International Travellers Can Now Enter Canada Again As Long As They Meet These 6 Criteria

It's official! The world is getting a little bit more normal, and by that, we mean that international travellers can enter Canada again — as long as they meet certain requirements.

As of September 7, Canada is reopening its border to fully vaccinated residents from all over the world, allowing them to travel for non-essential purposes.

In order to be able to enter the country, international travellers must:

• Be fully vaccinated: a traveller must have received, and show proof of, the full series of a vaccine — or combination of vaccines — accepted by the Government of Canada at least 14 days prior to entering Canada (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD, and Janssen [Johnson & Johnson]).
• Have a valid pre-arrival COVID-19 molecular test result taken no more than 72 hours before your scheduled flight or your arrival at the land border crossing, or a previous positive test result taken between 14 and 180 days before departure to Canada. Antigen tests, aka "rapid tests," are not accepted,
• Be asymptomatic
• Submit your mandatory information via ArriveCAN (App or website), including proof of vaccination in English or French and a quarantine plan
• Be admissible under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
• Take a test on arrival, if selected

With this new measure, we can expect lines at major Canadian airports, like the Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, to be longer than they have been in months.

As for non-vaccinated international travellers, there's a quiz you can do on the Government of Canada's official website to let you know if you're able to enter Canada. If you're coming from another country to travel for leisure (non-essential) reasons and aren't vaccinated, it says "You will not be allowed to enter Canada, even if you have tested negative for COVID-19."

In Quebec, a vaccine passport is required to access many businesses and activities deemed non-essential, including restaurants and bars.