DIPLOMATIC AND OFFICIAL VISAS TO CANADA

A diplomatic or official visa will indicate that Canada intends to accord official status to the passport holder.
Canada will be committed to extending official status when such visas have been issued abroad. For that reason, it is very important to distinguish situations that require diplomatic or official visas from those that require regular visitor visas.

It must be stressed that diplomatic, official and service passports only travel documents and do not in themselves determine the type of visa that should be granted.
Persons travelling on diplomatic or official passports do not require temporary resident visas or an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) if they:

• hold a passport that contains a diplomatic Acceptance, a consular Acceptance or an official Acceptance issued by the Chief of Protocol for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada on behalf of the Government of Canada; and

• are properly accredited diplomats, consular officers, representatives or officials of a country other than Canada, of the United Nations or an agency thereof, or of any international organization of which Canada is a member. [R190(2)(a)]; or

Diplomats from eTA and visa-required countries holding a passport that contains a diplomatic acceptance, a consular acceptance or an official acceptance issued by the Chief of Protocol for the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development will be exempt from the eTA and visa requirements.

eTA-required foreign officials travelling to Canada to assume diplomatic positions for which an acceptance has not yet been issued must apply for an eTA prior to travelling to Canada. Similarly, visa-required foreign officials travelling to Canada to assume diplomatic positions for which an acceptance has not yet been issued must apply for a temporary resident visa prior to travelling to Canada.