The government of Canada has announced that the Covid-19 restrictions on non-essential travel currently in place for another month. The restrictions will expire on June 21, 2021, but the government could extend them further depending on the situation.
Canada also extends the suspension of all commercial and private passenger flights arriving in Canada from India and Pakistan till June 21. The restrictions also include travel between Canada and the U.S, putting all non-essential movements on hold.
The ongoing flight ban remains in place as India continues to report high numbers of COVID-19 cases. A new COVID-19 variant has also raised concern among Canadian authorities. Questions and doubts about the vaccine’s efficiency against the new variant have also compelled other countries to impose flight bans on Indian travelers.
In February 2021, Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced that all travelers entering Canada must undertake mandatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing at the airport. A pre-boarding test is also required upon arrival. Passengers then must wait for at least three days in a hotel for the results. You will still need to follow the 14-day quarantine even if the test result is negative and another test on the 10th day of arrival. The testing can be done at home.
“As the number of COVID-19 cases remains disproportionally high in India and Pakistan, we have extended our flight restrictions and third-country pre-departure testing requirements for these countries. These ongoing measures are in place to help protect Canadians and manage the elevated risk of imported cases of COVID-19 and variants of concern into Canada during a time of increasing pressure on our health care system.” The Honourable Omar Alghabra, Ministry of Transport.
All travelers entering Canada must submit their information, including details of their 14-day travel history, electronically using ArriveCAN. This information must be entered into ArriveCAN within 72 hours before a travelers’ arrival to Canada to ensure accuracy and help monitor the importation of COVID-19.
Who can come to Canada?
There are some exceptions to the Canadian travel restrictions, but all non-essential travel (tourism) is prohibited. All travelers who do enter Canada must complete a mandatory 14-day quarantine period. If you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19, you cannot enter the country unless you are a Canadian.
- All Canadian citizens and permanent residents are free to enter Canada. Selected temporary foreign workers and international students are also allowed to come to Canada. Extended family members of Canadian permanent residents and citizens(or their partners) applied for a written authorization from IRCC.
- Immediate family members* of temporary residents in Canada, provided they have written authorization from IRCC.
- Temporary workers with a valid work permit or who are approved for a work permit have not yet been issued the work permit.
- IEC participants who are yet to activate their work permits. The participants must have a valid job offer to enter Canada. The job offer does not need to be in an essential sector.
- COPR-holders with a valid COPR residing in any country other than the United States were approved for their COPR before 12 pm EDT on March 18, 2020.
- People granted special permission on compassionate grounds.
- Students can enter Canada provided their designated learning institute must support their arrival. In addition, the DLI must produce a reasonable COVID-19 readiness plan before inviting students.
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