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Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Visa Exemption for Qatar) (SOR/2025-234)

Validated finding · five-country-2010-20260922-v118-evidence-presentation-fix

CountryCanada
Operative dateNovember 25, 2025
CategoryAdmission and visas
Policy toolVisa exemption / electronic travel authorization
Affected groupShort-term visitors and business travelers

Policy effect

Amends Schedule 1.1 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to add Qatar to the list of visa-exempt countries, allowing citizens of Qatar to travel to Canada by air using an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) instead of requiring a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV).

Conditions and exceptions

Validated condition or limit: Amends Schedule 1.1 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to add Qatar to the list of visa-exempt countries, allowing citizens of Qatar to travel to Canada by air using an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) instead of requiring a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV).

Official source excerpt

Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.

14(2)footnote a, and 26(1)footnote b of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act footnote c. Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations Amendment 1 Schedule 1.1 to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations footnote 1 is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order: Qatar Coming into Force 2 These Regulations come into force at 05:30:00 Eastern Standard Time on November 25, 2025, but if they are registered after that time, they come into force at 05:30:00 Eastern Standard Time on the day after the day on which they are registered. REGULATORY IMPACT … expires, whichever occurs first. An eTA allows the holder multiple entries to or through Canada, by air only, for short stays, generally of up to six months. Visa-exempt foreign nationals do not require any other authorization to enter Canada in land, rail or marine modes. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has assessed that citizens of Qatar meet the comprehensive criteria in Canada’s visa policy review process for an exemption to the requirement of obtaining a TRV before travelling to Canada. These criteria include socio-economic conditions, migration trends, travel document integrity … for a visa exemption. Objective The objective of the Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (the Amendments) is to facilitate the travel of citizens of Qatar to Canada on an eTA in air mode. Description The Amendments add Qatar to the list of countries and territories whose citizens are exempt from the TRV requirement and eligible to apply for an eTA for travel to Canada in air mode only under subsection 190(1) of the Regulations. No prescreening will be required for travel by land, rail or marine modes. Regulatory development Consultation The consultations related … traveller population. Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards Implementation The Amendments come into force on November 25, 2025, at 5:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). At that time, citizens of Qatar will no longer need a visa to travel to Canada and will be able to apply for an eTA for travel by air. Citizens of Qatar holding a valid visitor visa may continue to travel to Canada without an eTA until the visa’s expiry. However, they must still obtain a permit to work or study in Canada. IRCC Communications will leverage its social media channels to share messaging on the …
Canada GazetteCanada Gazette, Part II, Volume 159, Number 25, SOR/2025-234, November 21, 2025; Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 159, Number 25, SOR/2025-234.; SOR/2025-234; P.C. 2025-820, Canada Gazette Part II, Vol. 159, No. 25Open official source
Retrieved from https://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2025/2025-12-03/html/sor-dors234-eng.html

Review method

Two separate automated exact-claim source reviews

Automated source validation is not independent human legal review. The finding should not be treated as legal advice. Record fcp-db58b04874f7b6074bd0. Something wrong? Flag this record.

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