Canadians can cross U.S. border on November 8: What you need to know about the rules

UPDATE:

As of Nov. 30, fully vaccinated Canadian citizens, permanent residents and individuals registered under the Indian Act who take a trip for 72 hours or less will not have to complete a PCR test before re-entering Canada. This change applies to trips both by land and air.

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Fully vaccinated Canadians will be able to cross the U.S. border as early as Nov. 8, according to White House officials, including land travel.

It has still not been made clear if Canadians who received COVID-19 vaccine doses from two different manufacturers will be able to cross the border into the U.S.

What do we know about Canadians being able to enter the U.S. through land, ferry crossings?

On Tuesday, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, announced that individuals who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 can enter the U.S. through the Canadian and Mexican land border, or by ferry.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has decided that Canadians who received the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine can visit the U.S. when new travel rules come into effect next month.

Travellers will have to show proof that they have been fully vaccinated, which will be part of the standard U.S. Customs and Border Protection process. Border officials will have the ability to send travellers to a secondary screening to have these documents checked, at the discretion of the officer.

Individuals who do not have proof of full COVID-19 vaccination will not be allowed to travel for non-essential purposes and there is no requirement to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test to enter the U.S.

What vaccines are accepted by U.S. officials?

This announcement comes after U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decided that Canadians who received the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine can visit the U.S. when new travel rules come into effect next month. This is in addition to the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines used in Canada, while not necessarily mixed doses of these vaccines.

What do I need to do to re-enter Canada after visiting the U.S.?

The Canadian government has not announced any changes to the requirement for international travellers to show proof of a negative molecular COVID-19 test to enter Canada.

Travellers arriving by car, bus, boat, ferry or train from the U.S. must take a molecular COVID-19 test within 72 hours of entry into Canada.

Acceptable molecular tests are polymerase chain reaction (PCR), nucleic acid test (NAT) or nucleic acid amplification test (NAATs), or reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP). Rapid antigen tests will not be accepted.

Testing and proof of vaccination information can be uploaded onto the ArriveCAN system.