Canada has increased the international travel restrictions and the closure of the border with the United States for an extra month. It has been extended until June 21, 2021.
The minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair made the statement in a tweet on Thursday, May 20. The former restrictions were due to expire on May 21.
These were Bill’s tweet ” We are extending travel restrictions on non-essential international travel and with the United States until June 21st, 2021,” Blair wrote on Twitter. “We will continue to base our decisions on the best public health advice available to keep Canadians safe from #COVID19.”
This extension implies that both the United States and the international restrictions will have been in place for 15 months after first being imposed in March 2020.
Proof of Negative COVID-19 Test is Required at Land Borders for Travelers
The Canadian Government has mandated that anyone returning into the country must be quarantined for 14 days.
Travelers arriving in Canada from the US by land are also required to submit proof of a negative COVID-19 molecular test result taken within 3 days or a positive test that was taken 14 to 90 days prior to arrival.
Also, immigrants or travelers entering Canada using the land border need to undergo a Covid-19 test on arrival and also after their 14-day quarantine.
Travelers coming to Canada by air, with few exceptions, are required to undergo a COVID-19 molecular test when they arrive in Canada and also after the end of their 14-day quarantine period. They are also required to lodge in a government-selected hotel for 72 hours at their own cost to anticipate the results of those tests.
Immigrants coming by air from another country for non-essential travel are needed to undergo a negative COVID-19 test before getting on the plane in their native country.
Non-Discretionary Travel Exemptions
They are the non-discretionary reason the Canadian government has made exemptions for the following people
- Part-time agricultural workers, fish/seafood workers, caregivers, and all other temporary foreign workers;
- International students who already have a valid study permit, or had been approved for a study permit, before the travel restrictions took effect on March 18, 2020. A lot of international students are now allowed to travel from October 20 last year under a new exemption;
- Permanent resident applicants who have already been approved for permanent residence before the travel restrictions were in place but who had not yet traveled to Canada;
- Immediate family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents are also exempt if coming to be with an immediate family member for a minimum of 15 days, and;
- Extended family members of citizens and permanent residents, and foreign nationals traveling on compassionate grounds.
Numbers of Immigration Recovery at the Start of 2021
The latest federal government statistics show that Canada welcomed 70,500 newcomers in the first three months of the year, compared to just over 69,000 in 2020. This is a very good start on its journey to the set target of 401,000.
January to March has been the productive quarter for Canadian immigration since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Although the number still falls short of its target. If 70,500 newcomers are welcomed every quarter this year, the total sum would be about 282,000 permanent resident admissions and that is far from the target.
Ottawa is evidently expecting a major increase in the remaining three quarters, boosted by the new pathway the permanent residence launched this month, through which it expects to receive 90,000 applications from international graduates, healthcare workers, and other essential workers.
Additionally, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has remarkably increased the numbers of invitations to Apply being issued through Express Entry, including 27,332 in a single Canadian Experience Class draw on February 13.
90 percent of these candidates already in Canada will likely make the transition to permanent residency in the second half of the year.
Marco Mendicino the immigration minister is very confident that Canada will get to the 401,000 targets, set in the fall 2020 immigration levels plan.
He stated in a press conference “I am confident that we are doing everything we can to meet that target and we will meet that target and the reason it is important to hit that target is that immigrants create jobs … and allow us to meet our workforce needs,”