Starting Monday, Canada will open its borders again for the first time since March last year — but only for U.S. visitors who have completed their vaccination.
The move was announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month to relax border restrictions. Fully vaccinated travelers are to be subjected to COVID-19 testing randomly at assigned ports of entry, the plan demands.
If you are a traveler from the U.S., these are the following requirements you need under the new rules, as compiled by KRON4:
- You must have your final COVID-19 dose at least two weeks earlier
- Secure your valid COVID-19 molecular test within 72 hours before your arrival, or a positive test 14-180 days before the travel (antigen tests will not be accepted)
- Must have no COVID-19 symptoms
- Submit required personal data like proof of vaccination through ArriveCAN within 72 hours of border travel
- Bring a proof of vaccination — whether paper or electronic copy — during entry and a couple of weeks thereafter
- Be allowed for entry as stipulated under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
- If chosen to randomized testing, take a COVID-19 test upon arrival
Required quarantines for parents with unvaccinated 12-year-old or younger children are not included in the new guideline. They, however, are mandated to follow “enhanced public health measures.” Unvaccinated 5-year-old and older children are still mandated to get tested for the disease on the first and eighth day of their visit.
U. S. citizens who reside in the border towns Hyder, Alaska; Northwest Angle, Minn. and Point Roberts, Wash. but are not yet fully vaccinated are permitted to enter nearby Canadian communities starting Monday but only for “everyday functions.”
COVID-19 checks can take the trip over the border longer, Canadian border officials cautioned.
Starting Sept. 7, Canada intends to permit individuals who are completely vaccinated for non-essential travel from any county, given that the COVID-19 case rate in the country stays low and travelers satisfy requirements upon entry.
