Canada opens door to fully vaccinated permanent residents and international students.

The initial phase of lifting travel restrictions starts today, 5th July 2021.

July 5th comes with relief as fully vaccinated travelers who are exempted from crossing the Canadian border can now avoid quarantine. With that out of the way, the Canadian govt. doesn't oblige you to take the eighth-day covid-19 test. Even if you're coming to the country by air, you don't need to stay in quarantine at a government-sanctioned hotel/camp waiting for a negative result during a post-quarantine test.

Having said that, dependent adults and children who are not vaccinated must stay in quarantine for 14 days, post which they would be required to show evidence relating to a covid negative status.

The condition to be eligible for this scheme is that the traveling individual/s must not exhibit any symptoms of a Covid-19 infected patient. As a safety measure, you would still be required to do pre-arrival and on-arrival RTPCR tests.

You are also required to upload all the necessary information relating to your proof of vaccination on Arrive CAN before traveling. You can submit a virtual or paper copy as legit proof of vaccination along with a quarantine plan (just for their assurity).

What is Arrive CAN?

Arrive CAN is a mobile app that is much similar to the Arogya Sethu app of India. Leverage the use of Arrive CAN to provide essential travel information before, after, or on your entry into Canada.

Those who are persistently giving a positive covid status even after recovery must show a positive test taken 14 , 90 days before their departure.

Policies surrounding, Canadian immigration have become stringent in the past couple of weeks. Though, restrictions are still in place for those countries where the pandemic variant is very prominent. The latest update on easing the travel limits goes specifically to the countries where the virus is dormant and people who have got themselves vaccinated. However, those travelers who have not received a complete dosage of the vaccine are urged not to visit Canada. Although the gates have been lifted to approve the intake process of Canadian permanent residents, strict verification of covid credentials is in place to restrict the entry of non-essential travel.

The border will be closed to the outside world till 21st July 2021 until further notice.

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Who is exempt from traveling to Canada?

You are exempted from traveling to Canada if you are:

• Canadian citizen,
• permanent resident,
• An immediate or extended family member of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident,
• Foreign national who has been approved with a valid Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) from the federal government,
• Temporary overseas worker,
• International students.
  

People who want to enter Canada on humanitarian grounds such as to attend a funeral are also exempted. You can assess the free online tool provided by the Canadian govt. website to determine your eligibility to cross the border.

Who is a fully-vaccinated traveler?

Anyone who has received the compulsory dosage of the Covid-19 vaccine 14 days before traveling to Canada is considered fully vaccinated to be granted entry into Canada.

Please note only the vaccines approved by WHO are recommended for a travel exemption.

Vaccines currently being accepted:

• Pfizer (Comirnaty, tozinameran, BNT162b2)
• Moderna (mRNA-1273)
• AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria, AZD1222, Covishield)
• Janssen (Johnson & Johnson)  single dose

Though a traveler can opt to take the vaccine from any country of his/her choice, as long as those vaccines are accepted/approved by Canada, you won't have any problem moving to Canada.

Vaccines not accepted:

• Bharat Biotech (Covaxin, BBV152 A, B, C)
  
• Cansino (Convidecia, Ad5-nCoV)
• Gamalaya (Sputnik V, Gam-Covid-Vac)
• Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV, Sinopharm-Wuhan)
• Sinovac (CoronaVac, PiCoVacc)
• Vector Institute (EpiVacCorona)
• Others, etc.

Your submittal for proof of vaccination must be in English or French to be accepted by the Canadian authority.

Is there any provision for travelers who are yet to be fully vaccinated?

There is no change in the rules and regulations involving individuals who are not considered -- fully vaccinated. The restriction imposed stands firm, the fully vaccinated individuals are exempt from traveling, rest everyone must stay in quarantine and are further subject to testing. If you're travelling by air and have not been vaccinated then you will be kept in isolation at a hotel approved by the Canadian government till the test results, come negative.