Canada and Ukraine launch migration partnership, begin process to add Ukraine to eTA list
Canada and Ukraine announced a joint statement by Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Volodymyr Zelensky, unveiling a migration and mobility partnership to support Ukraine's recovery and starting the process of adding Ukraine to Canada's electronic travel authorization (eTA) list. The two countries also signed agreements totaling over 2 billion US dollars, including a Declaration on a 100-year partnership covering economic, security and political cooperation.
Key points
- Canada and Ukraine announced a migration and mobility partnership to support Ukraine's recovery in a joint statement by Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Volodymyr Zelensky.
- Canada will begin the process of adding Ukraine to its electronic travel authorization (eTA) list.
- Canada's eTA costs 7 USD, is processed online in minutes and grants tourism entry for up to five years; it currently covers EU citizens and others.
- Ukraine and Canada signed agreements totaling over 2 billion US dollars, including a Declaration on a 100-year partnership on economic, security and political cooperation.
- Both sides expressed intent to strengthen people-to-people ties through cooperation in education, youth exchanges, culture, sports, healthcare and preservation of Ukrainian cultural heritage.
Why it matters
The eTA process marks a concrete step toward visa liberalization for Ukrainian travelers to Canada, lowering barriers to tourism and short visits. Paired with over 2 billion US dollars in signed agreements and a long-term 100-year partnership declaration, the announcements point to a broader deepening of the bilateral relationship across economic, security and political dimensions.
What happened
Canada and Ukraine issued a joint statement from Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Volodymyr Zelensky announcing a migration and mobility partnership designed to support Ukraine's recovery. Canada said it would begin the process of adding Ukraine to its electronic travel authorization list, which currently costs 7 USD, is processed online in minutes and allows tourism visits for up to five years. The two countries also signed a package of documents worth more than 2 billion US dollars, among them a Declaration on a 100-year partnership covering strengthened economic, security and political cooperation. The statement further outlined plans to expand people-to-people ties through cooperation in education, youth exchanges, culture, sports, healthcare and the preservation of Ukrainian cultural heritage.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
The supplied sources — a Ukrainian news agency and a Ukrainian radio outlet, both writing in Ukrainian — frame the announcements as a milestone in bilateral cooperation. They highlight the joint statement by Carney and Zelensky, emphasize the scale of the agreements (over 2 billion USD) and present the 100-year partnership declaration alongside the eTA step as evidence of a strategic shift in Canada-Ukraine relations.
Background
Canada's eTA program currently covers citizens of the EU and a number of other developed countries; it costs 7 USD, is processed online within minutes, and permits tourism visits to Canada for up to five years. Separately and unrelated to the Canadian measures, Kyiv has noted that South Africa has shortened and improved its visa procedure for Ukrainian citizens.