LAST UPDATED: July 4, 2021
Fully vaccinated Canadian snowbirds will be happy to know that on June 21st, the federal government announced that beginning July 5, 2021, at 12:01 a.m. EDT:
- Fully vaccinated Canadian citizens and permanent residents will not be subject to the federal requirement to quarantine or take a COVID-19 test on day-8, and
- Fully vaccinated Canadian citizens and permanent residents arriving by air will not be required to quarantine at a government-authorized hotel.
Fully vaccinated Canadians will still be subject to Pre-departure and on-arrival PCR testing requirements.
Under the new rules, fully vaccinated Canadians must also be asymptomatic and provide COVID-19-related information electronically through ArriveCAN prior to arrival in Canada, including uploading a digital copy of their proof of vaccination papers to the ArriveCAN app.
Fully vaccinated Canadians will also still be required to present a suitable quarantine plan, and be prepared to quarantine, in case it is determined at the border that they do not meet all of the conditions required to be exempt from quarantine.
Travel restrictions for foreign nationals, including U.S. citizens, will remain in place until at least July 21st.
New airport procedures coming
The government also announced that it is working to establish separate lines at airports for vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers to speed things upon arrival. This should mean shorter lines and wait times at the airport.
What qualifies as “fully vaccinated”
For a traveller to be considered “fully vaccinated”, they must have received the full series of a vaccine — or a combination of vaccines – approved by the Government of Canada at least 14 days before arriving in Canada.
Currently, those vaccines are manufactured by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD, and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson)
What about Canadians who are NOT fully vaccinated?
For Canadians who are not fully vaccinated, there are no changes to Canada’s current border measures. They must continue to adhere to the current testing and federal quarantine requirements and provide COVID-19-related information electronically through ArriveCAN before arriving in Canada.
Canadians who are not fully vaccinated arriving by air must also book a three-night stay at a government-authorized hotel before their departure to Canada.
Canadians still strongly advised not to travel
Meanwhile, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said that the government continues to "strongly advise Canadians to avoid non-essential travel."
"Although the future is looking brighter than it has for a long time with COVID-19 cases on a downward trend and vaccination efforts going well across the country, we can’t let our guard down," said Blair.
Full Press Release
You can find complete details on the official Government of Canada website here.
