Canada to end pre-arrival COVID-19 test requirement for fully vaccinated travelers

Canada's Public Health Ministry has announced the country will end its pre-arrival COVID-19 testing requirement for vaccinated visitors starting April 1. 

Requirements will remain unchanged for those who are partially or not vaccinated. 

Unvaccinated foreign nationals are still not able to travel to Canada unless they have received an exemption. Partially and unvaccinated travelers who have permission to travel to Canada will still need to show proof of a negative COVID test and quarantine. 

All travelers still need to register online with ArriveCAN and need to submit to random secondary COVID-19 testing upon arrival. Vaccinated travelers selected for random testing do not need to quarantine while awaiting the results of these tests. 

"We are confident that, thanks to all that Canadians have done to protect one another, we can now take the next step forward and remove testing requirements for fully vaccinated travellers entering Canada. The economy, workers and tourism business owners will benefit from this next step in opening Canada up once again to the world," said Randy Boissonnault, Canadian Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance.

If you are not a Canadian citizen, you must be fully vaccinated to enter Canada. Those who wish to travel to Canada should still check to make sure they are eligible to enter as well as register online with ArriveCAN.

The pre-arrival testing requirement ends on April 1. If you are traveling before April 1, you must show proof of a negative COVID-19 antigen test administered no more than one day prior to departure or a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours prior to departure. 

Children age 12 and younger who are traveling with a fully vaccinated adult are exempt from quarantine. 

Note that some of Canada’s provinces and territories may have additional requirements for entry so make sure you check with your final destination before departing. 

Unvaccinated foreign nationals still are not allowed to travel to Canada unless they qualify for one of the country’s exemptions. Those who are permitted to travel must present proof of an observed negative antigen test taken no more than one day prior to arrival or a PCR test administered within 72 hours prior to departure. 

They can also, as proof of recovery from the virus, present proof of a positive molecular test taken at least 10 calendar days and no more than 180 calendar days before their initially scheduled flight departure time or arrival at the border.

Unvaccinated travelers still face a 14-day quarantine and testing upon arrival and Day 8 of quarantine.