Your gateway to Canada

WHO CAN AND WHO CANNOT VISIT CANADA DURING COVID

By Atty. Henry Moyal

There is much confusion and often changing rules on who can travel into Canada during the pandemic. For the last year, Canada Immigration has imposed travel restrictions on those who wish to Canada for discretionary non-essential purposes. For simplicity, let’s just say that mostly no one can enter Canada during Covid ( even if you have a valid visitor visa or ETA) unless you fall under a travel exemption. The following outlines who can visit and who cannot.

You can travel to and enter Canada if you’re a

• Canadian citizen
• permanent resident of Canada
• person registered under Canada’s Indian Act
• protected person

or a Foreign National.

If you are a foreign national, you must meet the requirements for one of the following and be:

• An immediate family member of a Canadian citizen, person registered under Canada’s Indian Act or permanent resident who is staying in Canada for 15 days or more

To be eligible, you must be both

• an immediate family member of a Canadian citizen, person registered under Canada’s Indian Act or permanent resident
• staying in Canada for 15 days or more

An immediate family member is defined as a

• spouse or common-law partner
• dependent child (yours, your spouse’s or your common-law partner’s)
• dependent child of a dependent child
• parent or step-parent (yours, your spouse’s or your common-law partner’s)
• guardian or tutor

You do not need a written authorization confirming that you’re exempt from the travel restrictions.

or

• An extended family member of a Canadian citizen, person registered under Canada’s Indian Act or permanent resident who is staying in Canada for 15 days or more

To be eligible, all of the following must apply:

• You’re an extended family member of a Canadian citizen, person registered under Canada’s Indian Act or permanent resident.
• You’re staying in Canada for 15 days or more.
• You have written authorization from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

To be considered an extended family member of a Canadian citizen, person registered under Canada’s Indian Act or permanent resident, it depends on who you’re related to and how.

If your relationship is with a Canadian citizen, person registered under Canada’s Indian Act or permanent resident

You must be

• in an exclusive dating relationship, have been in the relationship for at least 1 year and have spent time in the physical presence of that person at some point during the relationship
  • You and the person you’re in the relationship with must both be 18 years of age or older.
• a non-dependent child (adult child)
• a grandchild (dependent child of a non-dependent adult child)
• a sibling, half-sibling or step-sibling
• a grandparent

If you’re related to the spouse or common-law partner of a Canadian citizen, person registered under Canada’s Indian Act or permanent resident

You must be a

• non-dependent child (adult child)
• grandchild (dependent child of a non-dependent adult child)
• sibling, half-sibling or step-sibling
• grandparent

If you’re related to someone in an exclusive dating relationship with a Canadian citizen, person registered under Canada’s Indian Act or permanent resident

You must be a

• dependent child
• non-dependent child (adult child)
• grandchild (dependent child of a non-dependent adult child)

To qualify, you must

• complete an application for authorization and statutory declaration form
• request written authorization

or

• A person who is authorized by the Public Health Agency of Canada to travel to Canada for compassionate reasons

If you’re a foreign national travelling to Canada for a compassionate reason, you must get an authorization from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to travel to and enter Canada.

Examples of compassionate reasons can include

• being present during the final moments of life of a loved one
• providing support to a person deemed critically ill
• providing care to a person who medically requires support
• attending a funeral or end-of-life ceremony

All other foreign nationals

To be eligible, you must meet one of the following requirements:

• You must be travelling directly from the US for a non-discretionary purpose.
• You must be exempt from the travel restrictions and be travelling for a non-discretionary purpose.

.Attorney Henry Moyal is a certified and licensed immigration lawyer in Toronto, Ontario.
The above article is general advice only and is not intended to act as a legal document.
Send questions to Attorney Moyal by email canada@moyal.com or call 416 733 3193