Fully vaccinated U.S. citizens can enter Canada Aug. 9, rest of world Sept. 7
Fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents will be allowed into Canada as of Aug. 9, joined by the rest of the world Sept. 7, federal officials announced Monday as the country prepares to lower border barriers that were erected to limit the spread of COVID-19.
However, the United States is not currently planning to reciprocate by easing travel restrictions on would-be Canadian visitors hoping to go south of the border.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said he briefed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about the steps Canada intended to take, but got no indication that the U.S. would be following suit before the existing restrictions are set for renewal on Wednesday. “He indicated to me at this time they have not yet made a decision; they anticipate their measures would likely be (extended) on July 21,” Blair told a news conference announcing the changes.
That imbalance is sure to aggravate political tensions around the border issue in the U.S., where a growing chorus of congressional lawmakers have been pressing President Joe Biden and his officials to embrace their vaccination success and ease international travel restrictions.
Rep. Brian Higgins, the New York member of Congress who has spearheaded the American campaign, said as much in a statement Monday as he cheered the Canadian measures. “It is extremely frustrating that the U.S. government has failed to reciprocate current family exemptions already allowed by the Canadian government and failed to show a lack of urgency to make any progress on this side of the border toward lifting restrictions,” Higgins said.
Canadian officials said the 14-day quarantine requirement will be waived beginning the second week of August for eligible travellers who reside in the United States and have received a full course of a COVID-19 vaccine approved for use by Health Canada.
The move comes two weeks after the Canada Border Services Agency began waiving quarantine rules for fully vaccinated Canadian citizens and permanent residents — a move that prompted an unsurprising spike in the number of travellers seeking to enter the country.
Children under 12 who are accompanied by fully vaccinated and eligible family members will also be exempt from quarantine, provided they wear a mask in public places and avoid indoor group settings, such as classrooms and summer camp.
All travellers will still be required to submit a negative COVID-19 test result and proof of vaccination prior to arrival by way of the ArriveCAN smartphone app or web portal, but post-travel test results will no longer be necessary for those who are fully vaccinated.
Canada Border Services Agency officials will randomly require vaccinated travellers to take a molecular test upon arrival.
Questions and answers about Canada-U.S. border rules:
Q: Who can currently enter Canada from the United States without having to quarantine?
In addition to essential workers, international students and trade shipments, all of which have been allowed from the outset, fully vaccinated Canadian citizens, permanent residents and eligible foreign nationals can enter Canada without having to submit to a 14-day quarantine. Canada also has limited exceptions in place for foreign nationals who are immediate family members of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, as well as a process to allow extended family members and international students to apply for entry.
Q: What are the requirements?
Only Canadian citizens, permanent residents and eligible foreign nationals who have gone two weeks since a full course of one of the four COVID-19 vaccines approved by Health Canada — Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson — are exempt from quarantine. Further, travellers must use either the ArriveCAN app or online portal to submit proof of vaccination, as well as the results of a negative COVID-19 test no more than three days old, prior to departure. Border officials will also want to see a paper or digital copy of vaccination documentation, and a certified translation of same if the original is not in either English or French.
Q: What’s changing?
As of Aug. 9, fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents will also be exempt from the quarantine requirement, subject to the same requirements and restrictions as their Canadian counterparts. Fully vaccinated travellers from elsewhere around the world will be afforded the same exemption as of Sept. 7.
Children under 12 who are accompanied by fully vaccinated adults can also enter Canada without quarantining on Aug. 9, but will be required to wear a mask in public and avoid group settings.