NEW TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS FROM CERTAIN COUNTRIES

Due to the recently discovered COVID-19 variant, Omicron, the government of Canada has announced that foreign nationals, including international students, who have been in any of the following countries within the previous 14 days will not be permitted entry into Canada.

These measures are now in effect and will remain in place until January 31, 2022.

ACCEPTED VACCINES

Currently, to be considered fully vaccinated for the purpose of travelling to, from, or within Canada, you must have completed a full course of one of the 4 COVID-19 vaccines approved by Health Canada at least 14 full days prior to travel.

Starting November 30, 2021, Canada will add the following three vaccines authorized by the World Health Organization (WHO) to the list of Canada’s accepted vaccines for travel purposes:

• Sinopharm
• Sinovac
• COVAXIN

Travelers who received the full dose of these vaccines will be considered fully vaccinated for travel purposes starting November 30, 2021 at 3:01 am EST.

TRAVELLING TO CANADA

On November 30, 2021, the Government of Canada announced that the following requirements will take effect in the coming days:.

• Fully vaccinated travellers 
  • if arriving by air from a country other than the United States, will be subject to arrival testing and will be required to quarantine while waiting for the arrival test results. 

• Unvaccinated travellers, with right of entry to Canada
  • if arriving by air, will be required to stay in a designated quarantine facility or other suitable location while waiting for the arrival test results.
  • will continue to be tested on arrival and day 8 and be required to quarantine for 14 days. 

At this time, we do not have additional information on the new testing and quarantine requirements; however, we will provide further updates on these latest developments as details are made available by the Government of Canada. We also recommend that you monitor the Government of Canada website for the most up-to-date information.

Starting January 15, 2022, certain travellers, including international students who are 18 years old and above, will be required to present proof of full vaccination to enter Canada.

When this change takes effect, unvaccinated or partially vaccinated students will not be permitted to enter Canada unless they qualify for limited exceptions.

If you do not qualify as fully vaccinated, you may be allowed to enter or re-enter Canada until January 14, 2022 under the current exemption for study permit holders; however, you will be subject to quarantine, pre-arrival and post-arrival testing requirements.

For more information on Travelling or Returning to Canada, please view our COVID-19 Immigration & Travel Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

TRAVELLING FROM & WITHIN CANADA

As of October 30, 2021, individuals who are 12 years of age plus 4 months or older must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to board a flight or train in Canada. This includes travelling on:

• domestic or international flights departing from most airports in Canada, including charter and foreign airlines carrying commercial passengers
• VIA Rail and Rocky Mountaineer trains

There is a transition period from October 30, 2021 to November 29, 2021 where the following alternatives can be accepted in lieu of proof of full vaccination:

• proof of a COVID-19 negative molecular test result taken within 72 hours of your scheduled departure time OR
• proof of a previous positive molecular test result taken between 14 and 180 days before your trip if you recently recovered from COVID-19

Starting November 30, 2021 at 3:01 am EST, proof of full vaccination will be required to board a flight or train in Canada, unless you qualify for limited exceptions.

Foreign nationals, including international students, who do not qualify as fully vaccinated:

• are permitted to take a connecting flight within Canada as long as it is scheduled to depart within 24 hours of the departure time for your originating flight to Canada, provided you are allowed to enter Canada as an unvaccinated or partially vaccinated traveller.
• will be allowed to depart Canada up until February 28, 2022. After this date, you will be required to be fully vaccinated to board a flight or train leaving Canada.

CANADIAN (FEDERAL) COVID-19 PROOF OF VACCINATION

We strongly recommend you obtain the Canadian COVID-19 Proof of Vaccination as well as a BC Vaccine Card as soon as you arrive in Canada.

INTERNATIONAL PROOF OF VACCINATION FROM YOUR HOME COUNTRY

• If you are outside Canada and are unable to obtain Canadian proof of vaccination for travel, review the instructions for travellers without Canadian proof of vaccination to make sure you have the appropriate vaccination documents for travel and to upload in ArriveCAN.
• Once you have arrived in British Columbia, you should apply for a BC Vaccine Card and Canadian (Federal) COVID-19 proof of vaccination as soon as possible. The BC Vaccine Card will be required as proof of vaccination when you submit or update your mandatory vaccine declaration to SFU.

SOURCES

Government of Canada. (2021, November 19). About the Canadian COVID-19 proof of vaccination. Retrieved November 23, 2021, from canada.ca: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-covid-19-proof-vaccination.html

Government of Canada. (2021, November 19). COVID-19 Boarding flights and trains in Canada. Retrieved November 23, 2021, from travel.gc.ca: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/domestic-travel

Government of Canada. (2021, November 22). COVID-19 vaccinated travellers entering Canada. Retrieved November 23, 2021, from canada.ca: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada#determine-fully

Provincial Government of British Columbia. (2021, November 22). Proof of vaccination and the BC Vaccine Card. Retrieved November 23, 2021, from gov.bc.ca: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/proof

Public Health Agency of Canada. (2021, November 19). Government of Canada announces adjustments to Canada’s border measures. Retrieved November 23, 2021, from canada.ca: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2021/11/government-of-canada-announces-adjustments-to-canadas-border-measures.html

Public Health Agency of Canada. (2021, November 30). Government of Canada introduces additional measures to address COVID-19 Omicron variant of concern. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from canada.ca: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2021/11/government-of-canada-introduces-additional-measures-to-address-covid-19-omicron-variant-of-concern.html

Public Health Agency of Canada. (2021, November 26). Government of Canada introduces new measures to address COVID-19 Omicron variant of concern. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from canada.ca: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2021/11/government-of-canada-introduces-new-measures-to-address-covid-19-omicron-variant-of-concern.html