to Canada to work or study is a separate application. See the study permit and post-graduation work permit guides linked below for those routes, and check the official pages for the permit that fits your situation.
Sources: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Find out about electronic travel authorization (eTA) (Canada.ca), What you need to apply for a new adult passport in Canada (Canada.ca), and Guide 5445: Applying for a permanent resident card (Canada.ca); Canada Border Services Agency, NEXUS: Trusted traveller program and NEXUS: Who is eligible, each opened at build time. No figure on this page comes from anywhere else. Where a figure could not be verified on an opened official page, this page says to check the official page instead of stating it.
Work and study routes: How to Start Applying for a Study Permit in Canada and How to Start Applying for a Post-Graduation Work Permit in Canada.
Next step: read the full step-by-step guide: How to Start Applying for a Canadian Passport in Canada