Travel to Canada - Update February 2022
Update February 22, 2022:
The Government of Canada has announced adjustments to the current border measures to easen travel restrictions based on data indicating the peak of the lastest wave of COVID-19 driven Omicron variant having passed in Canada. The newest changes will be to make both the pre-flight and arrival testing regimes easier for passengers and take effect as of February 28, 2022.
The Immigration of Canada will allow fully-vaccinated travellers to present negative test results from
- a PCR test not older than 72 hours at the time of arrival
- or an antigen rapid test not older than 24 hours at the time of arrival conducted by an official test site (not a home test) to meet their pre-flight testing obligations.
The arrival testing measures will be adapted as followed:
- Fully-vaccinated travellers from any country will randomly be selected for arrival testing and will not have quarantine while awaiting their test results.
- Children under the age of 12, travelling with fully vaccinated adults are exempt from quarantine.
Unvaccinated Canadian travellers continue to be required to testing upon arrival, on Day 8 and be quarantined for 14 days. Furthermore, unvaccinated foreign nationals will not be allowed entry, unless special circumstances apply.
While these changes will make travelling easier for vaccinated travellers, entry requirements remain flexible and adaptable. We strongly advise referring to the Government of Canada’s website before travelling to Canada, to ensure that you meet and understand the current travel requirements.
Update February 1, 2022:
Canada’s arrival testing requirements are an ever evolving area, and this blog is intended to serve as a summary for European travellers arriving by plane.
Unvaccinated travellers are normally not allowed entry, unless special circumstances apply - so if you are unvaccinated, it is generally not advisable to plan to travel to Canada.
Currently entry requirements allow that many fully vaccinated travellers may enter the country for personal reasons. In general, all travellers to Canada need:
- the ArriveCAN app on their phones,
- proof of vaccination (only in English or French language) upload via the app,
- upload of travel plans and quarantine plans in the ArriveCAN app at least 72 hours before arriving in Canada and
- a negative PCR test result not older than 72 hours at the time of arrival for all travellers over the age of 5.
PCR tests are widely available throughout Europe. Antigen “Schnelltests” – conducted either at a testing centre or at home, are not accepted. For travellers who have recently recovered from a COVID-19 infection and who have been symptom free for at least 10 days, you can also provide proof of a positive COVID-19 PCR test result that is not older than 180 days old.
Travellers arriving in Canada may be randomly selected for arrival testing, either at the airport or after arriving at their final destination. These arrival tests can be conducted either at the airport, or you may be given a kit to provide your sample at home, within 24 hours of entering Canada. In either event, if you are selected to arrival testing, you will need to quarantine at your final destination until your test results have come back negative. Travellers who test positive will need to remain in quarantine for 10 days.
Arrival testing is conducted free of charge, and all travellers are encouraged to register for arrival testing online before they fly to Canada. The providers conducting arrival testing differ from airport to airport, and registration links are available here.
Travellers waiting for arrival testing results will be required to quarantine until test results are received. As such, it is essential that all travellers have a quarantine plan in place before flying to Canada, and travellers may still be refused entry to Canada if they cannot show that they have made reasonable arrangements to quarantine after arrival. Alternatively they could be directed to a quarantine facility organized by the Canadian government.
For visitors to Canada, we strongly recommend that you plan your travel to include this quarantine period after arrival. Instead of flying the day before a major event like a wedding or a meeting or before continuing travel by rental car, RV, or train, plan to arrive a few days earlier instead, to allow for your arrival testing results to be processed.
While travel to Canada, including for vacations and to visit friends and family, is possible again, it is important to note that there are a number of strict rules that apply to entry, especially for non-Canadians. Always refer to the Government of Canada’s website before travelling to Canada, to ensure that you meet and understand the current travel requirements.
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