Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) has been advocating for a number of measures to facilitate the entry of international students to and within Canada. We’re pleased to share the following adjustments to Canada’s border and travel measures:
- Effective November 30th, 2021, Canada will expand the list of COVID-19 vaccines that travellers can receive to be considered fully vaccinated for the purpose of travel to Canada. The list will include Sinopharm, Sinovac and COVAXIN, matching the World Health Organization Emergency Use Listing. The expanded list of COVID-19 vaccines will also apply to the national vaccination requirement for domestic travel in the federally regulated modes of travel, including air and rail.
- Effective January 15th, 2022, international students (18 years of age and older) must be fully vaccinated to enter Canada. Fully vaccinated students will be allowed to attend any provincially or territorially designated learning institution in Canada. Unvaccinated students under the age of 18 must attend a designated learning institution with a COVID-19 readiness plan approved by the province or territory where the school is located.
- Between November 30th, 2021 and January 14th, 2022, foreign nationals permitted entry into Canada without qualifying as fully vaccinated, may take a connecting flight or travel via rail to their final destination that is scheduled to depart within 24 hours of the departure time of their flight to enter Canada. However, if they remain unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, they will not be allowed to take a plane or train beyond their original connection, except to depart Canada before February 28, 2022.
Recognizing unequal access to vaccines in many countries from where international students originate and a large backlog in study permit applications, CICan continues to seek additional flexibilities that would allow international students to access studies online from abroad and qualify for the Post-Graduate Work Permit beyond December 31st. A final decision from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is pending.
For important information related to current travel, testing and quarantine requirements, please consult the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Covid-19 Travel Tool Kit.