Canada gives visa-exempt travellers 6 months to comply with electronic travel authorization

The Liberal government has given travellers from visa-exempt countries a six-monthgrace period to comply with a new pre-screening measure that was set to take effect on March 15, bowing to calls from industry representatives who expressed concerns over the timing of the new requirement.

Some threemillion travellers flying to or passing throughCanada willbe required to have what isknown as an electronic travel authorization (eTA) prior to boarding their flight, according to the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

The new requirement, a result of a2011 joint border project with the U.S.,is intended to make iteasier and faster for low-risk travellers to come to Canada.

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"However, from March 15, 2016 until fall 2016, travellers who do not have an eTA can board their flight, as long as they have appropriate travel documents, such as a valid passport," said a noticeposted on the Canadian government web site Thursday.

"During this time, border services officers can let travellers arriving without an eTA into the country, as long as they meet the other requirements to enter Canada."

The new requirement applies to foreign nationals who don't normally require a visa to travel to Canada such asBritish, Australian and French citizens, among others, as well as permanent residents of the U.S. However,U.S. citizensand travellers with a valid Canadian visa are exempt from the newrequirement. Canadian citizens, dual citizens, and permanent residents of Canada do not need to apply for an eTA.

Travellers can apply for an eTA online by answering a few questions and paying $7. According to the government, applicants will get their authorization within minutes of submitting the online form.The authorization is electronically linked to the person'spassport and is valid forfive yearsor until thepassport expires, whichever comes first.

"We are very pleased with the leniency periodthe government extended to travellers," said Rob Taylor, a spokesperson for the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, in a phone interview with CBC News.

"Travellers will not be turned away at the airport, that's what we were looking for."

Advertising for eTA 'inadequate'

Taylor said there were concerns from the tourism and travel sector that the previous Conservative governmenthad not done a good enough job of telling travellers about the eTA.

"The one challenge we've had is the government's communications strategywhich was in many cases inadequate," Taylor said on Friday.

There were also concerns that a newly-electedgovernment with key departmental resourcestied up in responding to the humanitarian crisis in Syria,wouldnot be in aposition to implement the new pre-screening measures during the upcoming spring break, a busy period for air travel.

"Itwas the cumulative effect and the ability to properly communicate it to potential travellers... that's what our biggest concern was," Taylor said.

As CBC reported earlier this week, theprevious Conservative government had purchased $2.69 million in print andinternetads to raise awareness about the new eTA.

The Department of Immigration does plan to purchase another media ad buy to promote the eTA but it won't include mention of the six-month reprieve, a spokesperson confirmed with CBC today.

"Any future advertisements about eTA will continue to be focused on raising and sustaining general awareness of the new requirement and will not address the leniency period," said Nancy Caron, a spokesperson with the immigration department, in an email to CBC News.

"Timing of the 2016-2017 portion of the campaign will be confirmed following the completion of the 2015-2016 campaign and development of a new media plan."

The most recent ads began rolling out on Feb. 15, she said.

Concerns about a'spaghetti of rules'

But what will happen to visa-exempt travellers once the six-month reprieve ends is unclear at this point.

Richard Kurland, an immigration lawyer and policy analyst, says foreign nationals who live in Canada as permanent residents could be sideswiped by the new entry requirement.

According to Kurland, the rules and exemptionsare more complex than officials would have would-be travellers believe.

"It's a spaghetti of rules that are not easily understood by lawyers, let alone members of the public," Kurland said in a phone interview with CBC News on Friday.

Kurlandsaid visa-exempt travellerswho live in Canada as permanent residents couldfind themselves stranded in an overseas airport unless the rules change between now and the fall.

What's more, Kurland said,the new entry requirement only applies to visa-exempt foreign nationals who are flying into or through Canada, butnot to those who are driving across the border.

"The legal advice to people being strandedis to get on aplane to an American city and simply driveinto Canada."

"That's ludicrous," Kurland said.

French citizens who are permanent residents in Canada have expressed concerns about the new eTA requirement.

"The fact remains that the decision to delay the enforcement of the eTA requirement is up to Canadian authorities," Florence Ferrari, a spokesperson for the French embassy in Ottawa, said in an email to CBC News.

Ferrari said that any measureto ease itscoming into effect will be most welcomed.

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