Canada Announces New Travel Rules For Canadians Flying from South Africa
Recently, Canada announced its travel ban to ten countries due to the new COVID-19 variant – Omicron. Saturday evening, after Canadians voiced out their concerns about the new travel rules, the government temporarily modified the said travel rules and allowed Canadians to return home from South Africa without having to undergo a COVID test in a third country. Provided that they meet Canada’s eligibility requirements, Canadian citizens, as well as permanent residents, will be permitted to get a pre-departure test in South Africa.
Below are the following eligibility requirements stated on the government website (https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/south-africa):
- To travel on a direct Air Canada or Lufthansa flight to Canada, travelers must transit through Frankfurt airport.
- Travelers must obtain a pre-departure COVID-19 molecular test from any of the accredited laboratories in South Africa, not more than 48 hours before their departure, or a positive test result between 14 and 180 days prior to departure.
- Transit through Cape Town or Johannesburg going to Frankfurt, Germany on a Lufthansa flight that departs on or before December 13, 2021.
As of now, travelers from 10 countries, namely; South Africa, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Namibia, Mozambique, Malawi, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Botswana are restricted to enter Canada. However, if you are a Canadian returning home from either of the mentioned countries, regardless of your vaccination status, you will have to undergo isolation upon arrival. In addition to this, you will have to do COVID-19 tests upon arrival and on your 8th day of quarantine.
Note that all vaccinated travelers from all parts of the globe other than the United States will have to do an on-arrival test along with quarantine until they receive a negative result. If the result says otherwise, they will remain in isolation for another 10 days. Meanwhile, all unvaccinated travelers from all countries aside from the United States who are eligible to enter Canada will need to undergo home quarantine for 14 days.
