Mexican Passport Holders Now Need a Canadian Visa to Sail to Alaska

[Ferry_Watcher]

The Canadian Gov't issued new a requirement for cruise passengers who are traveling on a Mexican Passport to obtain a Canadian Visa prior to boarding a cruise ship at a US Homeport that has a port-of-call in Canada, which is essentially all Alaskan bound cruises.  Mexican nationals who are US Permanent Residents, aka Green Card Holders, are exempt.  Mexican passport holders (non US Green Card Holders) who do not have the required Canadian Visa will be denied boarding.

 

If anyone is planning an Alaskan cruise with friends or family who are Mexican passport holders (Green Card Holders are Exempt), please make sure that they are aware of the new travel requirements.  I know that on an upcoming HAL cruise in October that I am booked on, HAL sent out a email notification to everyone sailing letting them know about the new requirement.  Sadly, not everyone reads email messages. It is important that this information gets out.  This is not an electronic visa, so it is crucial that passengers impacted have enough time to obtain the required visa.

 

 

Visa Requirements For Mexican Citizens Entering Canada By Sea

Effective February 29, 2024, all Mexican citizens entering Canada by sea, excluding those with a U.S. permanent resident card, are required to present a visitor visa at embarkation in order to board the vessel.

The visitor visa can take several weeks to obtain. As such, guests are strongly encouraged to begin the application process as soon as possible. For additional information regarding the visitor visa, guests can visit:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/about-visitor-visa.html

 

Please note, guests are not permitted to remain on board the ship while in Canadian ports without the Canadian visa. Failure to present the appropriate Canadian visa at embarkation, will result in denial of boarding.

[julia]

As always, thx for posting such important information!  HAL sent out this notice a few weeks ago, and hopefully all lines are informing their passengers.

(We're off to Alaska in May, but from YVR this time).