Canada Announces New Travel Measures to Address COVID-19 Omicron Variant of Concern

In response to the risks and uncertainties occurring due to the spread of the Omicron variant globally, Canada announces new travel measures. The Minister of Health, the Honorable Jean-Yves Duclos announced further changes to travel and border measures. 

With the evolving situation and massive evidence of transmission of Omicron in most countries around the globe, the Canadian Government has decided to lift the extraordinary measures for travelers returning from the ten specific countries: 

This has been in effect as of December 18 at 11:59 pm. The requirements for Canadians and others with the right of entry who have been in or traveled from these countries within 14 days are

The Canadian government has lifted short trip pre-arrival test exemptions. Travelers will now need to take a pre-arrival negative PCR test result for all trips, even when leaving the country for 72 hours or less. Take note that this pre-arrival test must be taken in another country and not in Canada.

From January 15, 2022, international students who are 18 years and above will be given entry to Canada only if they have completed their vaccination with one of the approved vaccines. Students under the age of 18 must follow testing, quarantine, and other entry requirements. To be able to enter Canada, an international student who is 18 years and older must:

As of November 30, 2021, Canada has expanded the list of COVID-19 vaccines that travelers can receive to qualify as fully vaccinated travelers to Canada. The list of approved vaccines include:

Travelers departing from Canadian airports (including on domestic, transborder, and international flights) and travelers on VIA Rail and Rocky Mountaineer trains are required to be fully vaccinated to travel.

Foreign people who are living in Canada temporarily, and who entered Canada without being vaccinated or partially vaccinated, will be allowed to leave Canada without being fully vaccinated up until 28th February 2022. After that time, they will need to be fully vaccinated to take a flight or train in Canada.

Canada also has significantly increased the on-arrival testing resources. They increased their capacity from 11,000 air passengers per day on November 30 to 20,960 tests as of December 16. The Canadian Government is working closely with airport authorities, airlines, and testing providers to increase testing capacity at airports and make sure that the testing protocol is as efficient as possible.

As of December 15, the Canadian government is advising people to avoid non-important travel outside of Canada at this time. International Travel restrictions keep on changing around the world and return options could be restricted at any time. Now is not the time to travel. If you need to travel, follow all the public health measures, including wearing a well-fitted mask, exercising extra precautions by avoiding high-risk settings such as long-term care facilities. 

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