Canada, which has just lifted the visa requirement for Qatari nationals, announced yesterday the launch of a pilot project for digital visas designed to modernize immigration services and improve service delivery for users.
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), this testing phase aims to “seek valuable feedback” from participants and evaluate a system intended to make travel “faster, safer and more convenient.”
This pilot project will “allow the government to design safe, accessible, secure and user-friendly digital visas in the future, and to test their compatibility with third parties such as airlines,” Canadian authorities explained.
The ministry notes that the new format will reduce the need to mail in or physically present a passport to obtain a visa, and is expected to help improve control and security. IRCC also emphasizes that the pilot project “follows all Government of Canada privacy and security rules,” ensuring digital visas are “internationally compatible” in the future.
Digital visa trial in Canada: Moroccan travelers as first participants
To launch this experiment, Canada selected Morocco as the “pilot” country. A limited group of Moroccan citizens who have already been granted a visitor visa will be able to receive, in addition to the traditional sticker, a digital version of their visa.
Ottawa wants to observe how these travelers interact with the new format, the challenges they may encounter, and the benefits they experience, in order to adjust the system before broader deployment. “What we learn from this pilot will help shape how we deliver digital immigration documents in the future,” Canadian authorities stated.
IRCC reminds applicants that some Moroccan citizens, as well as nationals from 14 other countries, may be eligible for an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to travel to Canada by air if they meet the following three requirements:
- they have previously obtained a Canadian visitor visa within the last ten years, or they currently hold a valid U.S. non-immigrant visa at the time of applying for the eTA;
- they are traveling to Canada for a temporary stay, generally up to six months;
- they arrive by air using a valid passport issued by one of the visa-required countries listed as eligible for the eTA.
If any of these conditions are not met, a visitor visa is still required to enter Canada.
