Canada travel restrictions: What’s changing

With increasing pressure on the Canadian government to address long delays and wait times at airports, federal ministers have announced further easing of some COVID-19-related travel restrictions.

But while federal authorities are lifting vaccination requirements for some travelers, other health measures at the border remain in effect. Here is a guide to the current COVID-19 travel rules and changes.

VACCINATION MANDATES

Currently, all travelers are required to show they are fully vaccinated before entering Canada by air, land or sea.

However, starting June 20, the government will drop the requirement for domestic and international travelers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Foreigners coming to Canada will still be required to get vaccinated under the new regulations unless they meet one of the exemption criteria.

When traveling internationally, be sure to read the COVID-19 travel rules for your destination. While Transport Canada’s vaccination requirements are expected to be lifted, some countries, such as the United States and Australia, still require foreign tourists to provide proof of vaccinations.

Vaccination requirements also remain in place for passengers and crew on cruise ships docking in Canada.

TESTING, QUARANTINE FOR UNVACCINATED TRAVELERS

Unvaccinated Canadian citizens and permanent residents returning to Canada remain subject to quarantine and testing requirements.

If you are returning to Canada as an unvaccinated traveler, you will need to provide evidence of a negative molecular test, e.g. B. A PCR test performed within 72 hours prior to your scheduled flight or land entry into Canada. Unvaccinated travelers can also demonstrate a negative antigen test taken the previous day, but the test must be administered or observed by either a pharmacy, laboratory, healthcare facility, or telemedicine service.

Unvaccinated travelers will also be subject to a COVID-19 test upon arrival. The test can be taken on-site at an airport, or travelers can be given a test kit to fill out at home.

Unvaccinated travelers must also quarantine for 14 days upon arrival and have another COVID-19 test on day 8 of quarantine.

RANDOM COVID-19 TESTING

Last Friday, Transport Canada announced that mandatory random COVID-19 testing for inbound international travelers at airports would be temporarily suspended until June 30 for all vaccinated travelers.

Unvaccinated travelers will continue to be tested on-site upon arrival. However, from July 1st, all testing, including for unvaccinated travelers, will be carried out off-site.

MASKS

While the US dropped in-flight mask requirements in April, face masks are still mandatory on board all flights and inter-provincial trains in Canada.

ARRIVE CAN APP

The Canadian government will continue to require inbound travelers to enter their health information, quarantine schedule and vaccination record through the ArriveCAN app. Use of the app is mandatory regardless of citizenship and must be completed within 72 hours of your scheduled flight or arrival at a land border.

If you don’t have a smartphone, you can use the web browser version of ArriveCAN to enter your location.