NPZ Immigration Law Blog

In less than a month, Educational Institutions in Canada welcome their students back to school. With new updates by the Government. of Canada, this article focuses on providing a checklist for international students planning their travel to Canada for Fall 2021 Semester.

Presently, fully vaccinated and eligible foreign nationals are allowed to enter Canada, without going through a quarantine plan or hotel stopover. A fully vaccinated traveler exemption should have no signs of Covid-19, have received full series of accepted Covid-19 vaccine or a combination of accepted vaccines, and have received last dose at least 14 days prior to day entering Canada. The list of accepted Covid-19 vaccines in Canada are Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Covidshield, and Janssen/Johnson & Johnson.

A fully vaccinated international student should be attending a Designated Learning Institution (“DLI”) with a Covid-19 readiness plan, approved by the province or territory where the school is located. The readiness plan describes how the DLI will manage an international student’s quarantine period, including transportation to the quarantine location. If currently, an international student’s DLI is not on the list, they cannot travel to Canada.

An international student who has applied for a study permit application by May 5th, 2021 for the Fall 2021 semester, a decision should be received by August 6th, 2021. An application submitted after May 5th, 2021, will be processed as soon as possible but IRCC does not guarantee that a final decision will be made before the Fall Semester begins.

Finally, when entering Canada, an international student should provide a Border Services officer with documents – a valid passport, letter of introduction, letter of acceptance by school, proof of finances, completed information on ArriveCan, and proof of complete vaccination. The final determination about the entry to Canada is made by a Border Services Officer.

At NPZ, our U.S. and Canadian lawyers seek to assist clients with regard to employment and family immigration issues. If you or your friends or family should have any questions about any aspect of the Canadian Immigration Law, please feel free to contact us at info@visaserve.com or you can call our offices at 201-670-0006 (ext. 104). We look forward to being able to assist you.