The Government of Canada just announced changes to their border measures that will affect International Students travelling to Canada. Recent data indicates that the latest wave of COVID-19 has passed its peak in Canada. Due to Canada’s high vaccination rates, the increasing availability of rapid tests and decreasing hospitality rates, the government is easing the entrance requirements for fully vaccinated travellers.
Changes as of February 28th
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- Fully vaccinated travellers from any country entering Canada will no longer have to take a pre-arrival molecular test (such as a PCR).
- Travellers now have the option of using a Covid-19 rapid antigen test result (taken the day prior to their scheduled flight or arrival at the border) or a molecular test result (e.g. PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before their scheduled flight or arrival at the land border) to meet entrance requirements
- In-home rapid tests will not be accepted. Rapid tests must be authorized in the country in which they were purchased and must be administered by a laboratory, healthcare entity or telehealth service.
- On-arrival molecular testing for fully-vaccinated travellers is no longer mandatory. Testing will be conducted on a random basis only.
- Those travellers who are randomly selected for arrival testing are no longer required to quarantine while awaiting their test result.
- International flights will be permitted to land at all Canadian airports that are designated by the Canada Border Services Agency to receive international passenger flights.
Accepted Vaccines for Travel
The following vaccines are accepted by the Government of Canada for the purpose of travel to and within Canada:
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- AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD (ChAdOx1-S, Vaxzevria, AZD1222)
- Bharat Biotech (Covaxin, BBV152 A, B, C)
- Janssen/Johnson & Johnson
- Moderna (mRNA-1273)
- Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty, tozinameran, BNT162b2)
- Sinopharm BIBP (BBIBP-CorV)
- Sinovac (CoronaVac, PiCoVacc)
To qualify as a fully vaccinated traveller, you must have received, at least 15 calendar days by the day you travel:
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- at least 2 doses of a vaccine accepted by the Government of Canada for the purpose of travel
- or a mix of 2 accepted vaccines
- or at least 1 dose of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine
All travellers continue to be required to submit their mandatory information via ArriveCAN, including proof of vaccination in English or French and a quarantine plan prior to arriving in Canada.
VGC welcomes this change as it simplifies the arrival process for international students. To learn more about VGC’s Covid-19 Safety Plan and Procedures as well as the latest provincial Covid-19 measures, please visit our Covid-19 resource page.