Just last week, Canada welcomed the Philippines to the list of countries permitted for its electronic travel authorization (eTA) program, which allows travelers to enter Canada sans a visa, with a few stipulations. As expected, the news caused a flurry of excitement for aspiring visitors, so much so that it reportedly faced a system-wide malfunction.
READ: Filipinos Reportedly Crashed Canada’s Visa-Free Application Website
The eTA system's servers experienced a collapse, following a surge of applications for its program. In a report by the CBC, a spokesperson of the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) stated that the largest spike in applications originated from the Philippines.
The system failure not only affected applicants from the new countries added to the program, but other travelers who were already recorded in the system. The news outlet reported that several users were unable to access the website, causing cancellations that came with heavy costs, as some were refused boarding due to the issue.
The eTA system reportedly experienced freezes and error messages on Friday Philippine time. Canada’s IRCC acknowledged this in a tweet: “Online service for eTA applications is currently intermittently available. Please try again later. We appreciate your patience,” it wrote. “Travellers are still required to have the appropriate travel documents to travel to or transit through Canada.”
On Sunday, June 11, the IRCC reported that the system was back up, but several users responded that they were still facing errors on the website.
In an article published on June 6 (Winnipeg time), the Minister of IRCC Sean Fraser announced the addition of 13 countries for its eTA program, including the Philippines. This allowed Philippine passport holders to visit and stay in Canada for up to six months, provided that they previously held a Canadian visa in the last 10 years, or are currently holding a valid United States non-immigrant visa.
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