Canada continues to ease travel restrictions as the vaccine rollout continues globally.
Fully-vaccinated tourists may soon be able to enter Canada from the USA this August, should the COVID situation remain under control. Tourists from other countries who are fully-vaccinated can expect to begin entering the country by September 7.
Fully vaccinated tourists are no longer required to comply with on-arrival and day-eight testing, but may be subject to random testing at the border.
Do I qualify as a fully-vaccinated tourist?
To be considered fully-vaccinated, tourists must receive a recommended dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days before traveling to Canada. Canada only accepts vaccines manufactured by a pre-approved list of companies. However, travelers may receive the vaccine in any country.
Below is the full list of accepted vaccines:
- Pfizer (Comirnaty, tozinameran, BNT162b2)
- Moderna (mRNA-1273)
- AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria, AZD1222, Covishield)
- Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) – single dose
The vaccines listed below are still pending approval, but are currently not accepted by Canada:
- 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)
- Other
All results must be presented in French or English, or be presented in a certified translation.
Prior to arriving in Canada, fully-vaccinated tourists must still upload the necessary COVID-19 documents to the ArriveCan app or website. Fully-vaccinated tourists are also still required to submit a detailed 14-day quarantine plan.
Airlines will also be verifying whether or not fully-vaccinated tourists have submitted their information to ArriveCAN. Regardless of whether or not they are fully-vaccinated, tourists who are unable to show their ArriveCAN receipt will not be allowed to fly. Airlines will accept the receipt either on their mobile device or a printed copy.
According to the announcement, these new measures will officially come into effect on August 9 at 12:01 AM ET.
Canada also announced that it would extend their flight ban on India until August 21, 2021.
Further details for children or those with underlying medical conditions who are not eligible for vaccination will be announced in the coming days.
As the global vaccination rollout continues, Canada has begun to ease up on travel restrictions for those who wish to enter the country. Earlier this month, fully-vaccinated travelers who qualify for exemptions were allowed to enter the country without having to quarantine.
Just recently, Canada also announced a new measure allowing Certificate of Permanent Residency (COPR) holders who are outside the country to enter their borders. Throughout the pandemic, exemptions have also been made for citizens, permanent residents, as well as their immediate family members. Temporary foreign workers and international students who are studying at an approved institution have also been allowed to enter the country.
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