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Since the Canadian borders were first sealed in March 2020 to curb the spread of the virus, non-essential travel to Canada from outside borders is completely restricted.
In major policy decisions later last week, Canada is committing to reopen its borders to fully vaccinated tourists this summer. Earlier in the first phase of travel relaxations, Canada allowed fully vaccinated travellers to skip mandatory quarantine on entry.
The plan from Canada is to start accepting U.S. citizens and permanent residents coming from the U.S. as soon as August 9. It may soon be extended to fully vaccinated travellers from all countries on September 7.
Here’s a quick summary of new travel relaxations in Canada provided the COVID situation remains under control:
- Fully vaccinated U.S. tourists can enter Canada starting August 9
- Hotel quarantine policy ending August 9
- Fully vaccinated children of Canadians, and other exempt travellers to have amended quarantine starting August 9
- Fully vaccinated tourists from all countries can enter September 7
- More airports accepting international flights
Throughout the pandemic, airports in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal were the only airports accepting international arrivals. With the next phase of relaxations soon to kick in, airports in Halifax, Quebec City, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton will now be open to international air arrivals. However, all flights from India continue to face an entry ban and are extended to August 21.
Contact our immigration consultants to get the latest updates on Canada travel relaxations. The new measures do not start to come into effect until August 9 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time.
Who are Full-Vaccinated Travellers?
Travellers must have the recommended dosage of a vaccine approved for use in Canada. Currently, Canada accepts the following vaccine manufacturers: Astra Zeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson). The country in which travellers got their vaccination will not be taken into the consideration. However, to be considered “fully vaccinated,” the final injection must have been received at least 14 days prior to entry.
All the required proof of vaccination and travel documents must be made available to government officials through the ArriveCAN application, before travelling to Canada. All the documents must be in French or English, otherwise, a certified translation copy is also accepted.
What are the Restrictions for Unvaccinated Travellers?
There are no changes to mandatory testing requirements for unvaccinated travellers. Unvaccinated travellers will still have to undergo on-arrival and day-eight testing.
Starting August 9, unvaccinated dependents (children aged under 12) of fully vaccinated travellers will no longer have to complete the full 14-day quarantine. Instead, they will have to follow public health measures for that amount of time. All entry and testing requirements, including on-arrival and day eight testing, are still applicable.
While there is no list of activities that children can and cannot do at this time, but children will have to avoid group settings such as school and daycare in the two weeks following their arrival to Canada.
Get your free assessment online and know your chances of immigration to Canada.
Canadian Provinces and territories may have their own rules around people who have recently returned from travel. The government says more details will be available in the coming days. Get in touch with our immigration experts to know more.
