Canada removes travel testing from 1 April

Country is latest to announce relaxation of entry requirements

Canada is lifting testing requirements for vaccinated travellers (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Canada will drop its pre-travel testing requirement for vaccinated arrivals from 1 April.

At present, vaccinated travellers, including Brits, can enter Canada for non-essential purposes – such as tourism – by showing a negative Covid test result.

This can either be from an antigen or PCR test taken within the 24 or 72 hours respectively before boarding a scheduled flight or arriving at the land border. Children under the age of five are exempt from the pre-departure test.

However, this requirement is being dropped from next month – although some travellers may be subject to random PCR testing upon arrival to track new coronavirus variants.

If selected for arrivals testing, you no longer need to quarantine while awaiting the result.

If your arrival test is positive, you must isolate for 10 days.

From 1 April, passengers will still need to “submit their mandatory information via ArriveCAN (App or website)”, according to the UK Foreign Office (FCDO).

The rules stay the same for unvaccinated travellers from this date – they are still not permitted entry into Canada for tourism.

Only unvaccinated Canadian citizens and residents can enter, and are subject to much stricter rules.

It follows the removal of all remaining Covid-related travel restrictions in the UK as of 18 March.

From 4am on Friday, visitors no longer need to complete a passenger locator form or take any Covid tests before or after their journey to the UK – regardless of vaccination status.

The move was announced by transport secretary Grant Shapps on Monday, who told press: “You can travel just like the good old days”.

“All remaining Covid travel measures, including the passenger locator form and tests for all arrivals, will be stood down for travel to the UK from 4am on 18 March. These changes are possible due to our vaccine rollout and mean greater freedom in time for Easter,” wrote Mr Shapps on Twitter.