In response to the significant risks and uncertainties presented by the spread of the Omicron variant in Canada and globally, on December 17, the Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos has announced a further modification to travel and border measures. These measures are intended to reduce the transmission of the Omicron variant in Canada and to help provinces and territories slow community spread.
Exemption for short trip pre-arrival test withdrawn
On Tuesday, Canada Border Services Agency Tweeted that “On December 21, all travellers, unless specifically exempted, must take a pre-entry Covid-19 molecular test before arriving in Canada, regardless of how long they were away. The test must be taken outside of Canada”.
As another layer of precaution, we will reinstate the requirement for a pre-arrival negative PCR test result for all travellers leaving the country for less than 72 hours.
As of December 21, the requirement for pre-arrival testing will be in place again for trips of all durations. It is important to note that this pre-arrival test must be taken in a country other than Canada.
ArriveCAN remains mandatory for all travellers, regardless if entering by land/air/marine or the length of the duration of absence from Canada. All travellers must submit their mandatory information in ArriveCAN (free mobile app or website), including proof of vaccination in English or French and a quarantine plan before arriving in Canada.
Advice to travellers: As of December 15, the Government of Canada is advising Canadians to avoid non-essential travel outside of Canada during this wave of Omicron spread. Travel restrictions continue to change around the world and return options could become limited at any time.
Now is not the time to travel!
All fully vaccinated travellers are asked to follow public health measures, including wearing a mask, maintaining a list of contacts for the 14 days after entry to Canada, and exercising extra precautions by avoiding high-risk settings such as long-term care facilities. All returning unvaccinated travellers must continue to quarantine for 14 days.
All travellers arriving, by all modes of travel, must submit their information into ArriveCAN. To reduce the wait time to access a test and ease congestion at airports, travellers allowed to enter Canada are strongly encouraged to pre-register with the testing provider at their arrival airport prior to coming to Canada.
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