Transit Without Visa Program (TWOV) in Canada

On July 30, 2009, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), in cooperation with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), formalized the Transit Without Visa Pilot Program into a national program. As such, citizens of Indonesia, The Phillipines, Taiwan, Thailand, and China (on a trial basis as described below) travelling to and from the United States with valid United States visas and transiting Canada are no longer subject to the requirement of obtaining a Temporary Resident Visa at a visa office abroad.

CIC, in cooperation with CBSA, is introducing a limited one-year China Transit Trial at the Vancouver International Airport as of July 30, 2009. The China Transit Trial will allow Chinese nationals with valid United States visas travelling to and from the United States, to transit the Vancouver International Airport without a Canadian Temporary Resident Visa. This one-year trial is limited to the airlines currently participating in the TWOV Program and the Vancouver International Airport. In addition, Chinese nationals participating in the TWOV Program must have as their last embarkation point one of the following six cities: Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Manila, or Taipei.

I. Eligiblity Requirements

Nationals of the eligible countries must:

• be in possession of a valid United States visa;
• be in possession of a valid passport issued by the
  authorities of an eligible country;
• hold a confirmed onward ticket for a connecting flight that departs Canada immediately (foreign nationals transiting Canada under the TWOV Program may not seek entry to Canada as a temporary resident);
• be arriving in Canada on an eligible airline that has an up-to-date TWOV Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CIC and the CBSA; and
• be transiting through an approved Canadian airport.

II. Eligible Airlines

• Cathay Pacific Airways
• China Airlines
• Philippine Airlines

 III. Approved Canadian Airports

• Vancouver International Airport

For more information, please contact the Seyfarth attorney with whom you work or any Business Immigration attorney on our website.