We have a hunt scheduled for late May/early June in British Columbia. Prior to booking flights I've been trying to sort out the "real" entry requirements, usual travel websites are not much help and a call to Canadian authorities further confused the issue, to say the least. Anyone that has traveled to Canada recently and can provide factual info on covid testing requirements and entry requirements experienced would be greatly appreciated.

Go to ArriveCan site ,requirements sometimes change weekly.Ground travelers have different rules than air line travelers.Currently canadians only require a rapid test to return to canada if by ground.You will have to register to gain entry and by the time you get this all figured out it will change.

quote:

Originally posted by K Evans:
We have a hunt scheduled for late May/early June in British Columbia. Prior to booking flights I've been trying to sort out the "real" entry requirements, usual travel websites are not much help and a call to Canadian authorities further confused the issue, to say the least. Anyone that has traveled to Canada recently and can provide factual info on covid testing requirements and entry requirements experienced would be greatly appreciated.

I’m in a similar situations and spent time today trying to sort out the test requirements.

Thank you for posting

Was supposed to leave for Canada this coming Sunday for the last show for the year.
Their quarantine requirements of 14 days in case of a positive test was just too risky as I have a big safari starting 7 days after I was supposed to get back.
Just canned the trip.

quote:

Originally posted by hvrhunter:
Go to ArriveCan site ,requirements sometimes change weekly.Ground travelers have different rules than air line travelers.Currently canadians only require a rapid test to return to canada if by ground.You will have to register to gain entry and by the time you get this all figured out it will change.

I think the requirements can change hourly, or at the whim of a border agent. I researched the entry requirements at the govt website you mentioned and was unclear about possible quarantine so made a call. The agent I spoke with was nice enough but also told me that upon arrival the immigration officer can require a traveler to take another test, a PCR test,and must wait for results. He sid results can take up to 72 hours, and like Marius,this would be a show stopper for me (on a 6 day bear hunt). Hopefully, all of these requirements will go away very soon. In the meantime I'll be trying to get straight info thru GOABC.

Good Morning Karl,

New guidelines will be forth coming later this month.

I also have a fishing trip to Canada and have been checking. All the testing is coming down to what Biden will do. I checked at the Airport covid testing station last week and they indicated that changes are coming, they just did not know what those changes would be.

You have groups asking for extending the testing requirements and you have groups asking that all testing be stopped. Both groups do agree on that you either keep the testing in place or get rid of it. The travel industry were not in favor of gradual steps down. The travel industry would like to open up and all the uncertainty is causing travel issues.

A solid plan is to have several rapid tests on your person. Test yourself prior to entry and exit. You do not want to have to get involved with a mandatory quarantine under any circumstances. On either side.

quote:

Originally posted by crane:
A solid plan is to have several rapid tests on your person. Test yourself prior to entry and exit. You do not want to have to get involved with a mandatory quarantine under any circumstances. On either side.

Great advice!!

I went to Alberta last November and I experienced it to be very straightforward. A couple tips:

Have all your paperwork prepared, organized, and ready for the customs officer. If I recall, it was passport, vaccine card, completed gun import form 5589 (https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/wam/media/2347/original/d369a605ac3363b569af5ea5dc40c88d.pdf), negative Covid test results, and completed ArriveCAN app.

Here’s the site to understand entry requirements: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-co...trictions/exemptions

I traveled through friendly territory and all customs officials welcomed me as a hunter and wished me luck on the trip, although I can’t speak for any other provinces.

To return, I used these DIY Covid test kits with relative ease: https://store.optum.com/shop/p...home-test-kit-2-pack.

No waiting in lines and running the risk of missing a flight due to testing center delays. All you need is the kit and a WiFi connection, I’ll say if you have a laptop it works better than with a phone.

Karl, feel free to PM me and I can give you my number if you want to chat.

We traveled into Saskatchewan in Dec. Had no issues except 2 of our guys had to take a random Covid test once we got to our destination. Pretty straight forward.

Canada to end pre-arrival COVID-19 testing rule for fully vaccinated travellers
MARIEKE WALSH
ERIC ATKINSTRANSPORTATION REPORTER
OTTAWA, TORONTO
PUBLISHED YESTERDAY

Canada will end its pre-entry COVID-19 testing requirement for all fully vaccinated travellers in two weeks after facing intense pressure from business and tourism groups to ease border restrictions.

A federal source said the rule will be lifted on April 1, but that on-arrival random testing will remain in effect to track new variants. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source because they were not permitted to disclose government plans.

People who travel internationally risk getting stuck abroad if their prearrival test is positive under the current rules. The coming change won’t help families returning home in the March break travel rush, who will still need to get tested before their arrival in Canada.

Business and tourism groups say the testing requirement has taken Canada out of the running as a destination for vacation and business travel. Countries such as Britain have already removed any testing requirements but the United States still requires a negative antigen test for vaccinated travellers who arrive in the U.S. by air.

Canadian Chamber of Commerce president Perrin Beatty said the expected change is great news for an industry that has lost an enormous amount of business because of the pandemic. In an interview from Dubai, where he was travelling for business meetings on Wednesday, Mr. Beatty said the change will ensure Canada is again an option for big industry events and other travel.

“This will help to level the playing field for us and it gives hope that we’ll be able to salvage this tourism season even if we lost the last one.”

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault will formally announce the change on Thursday.

Currently, fully vaccinated travellers are required to present proof of a negative test result from a professionally administered antigen test. The antigen test requirement replaced the rule for a more costly and time-consuming molecular test in February. In the past month, the government also lifted its advisory against non-essential travel and ended the mandatory on-arrival test and isolation requirement for vaccinated individuals.

The government defended introducing those rules, and keeping them in place for much of the winter, because the Omicron wave also drove a spike in breakthrough infections. Border testing of fully vaccinated people had a positivity rate of 0.2 per cent in the fall. That shot up to 9.3 per cent in early January but by the end of February had fallen again. The most recent numbers from the Public Health Agency of Canada show positivity among vaccinated travellers was at 1.4 per cent at the end of February.

Last week, the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable urged the federal government to remove the pre-entry testing requirement, which it called a “non-science-based” obstacle to international travel.

Good news, thanks Bwana338!

That is good news, thanks for posting. Hopefully BC will drop their provincial requirement, too. The “random testing” still concerns me, I seem to be a “random test magnet” at TSA and get chosen for the swab test probably 50% of the time.