COVID-19 Boarding flights, trains and cruise ships in Canada

Travellers should consider their entire journey and which Canadian airports they are flying from, as well as their return journey home.

This list of airports may evolve over the coming weeks and months. If you don't see a small airport listed, you can find details about what is needed on travel from remote communities.

A Gateway Airport is an airport that has been identified as a hub for travel to and from remote communities and where vaccination requirements apply. COVID-19 molecular self-test kits are provided to remote travellers at those airports.

Vaccines accepted by the Government of Canada for the purpose of travel to and within Canada:

• AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD (ChAdOx1-S, Vaxzevria, AZD1222)
• Bharat Biotech (Covaxin, BBV152 A, B, C)
• Janssen/Johnson & Johnson
• Moderna (Spikevax, mRNA-1273) including for children aged 6 to 11 years
• Novavax (NVX-COV2373, Nuvaxovid, Covovax)
• Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty, tozinameran, BNT162b2) including for children aged 5 to 11 years
• Sinopharm BIBP (BBIBP-CorV)
• Sinovac (CoronaVac, PiCoVacc)

To qualify as a fully vaccinated traveller, you must have received 1 of the following, at least 14 calendar days prior to the day you travel:

• at least 2 doses of a vaccine accepted by the Government of Canada for the purpose of travel
• or a mix of 2 accepted vaccines
• or at least 1 dose of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine

If you’re fully vaccinated and a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person registered under the Indian Act, you may:

• take connecting flights or board a train after entering Canada
• board a cruise ship after taking a COVID-19 test

Canadians, permanent residents, and persons registered under the Indian Act who don't qualify as fully vaccinated can’t take a connecting flight or train or cruise ship.

New permanent residents and resettling refugees who don’t qualify as fully vaccinated will be allowed to travel onward in Canada in order to get established.

If you’re a foreign national allowed entry into Canada without qualifying as fully vaccinated, you may take a connecting flight that is scheduled to depart within 24 hours of the departure time for your flight to Canada. Foreign nationals authorized entry into Canada can continue to their final destination using their valid pre-entry test result as long as the scheduled departure time of their domestic flight is within 24 hours of the departure time for their flight to Canada.

If you’re a foreign national allowed entry into Canada and connecting with a cruise ship, you must take either:

• a COVID-19 molecular test within 72 hours of your scheduled boarding time, or
• an antigen test taken no more than 1 day before your scheduled flight or entry to Canada by land or water.

You can also provide proof of a positive molecular test taken at least 10 calendar days and no more than 180 calendar days before entering Canada.

Air and rail

Foreign nationals who don’t qualify as fully vaccinated and who don’t permanently reside in Canada will be allowed to depart Canada up until August 31, 2022. They must show proof of a valid COVID-19 test result at the time of boarding. After August 31, 2022, foreign nationals will need to be fully vaccinated in order to board a flight or train to depart Canada.

Cruise ships

If you’re a foreign national leaving Canada on a cruise ship you must be fully vaccinated and must take either:

• a COVID-19 molecular test within 72 hours of their scheduled boarding time, or
• an antigen test taken no more than 1 day before the scheduled departure

Alternatively, you can also provide proof of a positive molecular test taken at least 10 calendar days and no more than 180 calendar days before entering Canada.

Your proof of vaccination must include the following information:

• full name of the person who received the vaccine;
• the name of the government or organization who issued the proof or administered the vaccine;
• the brand name or manufacturer of the vaccine or of the mix of accepted vaccines
• the date you received your second dose of an accepted vaccine, or your first dose of Janssen/Johnson & Johnson

Protecting the privacy of Canadians is integral to implementing these requirements. Please note that airlines and railway companies are subject to applicable Canadian privacy legislation with respect to the handling of your personal information. For information on how they process your personal information, please visit their website for their privacy policy or contact them directly.

In the event that any personal information is provided to Transport Canada, it will only be used and disclosed by Transport Canada in accordance with the Privacy Act and its regulations. The personal information collected, as well as its use, disclosure and retention, will be described in the applicable personal information banks, which are currently being developed and/or modified, and will be published on Transport Canada’s Info Source page.

Transport Canada’s Privacy Notice Statement

If your child has just turned 12, there is a 4-month exemption period following their 12th birthday in which they won’t be required to be vaccinated or tested. This gives children the time to receive both shots of the COVID-19 vaccine.

For example, if your child's 12th birthday is in January, they can travel in January through April without providing proof of vaccination or a test result. In May, they would need proof of vaccination. They can also travel with an exemption from their carrier and a valid COVID-19 test result.

Passengers from small or remote communities will still be able to obtain essential services for their medical, health or social well-being, and return safely to their homes.

• Travel from remote communities

Essential medical care refers to booked appointments to receive medical services that are important to saving lives and improving health outcomes.

Travellers who think they may be eligible for this type of temporary exemption should:

• access the form through their airline, cruise or railway company
• have it signed by a Canadian licensed medical doctor or nurse practitioner
• submit the form 2 weeks prior to departure and in accordance with the airline or railway company’s exemption approval process.

If you’re traveling with multiple companies, you’ll need to contact each company.

If you receive approval for a temporary exemption, you’ will also need to present a valid COVID-19 test before boarding.

If you’re only transiting through Canada to reach another country, these vaccination requirements don’t apply. Travellers should check with their air carrier(s) to ensure that they can meet the requirements for:

• Transiting to another country by air

If an unvaccinated passenger must travel due to an emergency situation such as an evacuation due to fire or flood, or an urgent medical reason, airlines and railway companies will have the authority to exempt them from the mandatory vaccination requirement and/or the requirement for a valid COVID-19 test result. Operators will only be authorized to apply this authority, however, when there is an immediate threat to the safety of the traveller.

The following are examples of travel that would not be considered emergency and urgent travel:

• travelling to visit family
• attending weddings, funerals, and attending to personal matters such as buying a house
• seeing/caring for sick family members
• discretionary travel, such as for vacation or recreation
• situations where an activity can be held virtually

As part of the domestic National Interest Exemption Program (NIEP), Transport Canada will administer case-by-case applications for exemptions from the vaccine mandate for travel in Canada’s national interest and/or to support critical infrastructure needs (for example, participation in a COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial). A valid COVID-19 test result will be required.

Personal emergency and urgent travel will not be considered.

Travellers are able to submit applications under the domestic National Interest Exemption Program at least 3 weeks before your travel dates.

Travellers that are unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons, such as a specific confirmed allergy, may be eligible for an exemption to the vaccine requirement.

Travellers who think they may be eligible for this type of temporary exemption should:

• access the form through their airline, cruise or railway company
• have it signed by a Canadian licensed medical doctor or nurse practitioner
• submit the form for review at least 3 weeks prior to departure and in accordance with the airline or railway company’s exemption approval process

If you have a provincial or a territorial medical exemption, your airline or railway may accept it in lieu of the medical doctor or nurse practitioner’s signature.

If you’re traveling with multiple companies, you’ll need to contact each company.

If you receive approval for a temporary exemption, you’ll also need to present a valid COVID-19 test result before boarding.

Leaders and members of a number of religions and religious denominations have released public statements indicating their support for the COVID-19 vaccine specifically in the interest of public health. These include:

• Islam
• Roman Catholicism
• Judaism
• Greek Orthodox
• Mennonites
• Jehovah’s Witnesses
• Christian Science

In addition, a number of provincial human rights commissions have taken the position that objection to vaccination for personal reasons is not a protected ground under their respective Code and does not need to be accommodated.

Applications for sincere religious beliefs may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Your request to your airline, railway, or cruise line must clearly demonstrate your sincere religious belief, how it prevents you from being vaccinated, and be signed by a Commissioner of Oaths.

You must submit your form 3 weeks prior to departure, and follow the airline, railway company, or cruise line’s exemption approval process.

If you’re traveling with multiple companies, you’ll need to contact each company.

If you receive approval for a temporary exemption, you’ll also need to present a valid COVID-19 test result before boarding.

If you’re unvaccinated or don’t have proof of vaccination for travel within Canada, you only need to apply for an exemption in the following situations:

• you’re a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or a person registered under the Indian Act who:
  • is leaving a country that borders Ukraine, and
  • has a connecting flight or train in Canada
• you’re a Ukrainian citizen who:
  • has a domestic connecting flight or train more than 24 hours after the departure of your flight to Canada
• you’re travelling with family who are Canadian citizens and you:
  • are leaving a country that borders Ukraine, and
  • have a domestic connecting flight or train more than 24 hours after the departure of your flight to Canada
• you are travelling with family who are Ukrainian citizens and you:
  • do not have proof of vaccination, or are not vaccinated, and
  • have a domestic connecting flight or train more than 24 hours after departing for Canada

Apply for an exemption

• Submit an exemption request for yourself or someone else and write "Ukraine 2022" in the "Reason" field
• or email: NationalInterestExemption-ExemptionInteretNational@tc.gc.ca with "Ukraine 2022" in the subject line

Air, rail and cruise

If you don't qualify as fully vaccinated and you qualify for one of the limited exemptions that require a valid test result, you must provide proof of one of the following accepted types of test results:

1. Proof of a professionally administered or observed negative antigen test taken no more than 1 day before to your scheduled flight or entry to Canada by land or water
   • the 1 day window does not depend on the time of day the test was taken or the time of your flight or entry
   • for example, if your flight is scheduled to leave or you enter by land any time on Friday, you could provide proof of a negative result from an antigen test taken any time on Thursday, or on Friday
   • it must be administered or observed by a pharmacy, laboratory, healthcare entity or telehealth service
   • the test must be authorized for sale or distribution in Canada or in the jurisdiction in which it was obtained
2. Proof of a valid negative molecular test taken within 72 hours of your flight’s initial scheduled departure time to Canada or your entry to Canada by land or water
   • for example, if your flight is scheduled to leave at 11:00 am on Friday, your test must have been taken any time after 10:59 am on Tuesday
3. Previous positive molecular test result: you no longer have symptoms and provide proof of a positive molecular test taken at least 10 calendar days and no more than 180 calendar days before entering Canada. Counting starts the day after your test.
   • for example, if your positive COVID-19 molecular test was taken on January 1, then January 11 would be the earliest scheduled departure date of your flight to Canada, or the first day you could use it to enter Canada by land or water
   • if your positive proof is accepted you won’t have to take arrival or Day-8 tests
   • a positive antigen test result is never a valid test result for boarding a flight or entry to Canada and can’t be used as proof of a previous infection

It's your responsibility to book, pay for and get the results of your test prior to boarding your flight, train, or cruise.

Types of tests

Molecular tests

• PCR - Polymerase chain reaction
• Nucleic acid test (NAT) or Nucleic acid amplification test (NAATs)
• Reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP)

These tests use methods such as a nasopharyngeal (NP) swab, nose swab, or saliva sample.

Antigen tests

Your antigen test must be administered or supervised by a testing provider, pharmacy, telehealth service, laboratory or healthcare entity.

Phrases indicating a test is an antigen test could include, but is not limited to:

• rapid antigen test
• viral antigen test
• diagnostic immunoassay
• lateral flow test (LFT)
• also could be noted as an Antigen Chromatographic Digital Immunoassay, Antigen Chemiluminescence Immunoassay, or Antigen Lateral Flow Fluorescence