Canada’s immigration department is testing a new digital visa designed to improve security, reduce fraud and streamline processing for travellers entering the country.
The digital visa is an electronic version of the traditional physical visa, or counterfoil, that is placed in a traveller’s passport. It can be securely stored in a digital wallet on Apple or Android mobile devices and must be presented to airlines and border officials for verification.
Immigration officials say the digital format offers stronger protection than paper documents. Using cryptography and other security tools, the system is designed to prevent forgery, detect tampering and quickly verify the authenticity of both the visa and its issuer.
Development of the pilot began in early 2024, with a limited rollout launched last month. The test currently applies to a select group of Moroccan citizens who have already been approved for visitor or business visas without the assistance of lawyers or immigration consultants. Up to 7,000 eligible travellers will be invited to voluntarily participate and will receive instructions on how to download and store the digital visa on their mobile devices.
For the duration of the pilot, the digital visa is being issued alongside the standard physical counterfoil. Officials say this ensures travellers will not be denied boarding or entry if technical issues arise, as they can still rely on the physical visa. Participating airline agents have been trained to verify digital visas.
Morocco was chosen for the pilot because of its frequent direct flights to Canada and the availability of visa application centres and migration offices that can support participants.
Immigration officials say the trial will help the federal government gather feedback on usability, security and compatibility with third parties such as airlines, while also assessing whether digital visas can speed up access to documents and lower administrative costs in the future. The pilot is scheduled to conclude by the end of January.
Canada has already used digital travel documents for more than a decade through its electronic travel authorization (eTA) system, which prescreens travellers from visa-exempt countries and links authorization electronically to passports.
The immigration department emphasized that the digital visa pilot complies with federal privacy and security standards, and that personal data is used only for its intended purpose. Although the visas are stored in government digital wallets on Apple or Android devices, officials said Apple and Google do not receive any personal information about visa holders.
