Who Can Travel To Canada? What Are The COVID-19 Travel Restrictions In Canada Now?

Canada has been proactive in its fight against COVID-19. The country has placed several restrictions since the outbreak of coronavirus. The country closed its borders and has begun relaxing some of the travel restrictions by welcoming certain visitors who meet vaccination requirements put in place. Travellers are no longer required to book a 3-night hotel stopover when entering Canada.

Since August 9, 2021, Canada has relaxed its COVID-19 travel restrictions to allow American citizens and permanent residents of the United States who are fully vaccinated to enter the country. These privileged groups must be residing in and arriving from the United States.

Canada also intends to welcome all foreign nationals starting September 7, 2021, who qualify for the fully vaccinated traveller exemption.

Check if you qualify for the fully vaccinated traveller exemption

To qualify for the fully vaccinated traveller exemption, you must:

• be eligible to enter Canada on the specific date you enter.
• have no signs or symptoms of COVID-19
• have received the full series of an accepted COVID-19 vaccine or a combination of accepted vaccines
• have received your last dose at least 14 days prior to the day you enter Canada
• meet all other entry requirements (for example, pre-entry test)

Accepted COVID-19 vaccines in Canada

• Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty, tozinameran, BNT162b2)
• Moderna (mRNA-1273)
• AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD (ChAdOx1-S, Vaxzevria, AZD1222)
• Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (Ad26.COV2.S)

Vaccines not currently accepted for fully vaccinated status in 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)

Vaccines received outside Canada are still accepted. Proof of vaccination must be uploaded digitally in ArriveCAN. Proof of vaccination in languages other than French or English must be accompanied by a certified translation into French or English.

Recovered from COVID-19 with one dose

If you have recovered from COVID-19, you still need a full series of an accepted COVID-19 vaccine or a combination of accepted vaccines. If you’ve only had one dose of an accepted vaccine other than Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), you don’t qualify for the fully vaccinated traveller exemption.

Currently, Canada has no exemptions from testing or quarantine for travellers who haven’t received the full series of a vaccine or a combination of vaccines accepted by the Government of Canada.