Canada is planning to drop the COVID testing requirement for fully vaccinated travellers. Canada's Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos announced on March 17 that fully vaccinated travellers to Canada will not be required to show a negative pre-departure coronavirus test to enter starting April 1 at 12:01 AM EDT. Tourists will not need a booster shot to be considered fully vaccinated.
"Adjustments to Canada's border measures are made possible by a number of factors, including Canada's high vaccination rate, the increasing availability and use of rapid tests to detect infection, decreasing hospitalizations and growing domestic availability of treatments for COVID-19. As vaccination levels and healthcare system capacity improve, we will continue to consider further easing of measures at the borders-and when to adjust those measures-to keep the people in Canada safe."
- The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos
Minister of Health
Note: Travellers arriving in Canada who qualify as fully vaccinated may need to take a COVID-19 molecular test on arrival if selected for mandatory random testing.
Who Is Considered Fully Vaccinated?
Canada considers someone to be fully vaccinated if they have received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or a single dose of Johnson and Johnson's vaccine at least 14 days before arriving in Canada. Vaccine boosters are not currently required for entry to Canada, but traveller requirements are continuously being updated.
- Travellers who are not fully vaccinated are only allowed entry under certain circumstances and will need to test for coronavirus before and after arrival and quarantine for 14 days.
- All travellers are required to use the ArriveCAN app or website to enter Canada.
- Masks are required on planes and trains in Canada for anyone age 6 and older.
All travellers who are 5 years of age or older who do not qualify as fully vaccinated must continue to provide proof of an accepted type of pre-entry COVID-19 test result:
- 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 their 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 their initially scheduled flight departure time or their 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 their initially scheduled flight departure time or their arrival at the land border or marine port of entry. It is important to note that positive antigen test results will not be accepted.
Contact Ackah Law BEFORE You Travel
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