Canada has recently revised its COVID-19 travel restrictions and requirements, which apply to foreign nationals entering Canada from other countries. This article will provide a summary of the current restrictions and requirements.

COVID-19 travel restrictions

Until recently, Canada’s COVID-19 travel restrictions were implemented by means of two Orders in Council. The first Order in Council restricted the entry of foreign nationals entering Canada from the United States, while the second Order in Council restricted the entry of foreign nationals entering Canada from any other country. However, the current Order in Council, the Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada) (the Travel Restrictions Order), published on February 28, 2022 (but dated February 26, 2022), now applies to foreign nationals entering Canada from any country. 

The prior Orders in Council prohibited foreign nationals from entering Canada for an “optional or discretionary” (i.e., non-essential) purpose. However, on August 9, 2021, US citizens and lawful permanent residents of the US who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 were exempted from these travel restrictions. On September 7, 2021, this exemption was extended to all foreign nationals entering Canada from any country.

As of January 15, 2022, most foreign nationals are now prohibited from entering Canada unless they can establish that they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, using one of the vaccines accepted by the Government of Canada. Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated foreign nationals will only be permitted to enter Canada if they qualify under one of the limited exceptions prescribed by the Travel Restrictions Order. 

Several of the prior exemptions, which permitted foreign nationals to enter Canada as essential workers (without being fully vaccinated) were eliminated on January 15, 2022. Although a few of these exemptions still remain, many would not apply to an ordinary business traveler. For example, exemptions from the vaccination requirement are still available to the following foreign nationals:

1. The holder of a valid work permit, or a person whose application for a work permit was approved but has not yet been issued the work permit if the National Occupational Classification (NOC) code for their occupation is listed in the schedule that appears in the Travel Restrictions Order (the listed occupations are limited to the agricultural and food processing industries);
2. Foreign marine crew members;
3. Foreign nationals entering Canada on compassionate grounds (for example, to attend a funeral or end of life ceremony);
4. New permanent residents;
5. Newly resettled refugees;
6. Children under the age of 18 who are currently exempt from the travel restrictions, including:
   1. International students who are studying at a designated learning institution that has a COVID-19 readiness plan;
   2. Those travelling with a parent, step-parent, tutor or guardian who is either fully vaccinated, or a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada or person registered under the Indian Act; and
   3. Those travelling to reunite with immediate or extended Canadian family members in Canada;
7. A person whose presence in Canada, as determined by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration or the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, is in the national interest;
8. A person who has a contraindication to a COVID-19 vaccine (and can provide a letter from a physician licensed to practice medicine, confirming the contraindication);
9. A person or class of persons who, as determined by the Chief Public Health Officer, meets the following requirements:
1. They do not pose a risk of significant harm to public health, or
2. There are compelling reasons, based on the public interest, for their entry to provide an essential service while in Canada.

The last exemption mentioned above forms the basis for several Group Exemptions, published by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the PHAC has maintained two separate lists of Group Exemptions. The first list applies to travelers entering Canada from the United States, while the second list applies to travelers entering Canada form any country other than the United States. The PHAC continues to modify each list from time to time.

The list of PHAC Group Exemptions for travelers entering Canada from the United States currently includes the following:

1. Emergency service providers, including firefighters, peace officers, and paramedics, who enter to assist in response to an active emergency in Canada;
2. Persons who must cross the border regularly to go to their normal place of employment, including critical infrastructure workers (Energy and Utilities, Information and Communication Technologies, Finance, Health, Food, Water, Transportation, Safety, Government and Manufacturing), provided they do not directly care for persons 65 years of age or older within the first 14 days after their entry to Canada;
3. Technicians or specialists specified by a government, manufacturer, or company, who enter Canada as required for the purpose of maintaining, repairing, installing or inspecting equipment necessary to support critical infrastructure (Energy and Utilities, Information and Communication Technologies, Finance, Health, Food, Water, Transportation, Safety, Government and Manufacturing); and
4. Asymptomatic foreign nationals accompanying an asymptomatic or symptomatic dependent child under 18 years of age who is receiving essential medical services or treatments in Canada under federal, provincial or territorial care, if the accompanying person complies with any conditions imposed by a quarantine officer.

The list of PHAC Group Exemptions for travelers entering Canada from any country other than the United States currently includes the following:

1. Emergency service providers, including firefighters, peace officers, and paramedics, who enter to assist in response to an active emergency in Canada; and
2. Technicians or specialists specified by a government, manufacturer, or company, who enter Canada as required for the purpose of maintaining, repairing, installing or inspecting equipment necessary to support critical infrastructure (Energy and Utilities, Information and Communication Technologies, Finance, Health, Food, Water, Transportation, Safety, Government and Manufacturing).

If none of the exemptions described in the Travel Restrictions Order or the above lists apply, the foreign national will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to enter Canada. However, fully vaccinated foreign nationals no longer need to establish that they are entering for a non-optional/non-discretionary (i.e., essential) purpose. In other words, they only need to comply with normal Canadian immigration requirements (e.g., entering as a bona fide business visitor, entering under a valid work permit, etc.).

The requirements that must be satisfied in order to qualify as “fully vaccinated person” appear in the current Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Quarantine, Isolation and Other Obligations) (the QIOO Order), which was published on February 28, 2022 (but dated February 26, 2022). In summary, the traveler must prove that:

1. They have received at least two doses (a mix of two accepted vaccines is permitted) of an accepted COVID-19 vaccine (with the exception of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which only requires one dose); and
2. The final dose was received at least 14 days before the day on which they enter Canada.

The list of acceptable vaccines was recently expanded, and currently includes:

1. AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD (ChAdOx1-S, Vaxzevria, AZD1222);
2. Bharat Biotech (Covaxin, BBV152 A, B, C);
3. Janssen/Johnson & Johnson;
4. Moderna (mRNA-1273);
5. Novavax (NVX-COV2373, Nuvaxovid, Covovax) [Recently Added];
6. Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty, tozinameran, BNT162b2);
7. Sinopharm BIBP (BBIBP-CorV); and
8. Sinovac (CoronaVac, PiCoVacc).

COVID-19 entry requirements

COVID-19 entry requirements are also established by the QIOO Order. These entry requirements primarily involve: (1) the pre-departure/pre-arrival COVID-19 molecular test requirement, (2) the post-arrival COVID-19 test requirement, and (3) the 14-day self-quarantine requirement. 

As the Travel Restrictions Order now requires virtually all foreign nationals to be fully vaccinated, we will discuss these COVID-19 entry requirements in the context of fully vaccinated persons. However, the small number of foreign nationals who are still permitted to enter as unvaccinated or partially vaccinated persons may be subject to additional and/or modified post-arrival testing and/or self-quarantine requirements.

Fully-vaccinated persons are currently exempt from the following entry requirements:

1. The 14-day self-quarantine requirement;
2. The first post-arrival COVID-19 molecular test requirement (performed at the time of entry), although travelers can still be randomly selected to take this test; and
3. The second post-arrival COVID-19 molecular test requirement (performed on the eighth day after entry).

Nevertheless, even fully-vaccinated persons remain subject to the following entry requirements:

1. They must complete the ArriveCAN questionnaire within 72 hours of their travel to Canada. In connection with the completion of this questionnaire, they will need to answer certain vaccination-related questions, upload proof of their vaccinations, and provide a satisfactory self-quarantine plan in the unlikely event that they are not granted an exemption from the self-quarantine requirement.
2. They must comply with the pre-arrival/pre-departure testing requirement.
3. They must comply with the first post-arrival COVID-19 molecular test requirement (performed at the time of entry), if they are randomly selected.

The prior version of the QIOO Order required travelers to provide evidence of a pre-arrival/pre-departure COVID-19 molecular test (such as a PCR test, not an antigen test) indicating that they received either:

1. A negative result for a COVID-19 molecular test that was performed outside Canada on a specimen collected no more than 72 hours before they enter Canada (if traveling by land or water) or before the aircraft’s initial scheduled departure time (if traveling by air); or
2. A positive result for a COVID-19 molecular test that was performed on a specimen collected at least 10 days and no more than 180 days before they enter Canada (if traveling by land) or before the aircraft’s initial scheduled departure time (if traveling by air).

The prior version of the QIOO also stated that a fully-vaccinated traveler (or a traveler with a documented contraindication to vaccination) could be randomly selected to take a post-arrival COVID-19 test. However, travelers who were randomly selected could be subject to an obligation to self-quarantine until they received a negative test result, depending on their recent travel history:

1. If a traveler had only been physically present in Canada or the United States during the 14-day period preceding their entry to Canada, they were permitted to continue on their way without any additional requirements.
2. If the traveler had been present in any country other than Canada or the United States during the 14-day period preceding their entry to Canada, they were required to self-quarantine until they received a negative test result from the first post-arrival COVID-19 molecular test, or until the 14-day self-quarantine period ended, whichever occurred first.

According to the Canadian government, if the traveler arrives by air and is directed to a testing service at the airport, they should be notified of their test result within 72 hours. If the traveler arrives by land, and is provided with a self-swab kit, they should be notified of their test result in four to seven days. However, there have been cases where the traveler’s test results have not been provided in a timely manner. There have also been cases where the test yielded indeterminate results and travelers were required to take a second test. 

Notably, the prior version of the QIOO already exempted unvaccinated persons under the age of 12 from the 14-day self-quarantine requirement, so long as they entered Canada with a fully vaccinated parent, step-parent, guardian, or tutor are also exempt. However, these minor children were subject to the following restrictions for the first 14 days following their entry to Canada:

1. They were not permitted to attend school, camp or daycare;
2. They were not permitted to attend large or crowded settings, indoors or outdoors, such as an amusement park or sporting event;
3. They were not permitted to take buses, subways, trains or other crowded transportation;
4. They were not permitted to attend a setting where they may have contact with vulnerable people (e.g. long term care facility), including people who are immunocompromised, regardless of that person’s vaccination status or public health measures;
5. They were required to stay in a place that allowed the child to avoid all contact with any person that: (1) has an underlying medical condition that makes the person susceptible to complications related to COVID-19, (2) has a compromised immune system from a medical condition or treatment, or (3) is 65 years of age or older;
6. They were required to limit contact with others:
7. They were required to remain with their fully vaccinated parent or guardian, as much as possible; and
8. They were required to wear a mask and physically distance when in contact with non-household members

Fortunately, on February 15, 2022, the Government of Canada announced in a News Release that it would be relaxing its COVID-19 border measures. The News Release indicated that the following adjustments would be implemented on February 28, 2022 at 12:01 am EST:

1. Travelers would also have the option of presenting a negative result for a COVID-19 antigen test that was performed outside Canada on a specimen collected no more than one day before their scheduled flight (if traveling by air) or arrival (if traveling by land or water). However, taking an antigen test at home would not be sufficient to satisfy the pre-entry requirement; it would need to be authorized by the country in which it was purchased and administered by a laboratory, healthcare entity, or telehealth service.
2. Travelers arriving in Canada from any country, who qualified as fully vaccinated, would continue to be randomly selected for post-arrival COVID-19 testing. However, selected travelers who had been in any country other than Canada or the United States within the preceding 14 days would no longer be required to self-quarantine while awaiting their test result. 
3. Children under 12 years old, travelling with fully vaccinated adults, will continue to be exempt from quarantine, but without any prescribed conditions limiting their activities. This means, for example, they no longer need to wait 14 days before attending school, camp or daycare.

The latest version of the QIOO Order, which came into effect on February 28, 2022, appears to have now implemented these relaxed COVID-19 border measures.