Canada Travel Restrictions & COVID-19: Latest Updates

Who Can Enter Canada During COVID-19? Requirements to Enter Canada – IEC & Students

It doesn’t matter if you are travelling to Canada under an International Experience Canada (IEC) work permit: as a working holiday, young professional or international co-op, or if you are an international student. Everyone needs to comply with the new requirements to be allowed to enter Canada.

Furthermore, these travel restrictions apply to all countries. So, for example, if you’re travelling to Canada from theUK during coronavirus, the same rules will apply to Australians looking to work and travel in Canada.

Please note that it’s very important that you ALWAYS use the IRCC website as a reference. This will always be your best and most updated source of information. By reviewing the information on the IRCC website, you can guarantee that you are not missing anything that needs to be prepared for your arrival in Canada.

Fully Vaccinated Travellers do Not Need to Quarantine

Canada opened for fully vaccinated travellers in September 2021, but what does this mean for IEC work permit holders, such as those with a working holiday permit or students travelling to Canada on a study and work permit?

This means that fully vaccinated travellers with an approved vaccine by the Government of Canada will be exempted from the following federal requirements:

• Quarantine for 14 days (and therefore won’t need to complete the test on day 8 of quarantine)

How can you verify that you will be accepted to enter Canada as a fully vaccinated traveller?

• You already received the full series of a vaccine or a combination of vaccines accepted by the Government of Canada: Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty, Moderna Spikevax, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria/COVISHIELD or Janssen/Johnson & Johnson; and from November 30th, 2021 Sinopharm, Sinovac and Covaxin. Check all the approved vaccines here.
• You received your last dose at least 14 days prior to entry.

You MUST bring with you your ORIGINAL proof of vaccination. You must use ArriveCAN to enter your proof of vaccination, quarantine and travel information. If you don’t provide the required information in ArriveCAN before arriving at the border you won’t be considered for the exemption, even if you meet all the other requirements.

If you are not fully vaccinated or your vaccines are not accepted in Canada.

As of January 15, 2022, certain groups of travellers, including IEC work permit holders will only be allowed to enter the country if they are fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved for entry into Canada.

Also please note that if you are not fully vaccinated, you are NOT allowed to take connecting flights once you land in Canada after October 30th, 2021. Please read the new regulation here for non-vaccinated travellers. This will apply to all air passengers flying on domestic, transborder or international flights departing from airports in Canada.

Important Steps to Take Before Travelling to Canada

We highly recommend following these steps before travelling to Canada under the new Covid-19 regulations.

1. Get Informed BEFORE Booking Your Flight to Canada

Have a thorough idea of what you will need before booking your flight to Canada to avoid any problems. Do not book a last-minute flight. If you miss any of the requirements you will not be allowed to board the flight to Canada, which might involve losing quite a bit of money, so do not risk it – preparation is key!

For example, before booking your flight there are a few details that you must keep in mind:

• Book the most direct flight to Canada. If you have to do a layover in a third country, make sure that you are aware of the visa requirements and the COVID-19 restrictions in the specific layover country.
• Update April 2022: You will NOT a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of your departure to Canada anymore. This is very important. Keep in mind if you are transiting through any other country, that country might have different requirements, so please make sure you check this BEFORE booking your flight.

Example: If you are flying to Canada from Spain and you have a connecting flight in Amsterdam, you must check the requirements in Amsterdam for transiting passengers.

2. Download ArriveCan app before your trip to Canada

The ArriveCAN app is MANDATORY to travel to Canada, which you can easily download on your phone. If you are fully vaccinated, you can upload your proof of vaccination record so that the Government of Canada will be aware that you are entering Canada as a fully vaccinated traveller.

Please remember that you MUST bring the ORIGINAL proof of your vaccination record with you as officers can request it at any time upon arrival to Canada. Check all the details here about how to provide proof of vaccination.

Through this app, you will also be able to provide all your personal information, flight details, etc.

IMPORTANT – there are no exceptions for partially vaccinated travellers. At this time, there are no exemptions for travellers who haven’t received the full series of a vaccine or a combination of vaccines accepted by the Government of Canada, even if you have had covid in the past, or if you are considered fully vaccinated in your home country.

3. Organize Your Quarantine Plan – Even if You Are Fully Vaccinated

Plan your quarantine, in case you don’t get the exemption or you test positive upon arrival. The final determination of whether or not you qualify for the exemption is made by a government representative at the border. You must, therefore, be prepared to quarantine for 14 days, in case you:

• are symptomatic
• don’t meet the requirements

You will find all the requirements for your isolation plan here. All travellers must prepare their plan BEFORE their trip to Canada. So time to get organized!

Please remember that your isolation plan should be very detailed. You must explain:

• Where you will be staying: complete address
• How you will get your groceries (Instacart, Walmart, UberEats, SkipTheDishes etc.)
• How do you access essential services and medical care if needed?

This quarantine plan is MANDATORY and if you are requested to quarantine, anyone breaking the quarantine requirements will be subject to very expensive fines and, in some cases, jail time. You can read more about the consequences of failure to comply with the Emergency Order here.

4. Prepare the Required Documents for Your Arrival

Remember that besides the general requirements to enter Canada, at this point Canadian borders are open for fully vaccinated travellers:

• International Experience Canada: POE holders (approval letter or letter of introduction).
• Students: Enrolled at an approved Designated Learning Institution (DLI) and holding an approved study permit

Make sure that you bring the correct documents for your status in Canada at the time of entry. If you are a Stepwest participant we will make sure you are not missing any of those documents. We will organize together a pre-departure orientation before your departure to go over every single detail and make sure that you are fully ready for your trip to Canada! You will not miss a thing!