Late last week, Canada and the United States officially extended the restrictions on non-essential travel at the land border until December 21, 2020. With surging COVID-19 case numbers in both countries, the land border closure will likely extend well into next year. Despite the land border closure, Canadian travellers are still permitted to travel by air to the United States for non-essential reasons.
As many members have been inquiring, the reason that this loophole exists is that the U.S. government only applied the border restrictions to land and ferry ports of entry. Canadians who choose to travel during the pandemic need to ensure that their travel medical insurance policy provides sufficient coverage for COVID-19. They will also need to be mindful of the most up-to-date CDC, state, and local quarantine requirements for international travellers as this information is subject to change.
Starting on November 21st, all travellers, including Canadian citizens, will be required to provide contact and quarantine information upon and after entry into Canada. Travellers will submit the necessary information by either downloading the ArriveCAN app onto their mobile device or by signing in online by visiting https://arrivecan.cbsa-asfc.cloud-nuage.canada.ca.
Travellers entering Canada will be required to use ArriveCAN in order to submit their travel and contact information, quarantine plan, and COVID-19 symptom self-assessments. Travellers will submit their information prior to boarding their flight to Canada and will be required to show their ArriveCAN receipt to a Canada Border Services (CBSA) officer upon arrival.
Travellers arriving by land or sea are strongly encouraged to submit their travel information through ArriveCAN as it will speed up processing at the border and limit points of contact.
As of November 21st, all travellers, whether they travel by air, land or sea, must provide information after their entry into Canada. Travellers must use ArriveCAN or call 1-833-641-0343 to confirm that they have arrived at the address provided for their quarantine or isolation location within 48 hours of their entry into Canada and complete daily COVID-19 symptom self-assessments during their quarantine period.
The Canadian government has implemented these new measures in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 and assist travellers in reducing their processing time and points of contact at the border.
Additional updates will be distributed to members via email and published in CSANews.
