With effect from April 1, travellers to Canada who are fully vaccinated will not need to take a COVID-19 test before arriving in Canada.
According to the Canadian government, these new measures will apply to travellers entering at all ports of entry. Although pre-arrival testing will be lifted, the government may still test travellers at random after they arrive in Canada. These random tests will be done to identify COVID-19 variants and track them down. In case, a fully vaccinated passenger is picked for a random on-arrival test, then he or she will not need to quarantine while awaiting the results.
In Canada, travel industry representatives have argued against testing standards, claiming that their high cost will deter travellers. The testing requirement was referred to as a “non-science-based” obstacle by the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable. A COVID-19 test can be expensive, with a cost of around CAD 200 for a molecular test, and an antigen test costs somewhere around CAD 100. The group further stated that many countries, such as the United Kingdom, Denmark, Ireland, and Switzerland, have already ended their testing requirements.
On February 28, Canada already gave some relaxation in its testing requirements. As of now, within 24 hours of arrival at the land border or flight departure, people travelling to Canada are required to submit a pre-arrival antigen test. Furthermore, the traveller’s antigen test must be approved by the country from which he or she is arriving, and tests done at home are not considered valid as per the country’s testing requirement. On the other hand, travellers can also undergo a molecular test within 72 hours after arriving in Canada. Before crossing the border, travellers are required to upload the document to the ArriveCAN app.
Moreover, as per the testing requirements relaxations effective from February 28, unvaccinated children under the age group of 12 years travelling to Canada do not need to quarantine for two weeks.
The vaccination requirement for people travelling to Canada is still in place. Permanent residents, temporary residents, and visiting visa holders who are fully vaccinated are allowed to enter the borders of Canada. On the other hand, unvaccinated foreign visitors are only permitted to enter Canada under certain conditions specified on the government’s website, which includes Ukrainian nationals, temporary foreign workers going to work in agriculture or food processing, and people who cross the border on routine-basis for employment. Candidates travelling to Canada, who are partially vaccinated or not vaccinated will still require to take a COVID-19 test upon arrival, and they will be placed in quarantine for 14 days, followed by an additional test on the eighth day of their quarantine.
The Canadian government needs travellers to have received the complete recommended dose of an approved vaccine to be deemed fully vaccinated. Currently, a booster shot is not needed under the country’s travelling requirements. The last dose of vaccination had to be taken within 14 days of landing in the country. Travellers are required to upload proof of vaccination on the ArriveCAN app.
