zrh2yvr

PCR does not mean high-nasal . . and rapid-antigen does not mean it is not high nasal. In general, in Canada, official PCR tests are generally shallow nasal with or without additional throat tickle. I would not worry about any arrival test being uncomfortable.

jetplane86

I'll be flying from the US to Canada with a transit at a Canadian airport. Is a bit over 1 hour enough time for immigration and arrival testing? The other options are really long layovers which I'd prefer to avoid if I can!
And how about the return to the US? They'd need to check my the results of my covid test during the transit / pre-clearance.

Finkface

Your post isn’t really clear. You say US-Canada with a transit at a Canadian airport. Does that mean you are connecting to another domestic flight within Canada? If so, one hour is most definitely not enough time as you will be entering Canada at your first stop, see below.

Or are you transiting to an international flight? If an international flight, what Canadian airport, to where, and on what airline(s)? The answer will depend on whether you will need to actually enter Canada or not.

If needing to enter Canada, first question is are you eligible to enter Canada? If so, depending on how you are eligible, it could take anywhere from a few seconds (Canadian citizen or PR), to a few minutes (immediate family of a Canadian citizen/PR with the required documents, visa with everything in order), to much longer (IMM006, first time landing as a PR, student arriving too early, not complete docs or ArriveCan etc). Then you will need to do an arrival test which can take a fair amount of time as well. An hour won’t cut it.

Second question is, assuming you are arriving after July 5, are you fully vaccinated with a Canadian approved vaccine and 14 days has passed? If not vaccinated, you open up a whole new can of worms with needing to hotel quarantine and then home quarantine so you won’t be going anywhere that day.

So a bit more information is needed before we can even begin to answer.

jetplane86

I should have added more details in my original post! Thanks for your response.

I'm a fully vaccinated Canadian citizen living in the US. I'm planning to visit family in Canada in late July or early August. When I checked on Google Flights, the top ranked options usually have transit times between ~1-1.5 hours in YUL or YYZ. Final destination is YVR. This seems incredibly short given entry procedures. On the other hand, I would hate to be in transit for 10 hours! How much time is reasonable? This is my first flight back to Canada since 2019.

On the return to the US, I'd want the shortest transit possible since my covid test would need to be completed max 72 hours before my last leg. I want to give myself enough time in transit so I don't risk missing my flight (pre-clearance, covid test check), but not too much that I run into issues with the validity of my covid test!

mountainboy

I have noticed this problem. Many flights through YYZ/YUL/YVR to other Canadian points have very unrealistic connection schedules. Is this because the processes are super-streamlined (unlikely), or the passenger loads are small so it to not matter (unlikely), or should we accept continue-next-morning-hotel-is-your-problem. It is an aspect that causes me to not book travel.

hoipolloi

What if we are fully vaccinated couple and our small child is NOT vaccinated and our final destination is Halifax ? Can we enter Canada in YUL then take a YUL-YHZ flight, on a separate ticket, the same or follwing few days if our arrival tests are negative ? We are Canadian citizens.

The objective is so that we can stay in Halifax at my parents-in-law's house so that we have extra support and yard while the child is quarantining there, rather than at our YUL condo.

sydneyracquelle

USA allows a little more time than Canada. The rules for USA are 3 days. Not 72 hours.

sydneyracquelle

Separate ticket is completely irrelevant. Kid has to quarantine for 14 days anywhere in Canada but the 3-day hotel is waived for kids. So the kid must go directly to place of quarantine (Halifax) so you need to take the first connection you can.

jetplane86

Ah that's good to know!

newzenith1

I'm glad to report that in the updated ArriveCAN app from July 5, they've updated their question for pre-departure covid test and specifically allowed Canada to be selected as the country where the test is taken. This means if you're just taking a day trip from Canada to US and back to Canada in a couple of days, one covid test from a Canada lab before you leave your Canadian home is enough.

I also got an Air Canada customer service agent to call me back after I submitted this very question a few days ago, and she confirmed on the phone that my test taken in Canada can be used for boarding at a US gate for a Canada-bound flight, as long as the sample was taken in less than 72 hours before the flight departure time.

escape4

Thanks for the update. I am glad to hear that some degree of sanity prevailed.

jetplane86

Do you know how if this similarly works in the other direction? ie. flying from US to Canada, would I be able to use a US PCR tests (<3 days) to return to the US? Or perhaps use the PCR test done on arrival in Canada to return to the US? I'm thinking of weekend family visits while reducing the need for so many tests in such a short period of time. I'm already fully vaccinated.

Finkface

I have used a test taken in the US to re-enter the US within 72 hours. No problem at all.

Finkface

ArriveCan updated just before midnight EST last night. I entered my flight info and it then asks if your travel is exempt. Answer is “no” as it means exempt travel such as an essential worker etc. It then asks purpose of travel (returning citizen etc) and then another screen asking if are vaccinated. Answering yes takes you to a drop down menu where you select which vaccine you got. Interestingly, it shows all vaccines, not just the Canadian approved one. I have no idea what happens if you select a non-approved vax such as Sinopharm but the option is there. Once selected, it takes you to a screen where you enter your first and second dose info and then prompts you to scan your vaccine card. Pretty easy all things considered. There is now a big I next to my name on the receipt, for immunized. Will report back on how it goes after we fly back tomorrow.

jlisi984

Thanks Finkface - really appreciate the update.