Canada welcomes U.S. travelers Monday

But the mutual is not true.

To enter the country, these travelers must live in the United States, receive a second dose of the vaccine at least 14 days prior to arrival, and show evidence of a negative test not exceeding 72 hours.

They can use the ArriveCAN application or web portal to download vaccine information.

“I learned a lot last month when Canadian citizens who were properly vaccinated were allowed to return to the country,” said Denise Vinet, vice president of the Travels Directorate of the Canada Border Services Agency.

50% of them were denied in the first week.

“We found that many travelers mistakenly believe that all of the vaccine requirements have been met,” he explains. First, 14 days had not elapsed since they received the second dose. Second, many who received a vaccine other than the Health Canada vaccine thought they were exempt from the isolation requirements. ”

Health Canada has given the green light to four vaccines: Pfizer-Bioendech, Moderna, Oxford-Astrogeneka and Johnson & Johnson single dose.

“We had a lot of people who didn’t have a full understanding of what was allowed and what was not allowed,” says Vinet. I expect the same, but since the vaccines given in the United States are approved by the Canadian authorities, I expect it to be less of a problem. ”

Not mutually exclusive

It is uncertain when the United States will begin to relax its own restrictions on border crossings for non-essential Canadian travelers. Passengers traveling by air and boat are exempt.

The White House said last week it was exploring the possibility of a full vaccination for visitors, although it is not yet clear whether it will include Canadians.

The United States has imposed severe restrictions on foreign visitors from China, India, Ireland, Iran, South Africa, Brazil and all 26 European countries in the Schengen area.

In general, Canada and Mexico are generally considered separate entities, especially due to the close trade relations between the three countries. Canadian and Mexican visitors do not need to go through a private company to enter the United States.

Observers feel some awkwardness within the Biden administration over allowing Canadian travelers to return to the United States without giving the Mexican people the same opportunity. The situation of potential refugees remains a challenge at the White House.

Passengers entering Canada from the United States must be patient, as many people are likely to be diverted.

” [Les personnes] Will be denied entry into the country due to lack of all required information. They will be sent back to the United States and then they can meet all the requirements and try to re-enter. ”

Passengers arriving by air can also expect delays.

At Toronto’s Peace International Airport, one – fourth of the country accepting inbound flights from abroad, passengers have already been warned that the wait could exceed three hours.

Canadians are increasingly comfortable with air travel, which means more passengers at airports. All of these face increased health and safety trials, spokeswoman Beverly McDonald said.

“There are various factors that affect the arrival time, such as government requirements, vaccination status, immigration processing, extra air travel, additional flight checks. At the same time …”

Pearson saw almost double the number of passengers in the second quarter compared to the same months of 2020 – although its daily average is 11,500 less than 140,000 in 2019.

The number of arrivals at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport is increasing every month. So its average in June was only 10% of 2019, but it rose to 20% in July and another increase in August is expected to be 30%.

“Although we are accustomed to welcoming a large number of passengers at our facilities, we can expect longer, especially during international daylight hours, depending on the time of day,” a spokesman said. Ann-Sophie Hamel.

The federal government plans to allow vaccinated visitors from countries other than the United States to come to Canada from September 7 for non-essential reasons.