Canada: Reopening Of Canada To Fully Immunized Foreign Travellers, Including Discretionary Travel

Canada now allows fully vaccinated foreign travellers to travel to Canada on a discretionary basis while avoiding the quarantine, hotel stay and post-arrival COVID -19 testing in two phases. Citizens and permanent residents of the United States of America can already take advantage of these new easing measures while the rest of the world will have to wait until September 7.

Easing of Border Measures for Fully Vaccinated U.S. Foreign Travellers to Canada

Prior to August 9, Canada did not allow discretionary (non-essential) travel by foreign nationals into the country. As a result, only those travellers who were eligible to enter Canada at that time, including Canadian citizens, Canadian permanent residents, persons registered under the Indian Act, and foreign nationals who are authorized to enter Canada under certain grounds and conditions, were allowed to enter into Canada. Being fully vaccinated did not facilitate entry into Canada, but only avoided completing a quarantine, being tested on the eighth day after arrival and staying in an authorized hotel upon arrival in Canada.

As of August 9th, it is now possible for citizens and permanent residents of the United States, currently residing in that country and meeting all the criteria (described below), to be authorized to make discretionary (non-essential) trips to Canada.

Unless they are part of the authorized reasons for travel to Canada (non-discretionary travel), these U.S. foreign travellers who do not meet all the eligibility requirements for discretionary (non-essential) travel will be denied entry into Canada and may be subject to additional fines upon arrival.

For non-U.S. foreign nationals, the easing measures will not take effect until September 7.

Quarantine Exemption, Hotel Stay and Post-Arrival Testing

As a reminder, a fully vaccinated person, whether from the U.S. or not, as long as they are allowed to enter Canada, is exempt from quarantine and testing on the eighth day after arrival. As for the three-night stay in a hotel, this measure ended on August 9 for all travellers.

In the present case, for a person to be considered fully vaccinated, he or she must have received all doses of a series of vaccine or combination of vaccines against COVID-19 that is authorized by the Government of Canada. At this time, these are the vaccines manufactured by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen).

In addition, the vaccines must have been administered at least 14 days prior to arrival in Canada and the traveler will need to have documentation of vaccination in English or French (if the documentation is in another language, a certified translation will be required) and provide all information, including proof of vaccination, through ArriveCAN prior to departure.

Finally, the individual entering the country must be asymptomatic and have an appropriate quarantine plan in place so that they can comply in the event they are denied the exemption.

Maintaining the Pre and Post Arrival COVID-19 Testing

At this time, despite full vaccination, it will still be necessary for all travellers to have a negative result in hand and to test for COVID-19 upon arrival in the country. All travellers must also comply with existing public health measures, such as wearing a mask in public areas.

No Exemption for Partially Vaccinated Travellers

For travellers who are not fully vaccinated, Canada's current border measures remain largely unchanged. With the exception of the three-night hotel stay, which was abolished as of August 9, they must continue to comply with current testing requirements and quarantine requirements.

For the time being, a person who has contracted COVID-19 and subsequently received a dose of vaccine is not eligible for the easing measures announced by the federal government, even though some jurisdictions consider only one dose of vaccine to be required for people who have contracted COVID-19.

For all persons wishing to enter Canada, being fully vaccinated will confer a significant advantage, as entry into Canada may now be permitted for discretionary (non-essential) purposes. All foreign nationals considering entering Canada should aim to complete their vaccination as soon as possible given the 14-day delay. For unvaccinated individuals, a case-by-case analysis will need to be made as to whether the entry of the individual is essential given the possible risk of being refused entry or, if authorized, of having to complete a mandatory quarantine. However, it is important to remember that all the other possible exemptions to quarantine that were in effect before this new measure, such as the essential worker status exemption, still continue to apply.

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