Canadian travel restrictions revised, 3 steps to enter Canada

Travel restrictions to Canada are about to ease up for you w.e.f 15th January 2022. If you are fully vaccinated then you have the green flag to enter Canada. Under certain circumstances you may be allowed to enter even if you are unvaccinated or partially-vaccinated; you can be an exempt traveller depending on your travel purpose. 

Essential travellers (which includes permanent residents, people registered under Indian Act, family members of Canadians, international students (aged 18 and above), essential service providers, certain work permit holders) as well as non-essential travellers both need to be fully vaccinated to enter Canada as per the travel restrictions. Although some provisions have been made to allow unvaccinated travellers as well. These are:

• For unvaccinated Canadians (citizens, people registered under the Indian Act, permanent residents and resettling refugees) and Permanent residents of Canada, certain measures like pre-entry, arrival, day-eight testing, and quarantine requirements must be fulfilled.
• While unvaccinated or partially-vaccinated foreigners will be allowed only if they belong to the exempt groups such as agricultural and food processing workers, marine crew members, resettling refugees, some children under age 18, etc.; given that they follow all testing, quarantine and entry requirements.

Who Qualifies as a Fully Vaccinated Traveller?

To enter Canada you need to be fully vaccinated. But what exactly is the criteria to become a fully vaccinated traveller. To qualify as a fully vaccinated traveller you must have received the following at least 15 calendar days prior to the day you travel: 

• at least 2 doses or a mix of 2 accepted vaccines by the Government of Canada; or at least 1 dose of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine
• have no signs or symptoms of COVID-19

Only when you check out all these points, you’ll be considered a fully vaccinated traveller and will be allowed to enter the borders. The vaccines that are accepted by the Government include the following:

Accepted Vaccines by the Canadian government:

• AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD (ChAdOx1-S, Vaxzevria, AZD1222)
• Bharat Biotech (Covaxin, BBV152 A, B, C)
• Janssen/Johnson & Johnson
• Moderna (mRNA-1273)
• Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty, tozinameran, BNT162b2)
• Sinopharm BIBP (BBIBP-CorV)
• Sinovac (CoronaVac, PiCoVacc)

So, if you have received a dose from the above list of vaccines and in the required amount, only then you can qualify to enter Canada. Make sure to check this first and only then go to the further steps.

What to do before arriving?

In order to stay ahead of time and avoid long queues and delays when you reach the Canadian borders, you can prepare yourself before-hand by fulfiling these basic requirements of the travel restrictions. You must:

• get a molecular pre-entry test within 72 hours of your entry into Canada. Exempt travellers and children under 5 years of age do not require pre-testing.
• sign-in and submit all the necessary Covid-19 information on ArriveCAN within 72 hours before arrival to Canada
• prepare a suitable quarantine plan in advance which could be asked at the border

NOTE : Rapid antigen tests aren’t accepted.

Remember to create your free ArriveCAN account in advance. If not on a smartphone, you can also sign-in to ArriveCAN from a computer. Get your receipt and keep it with you while travelling.

What are the On-Arrival requirements?

When you arrive at the border, the border services officer would be there to guide you further regarding the travel restrictions and requirements. To speed up that process you can keep the required documents prepared in advance.

You should keep the following handy on arrival at the border for assessment by the border government officials so that you can enter hassle free:

1. Pre-entry test results:
   • an accepted negative molecular test result (paper or electronic) or a previous positive molecular test result which was taken, starting from 15th January 2022, between 11 to 180 days ago from the day of your arrival
   • if you get a positive pre-entry test result, taken within 72 hours of your arrival or have symptoms then you should wait until the symptoms end or until you get a negative result
2. ArriveCAN receipt with letter I or, V, or A beside the vaccinated traveller’s name
   • create your free account on ArriveCAN; submit your information about travel, covid-19 and quarantine plan; and print the receipt you get within 72 hours of your arrival.
   • if the letters I, V or A doesn’t appear on the receipt then re-check your submitted information and documents or start over on ArriveCAN to clear the previous submissions.
3. Proof of vaccination that was uploaded into ArriveCAN (original or paper copy)
   • keep a paper or digital copy of the proof of vaccination uploaded on ArriveCAN
   • you must keep the ArriveCAN receipt and vaccination proof for further 14 days after entering Canada
4. Must have a quarantine plan
   • in case you get selected for the random arrival test, you’ll need to quarantine until the result is negative
   • if you don’t qualify as a fully vaccinated traveller, you will be asked to quarantine for 14 days
5. Travel document entered in ArriveCAN
   • all the travel documents submitted on ArriveCAN must be kept handy such as passport etc.
   • at any time you could be asked to get the documents verified so it will be easier if you have them ready
6. Air travellers can register in advance for arrival testing
   • since you can be randomly selected for arrival test, you can pre-register with the testing providers at the respective airport and avoid long delays
   • while registering, use the same email address used for your ArriveCAN account

There is also a mandatory randomized arrival testing when you enter Canada by air or at a land border crossing. You can pre register for an on-arrival molecular test, which is free. You must quarantine while you await the result, which you can leave once tested negative. And if positive you must isolate for further 10 days.

Acc. to the travel restrictions by the government of Canada, travellers who were in the US or Canada within the last 14 days of arrival do not need to quarantine while waiting for the results. You can take connecting flights and trains without waiting for your arrival test results.

Exemption from Arrival Test

Some travellers are exempted from taking the arrival test. Check if you fulfill any of the criteria and enter without taking the Arrival test. The following are the exempted travellers:

• Already recovered: Travellers who provide a positive COVID-19 molecular pre-entry test result, conducted between 11 and 180 days (starting from 15th January 2022) before their scheduled flight or arrival at the land border crossing, are exempt from arrival testing
• Travellers arriving by boat
• Children under the age of 5
• Crew and essential service providers already exempt from arrival testing continue to be exempt

After receiving Test Results

After receiving the Arrival test results you must go through one of the following steps, depending on your result:

• If negative, you must still wear a mask in public space for the next 14 days, follow local public health measures and monitor yourself for signs and symptoms. 
• If positive, you must isolate yourself for the next 10 days and report your results to PHAC (Public Health Agency of Canada). If you have an unvaccinated child under 12 years of age, he/she must be quarantined for 14 days and monitored for symptoms.

Don’t forget to follow the basic guidelines even if your results are negative. Always wear masks in pubic places, maintain social health protocols, keep safe distance from others and sanitize regularly to stay safe and healthy.

Final determination on entry and quarantine is made by a government representative at the port of entry based on the information presented at the time of entry. To avoid any hassle at that time you must prepare yourself mentally as well as physically in advance and keep all the documents ready to complete the official formalities smoothly.