There’s good news if you’re planning a quarantine-free trip to Canada from April onwards, with the government there announcing that those touching down on international flights from 1st April 2022 at 0.01am will no longer be required to take a COVID-19 test before departure.
This will make travel to Canada for fully vaccinated passengers test-free, though mandatory random on-arrival testing will continue to be conducted. This is free of charge and there is no isolation requirement if you are selected, so you can still continue with your journey including taking connecting domestic flights.
“We can now take the next step forward and remove testing requirements for fully vaccinated travellers entering Canada. The economy, workers and tourism business owners will benefit from this next step in opening Canada up once again to the world.”
Randy Boissonnault, Canada Minister of Tourism
This follows Canada’s relaxation of pre-departure testing, allowing the cheaper rapid antigen (ART) method for all arrivals since 28th February 2022.
Current PDT requirements
For those arriving in Canada on an international flight on or before 31st March 2022, the existing pre-entry test requirement remains in force, comprising either:
- a PCR test within 72 hours of departure of your final flight to Canada; or
- an ART test within one day prior to departure.
For example, if you are flying to Vancouver non-stop from Singapore on SQ28 departing at 9.15am on a Tuesday, your pre-departure test would have to be taken:
- PCR: At or after 9.15am on Saturday
- ART: Anytime on Monday or Tuesday
Those aged four or below based on date of birth are exempt from the pre-departure test (PDT) when travelling to Canada.
New PDT requirements
For fully vaccinated travellers arriving in Canada on an international flight on or after 1st April 2022, there is no longer a requirement to have a pre-departure test. This will also apply to arrivals in the country by land or water.
For partially vaccinated or unvaccinated travellers, pre-entry testing requirements are not changing. Unless otherwise exempt, all travellers five years of age or older who do not qualify as fully vaccinated must continue to provide proof of a pre-entry COVID-19 test, as outlined above.
Unvaccinated travellers who are eligible to enter Canada will also have a COVID-19 molecular test on arrival and on Day 8, while they quarantine for 14 days.
Which vaccine?
Vaccines accepted by the Canada for the purpose of travel to the country are:
- Pfizer-BioNTech
- Moderna
- AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD
- Covaxin
- Novavax
- Janssen (Johnson & Johnson)
- COVAXIN
- Sinopharm
- Sinovac
To qualify as a fully vaccinated traveller, you must have received, at least 14 calendar days earlier by the day you travel:
- at least two doses of a vaccine listed above; or
- a mix of two vaccines listed above; or
- at least one dose of the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine
There is currently no requirement for travellers to have received a booster vaccine dose in order to travel to Canada.
ArriveCAN remains
All travellers entering Canada, including returning residents, will continue to be required to complete the ArriveCAN pre-entry form within 72 hours of their arrival in Canada.
“Travelers who arrive without completing their ArriveCAN submission may have to test on arrival and quarantine for 14 days, regardless of their vaccination status.”
Government of Canada
This does not apply to those transiting through Canada to another international destination without leaving the secure airside zone of the airport.
For example, passengers on SQ28 from Singapore continuing from Vancouver to Seattle on the same flight are exempt from completing the ArriveCAN form.
Full requirements for travel to Canada
Travel to Canada from overseas as a fully vaccinated passenger becomes a relatively simple process from 1st April 2022.
Canada Entry Requirements
🇨🇦
From 1st April 2022
To travel to Canada without quarantine, fully vaccinated visitors must adhere to the following requirements:
- Be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in accordance with the definition above
- Most visitors travelling by air, including Singapore Citizens, require an Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) to enter Canada
- Have no signs or symptoms of COVID-19
- Upload contact information and proof of vaccination in ArriveCAN
- Complete your ArriveCAN submission within 72 hours of arrival and and have ArriveCAN receipt with letter I, V, or A beside your name
- Complete arrival test if selected (no quarantine period applies)
- Monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days after entry into Canada
Singapore Airlines’ Vancouver flights
Singapore Airlines restarted seasonal non-stop flights to and from Vancouver in December 2021, and has since increased to year-round operation on the route, also de-pairing the city from Seattle from June 2022.
Vancouver flights operate as shown below.
Singapore Vancouver
Flight Schedule
(Now – 31 May 2022)
 |
SQ28 A350 Long Haul |
Days | |||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
| SIN 09:00 |
YVR 08:45 |
||||||||
Singapore Vancouver
Flight Schedule
(2 Jun – 29 Oct 2022)
|
SQ48 A350 Long Haul |
Days | |||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
| SIN 07:00 |
YVR 06:45 |
||||||||
Vancouver Singapore
Flight Schedule
(Now – 31 May 2022)
|
SQ27 A350 Long Haul |
Days | |||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
| YVR 14:30 |
SIN 21:40* |
||||||||
* Next day
Vancouver Singapore
Flight Schedule
(2 Jun – 29 Oct 2022)
|
SQ47 A350 Long Haul |
Days | |||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
| YVR 08:35 |
SIN 15:40* |
||||||||
* Next day
Thankfully there are no longer any designated VTL flights to worry about for those arriving in Singapore from 1st April 2022, though all Vancouver – Singapore flights are quarantine-free both before and after the cut-off date anyway.
Singapore – Canada trip testing
Travel from Singapore to Canada and back will now only require a single COVID-19 test, and that’s in Canada itself before flying back to Singapore (i.e. Singapore’s pre-departure test requirement).
This too is set to be dropped in the coming weeks, which will hopefully open up Canada as a two-way quarantine-free and test-free trip option for those visiting friends and relatives, tourists and business travellers alike.
Clinic antigen (ART) testing in Canada is very expensive, costing CAD 79 (~S$86) at Vancouver Airport, and often even more downtown, with costs of CAD 130 (~S$142) not uncommon.
Luckily there’s a new option for Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents, Long-Term Pass Holders and Work Pass Holders, all of whom are now eligible for Tele-ART supervised remote video testing in Canada with a provider based in Singapore, prior to their return.
Costs start at just S$12, plus the cost of your own test kit which you can bring along with you from Singapore (~S$5), for a far simpler and cheaper way to obtain approval to fly to Changi.
Here’s just a selection of the cheapest options, from S$12 – S$25, including 24-hour services (ideal when you’re 15 hours behind Singapore Time!).
Cheapest COVID-19 pre-departure
Overseas Video ART tests
| Clinic / Provider | Price (inc. GST)* |
Hours (SGT) |
| Kingston Medical | S$12.00 | 9am – 6pm |
| S$25.00 | 6pm – 9am | |
| Hidoc (via mobile app) |
S$12.00 | 8.45am – Midday |
| Intemedical | S$15.00 | 8am – 11pm |
| Speedoc | S$16.05 | 9am – 9pm |
| MyCLNQ | S$20.00 | 8am – Midnight |
| BCH-ART | S$25.00 | 8am – 9pm |
* Plus the cost of providing your own approved test kit.
For a more comprehensive list of pre-departure video ART testing options from overseas and more detail on how they work, see our dedicated article.
Remember if you have recently recovered from COVID-19 in the last 90 days with documentary proof, you are now exempt from all pre-departure testing when travelling to Singapore.
Will the USA follow suit?
When Canada started allowing ART pre-departure testing in late February it brought the country’s then-stricter requirements largely in line with those currently in force for travel to the USA.
What many of our readers really want to hear about is a relaxation of pre-departure testing requirements for the United States, with Singapore Airlines operating 59 weekly flights into seven of the country’s airports this summer.
Currently the USA requires a pre-departure PCR or ART test for all travellers, taken within one calendar day of the departure date.
There’s been some pressure building recently for the test to be dropped, and with Australia announcing it will do so in April we wouldn’t be at all surprised for the USA’s requirement to fall next.
“The pre-departure test requirement, imposed to slow the introduction of variants into the U.S., has outlived its utility and stymies the return of international travel.
“The United Kingdom (UK), the European Union and Canada have recognized this reality and lifted travel restrictions. The U.S. inconsistency with these practices creates a competitive disadvantage for U.S. travel and tourism by placing an additional cost and burden on travel to the U.S.
“Further, many outbound travelers are not willing to risk being stranded overseas.”
Airlines for America’s Board of Directors calling on the U.S. President to to lift pre-departure testing requirements
Those travelling from Canada to the USA by land already do not require a pre-departure test, so it seems like a logical time for a relaxation south of the border too, since fully vaccinated international travellers can soon fly to Canada and then simply drive into the USA without testing anyway.
“Countries around the world have been ending pre-departure testing requirements for international travel, yet these are still in place for travel to the United States. These requirements discourage travel and hinder the full economic recovery that would result from face-to-face meetings linked to the travel and tourism industries. With COVID-19 levels declining around the world and vaccines and treatments readily available, pre-departure testing requirements are no longer necessary.”
U.S Senators calling on the President to end Federal COVID Travel Restrictions
Summary
Canada is the latest major country to remove its pre-departure test requirement for fully vaccinated travellers, axing the mandatory swab for those touching down in the country from 1st April 2022.
Random on-arrival testing will remain, but continues to come without any isolation or quarantine strings attached.
All eyes are on the USA now. Calls from industry lobby group IATA for the US Government to end pre-departure testing in early February appear to have fallen on deaf ears, so let’s see whether Canada’s move and similar pressure mounting in recent weeks will finally tip the balance.
In the meantime Singapore – Canada – Singapore trips now only have a single test required, on the way back to Singapore itself, which is now possible at a cost of only S$12 if you already have your own ART kit in hand.
Let’s hope Singapore’s pre-departure test requirement gets dropped too in the coming weeks, as the government here recently suggested was on the cards.
(Cover Photo: Mike Benna)