Apply here, nowhere else
For most tourist and business visits, there is no US visa application and no ESTA application for a Canadian passport holder. That is the point of this page, and it is also the scam trap: a site that charges you for a Canadian ESTA or a tourist visa you do not need is not the official route.
- US Department of State: Citizens of Canada and Bermuda - official page stating that citizens of Canada travelling to the United States do not require a nonimmigrant visa, except for the listed purposes, and that permanent residents of Canada must have a nonimmigrant visa.
No official CBP I-94 apply link is linked on this page, because no I-94 apply link was verified from an official government source during the 24 October 2026 check. Do not pay a third-party site for an I-94 or an ESTA on the strength of this page. If you need an I-94 record, check it through the official US Customs and Border Protection website directly, and verify any fee there before paying anything.
Entry checklist, short visit
- No nonimmigrant visa required for most visits: citizens of Canada travelling to the United States do not require a nonimmigrant visa, except for the purposes listed on the Department of State page, including treaty trader (E-1), treaty investor (E-2), fiance(e) (K-1), spouse of a US citizen completing the immigration process (K-3), and certain official, informant, and related categories.
- No ESTA: Canada is not part of the Visa Waiver Program in the ESTA sense, and Canadian citizens travelling on a Canadian passport do not need ESTA authorization for US entry. Do not confuse this route with Visa Waiver Program countries, whose citizens do need ESTA.
- Fee for a normal tourist visit: $0 for a visa and $0 for ESTA, because neither is required for most visits. This is not a fee waiver, it is the absence of a required application.
- Stay length, not automatic: Canadian visitors are typically admitted as B-1 (business) or B-2 (tourism) visitors, often for up to 6 months on an entry, but the officer sets the authorized stay for that entry. It is not automatic, and there is no guaranteed 6-month stay on every entry. Check your I-94 admission record after entry for the date you are admitted until, and do not overstay it.
- Per-person requirement: every traveller is inspected and admitted individually. Children and other family members do not travel on a parent's admission. Each person needs their own valid Canadian passport for air travel, and the document rules for land and sea travel should be checked on the official sources before travel.
- Permanent residents are different: permanent residents (landed immigrants) of Canada must have a nonimmigrant visa, per the Department of State page. This page is for Canadian passport holders who are Canadian citizens, not for permanent residents travelling on another country's passport.
- Transit: US airports generally require arriving international passengers to clear US border control even when connecting to another flight, unlike airside-only transit in some other countries. A Canadian connecting through the US should expect inspection and admission on the same basis as a visitor entering the US, and should verify the exact connection case with the airline and CBP before travel.
- Stays of 30 days or longer, check registration: secondary summaries checked on 24 October 2026, including Government of Canada travel advice summaries and the Canadian Snowbird Association advisory dated 8 October 2026, report that visitors staying in the US for 30 days or longer must be registered with the US government, and that an electronic I-94 issued on entry generally counts as that registration. Land entrants who were not issued an I-94 are the group most likely to need to check this. This registration detail was not verified on an official USCIS or CBP page during this check, so verify it on the official USCIS and CBP sites before a stay of 30 days or longer.
- Optional land-border I-94 fee, unverified on an official page: secondary summaries report a $30 fee for an I-94 requested in advance for a land entry or issued at a land border. Air arrivals generally receive an electronic I-94 automatically with no separate fee in those summaries. Treat $30 as an editable example only until you verify it on the CBP site. The calculator default below is $0, because a normal air tourist visit has no entry fee.
- Not a move: visitor admission does not give work or residence permission. Work, study, or living in the US needs a separate immigration route, with its own advice.
If you hold another passport as well as a Canadian passport, or you have a prior immigration violation or inadmissibility issue, check the Department of State and CBP guidance for your exact case before travel. This page does not cover those cases.
Scouting trip budget, fixed maths
Flights are per person, the room is shared, daily spending is per person. Trip total is for all travellers. Per person is trip total divided by travellers, with no extra flight added. All flight and hotel figures below are editable examples, not sourced prices.
Entry total is travellers multiplied by entry fee, added after the buffer. Default is $0, because most Canadian tourist visits need no visa and no ESTA. If you are paying for a land-border I-94, replace $0 with the fee verified on the CBP site, reported as $30 in secondary summaries checked 24 October 2026.
Your result
Estimated trip total, all travellers, including entry fee
Worked example, checked: 7 days, 2 travellers, $450 flights per person, $180 room per night, $90 daily per person, 10% buffer, $0 entry fee. Base is (2 x $450) + ($180 x 7) + (2 x $90 x 7) = $3,420. With buffer, $3,762 total, $537 per day, $1,881 per person. Flight and hotel figures are examples only. Replace them with quotes you have actually received.
From scouting trip to move
A scouting trip answers questions a calculator cannot: which city feels right, what the commute actually feels like, and whether a US winter, or a US summer, is a place you want to live. If the trip goes well, the next step is a move comparison and immigration advice, not a longer visitor stay.
There is no exact Canada-origin move page on this site yet. Back to the prototype homepage for the current move pairs.
Sources, checked 24 October 2026
- US Department of State, Citizens of Canada and Bermuda page, opened directly 24 October 2026: Canadian citizens do not require a nonimmigrant visa except for the listed purposes, and permanent residents of Canada must have a nonimmigrant visa.
- No ESTA for Canadian citizens travelling on a Canadian passport, and Canada not part of the Visa Waiver Program in that sense, from secondary summaries checked 24 October 2026.
- Typical admission up to 6 months as B-1 or B-2, set by the officer per entry, and I-94 as the controlling admission record, from secondary legal and traveller summaries checked 24 October 2026. Verify the admit-until date on your own I-94 record after entry.
- 30-day registration point and $30 land-border I-94 fee, from secondary summaries only (Canadian Snowbird Association advisory, 8 October 2026, and Government of Canada travel advice summaries). Not verified on an official USCIS or CBP page in this check, so treat both as items to verify on the official sites before a long stay or a land entry.
Recheck the Department of State and CBP sites again before this page publishes as a guide, because entry rules change.