Published on April 1st, 2022 at 09:00am EDT
As of April 1, fully vaccinated travellers no longer need a pre-arrival COVID-19 test to enter Canada.
Travellers will still need to provide proof of vaccination status and all other mandatory information through the ArriveCAN app, either on desktop or mobile, before crossing the border. Travellers who arrive without completing their ArriveCAN submission may have to test on arrival and quarantine for 14 days, regardless of their vaccination status. Travellers taking a cruise or a plane must submit their information in ArriveCAN within 72 hours before boarding.
Partially-vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers will still be subject to testing and quarantine requirements. Canadian and exempt foreign travellers are required to submit pre-arrival tests, complete on-arrival tests, and do a third test on day eight of their quarantine. Foreign nationals who are not fully vaccinated are still prohibited from entering Canada, except in exceptional circumstances. Canada offers a tool to help unvaccinated foreign nationals determine if they can cross the border.
Learn about Canada’s immigration system
All travellers age five or older who do not qualify as fully vaccinated must continue to provide proof of a pre-entry COVID-19 test result, which could be:
- a valid, negative antigen test, administered or observed by an accredited lab or testing provider, taken outside of Canada no more than one day before the initially scheduled flight departure time or their arrival at the land border or marine port of entry; or
- a valid negative molecular test taken no more than 72 hours before the initially scheduled flight departure time or arrival at the land border or marine port of entry; or
- a previous positive molecular test taken at least 10 calendar days and no more than 180 calendar days before the initially scheduled flight departure time or arrival at the land border or marine port of entry. Positive antigen test results will not be accepted.
In order to be considered fully vaccinated, the Canadian government requires travellers to have the full recommended dose of an approved vaccine. Canada has approved COVID-19 vaccines from eight different manufacturers including:
- Pfizer;
- Moderna;
- Astra-Zeneca;
- Johnson&Johnson;
- Bharat Biotech;
- Novavax;
- Sinopharm BIBP; and
- Sinovac.
At this time, a booster shot is not required. The final dose must have been taken within 14 days of arrival to Canada.
Canadian border services officers may still test travellers on arrival regardless of status. The purpose of these random tests will be to identify and track COVID-19 variants. Fully vaccinated travellers selected for an on-arrival test will not have to quarantine while they wait on their results.
Learn about Canada’s immigration system
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