Finkface

Correct. I thought he meant the home test as that is what he was asking about. I have corrected my post. I’ve used both; the Abbott IdNow to enter Canada and the Abbott BinaxNow antigen test to enter the US. I confused the names as he was asking about home tests.

txp

Thank you very much for confirming. This is very useful.

txp

Hi everyone,

I would like to change topic a bit and ask if anyone who is Canadian citizen living in the US has attempted to enter Canada for discretionary reasons (such as vacation or visiting friends) since early July when they removed the quarantine requirement for vaccinated Canadians.

If you did, I would be grateful if you could share your experience.

Thank you!

jetplane86

Are you referring to the Abbott "home test" sold by eMed or the "self test" you can purchase over the counter at the drug store?

canadiancow

I'm in Canada right now.

txp

I don't know to which test he is referring but I can tell you that I used the one sold by eMed to enter the US and it worked fine.

txp

Thank you. Did CBSA ask for the purpose of your travel and were there any issues with the fact that you were just visiting (as opposed to travelling for an "essential" reason)?

OSSYULYYZ

TLDR: As a Canadian, you cannot be denied entry, but you can be held up (even as a Canadian Resident).

I flew in to YUL yesterday from ORD with my IDNOW NAAT. My primary residence is in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The CBSA Primary Officer in the NEXUS Lane first asked for my docs and asked all the normal questions but the one question that stuck out was how long I had been outside the country. I said 3.5 months (I left Canada on 12 April 2021 and got back 24 July 2021 -- that's 3 months and 12 days). Then asks what I do for work. He then proceeds to ask how many bags I was carrying. I told him that I only had one backpack. The Primary Officer then tries to dig deeper and continues to question how I have been outside of the country for 3.5 months and only have one backpack. I respond that my parents are US Permanent Residents. I assume he was not satisfied with my answer as he crosses out the number given off the NEXUS Machine and then writes another number and stamps the receipt. Finally he adds a blue sticker to the back of my passport (which was probably giving the notice to Biron and other YUL Employees that I was fully vaccinated). I then added the fact that I was living on NAFTA (TD) Status under my parents' TN Status for 10+ years -- it was already too late to change his mind as he had already written another number and stamped the receipt, so no harm there. The TN fact did not come into my mind at the moment he asked as I was thinking why would the CBSA care about how long I lived in the US. (I don't remember what number the NEXUS Machine spat out, but I remember the number that he wrote in, not going to specify it exactly, but I am under the impression that these numbers are rolling daily if not hourly).

Anyways at the Secondary Inspection Area, there were only 1 or 2 people ahead of me. The agent looked at my receipt and asked if I had any bags. This was the first time I was sent to Secondary Inspection Area on a Canadian Passport (obviously previously I had been sent to Secondary Inspection for Immigration Purposes -- can't remember if I was searched then, and I had declared food in the past which was cleared upstairs). Anyways, I tell the Secondary Officer the same thing as I told the Primary Officer. He asks the usual "Anything to Declare" and "Did you pack the bags yourself" Questions. Then he asks how long I have been outside Canada and where exactly my Permanent Residence was located. I told him the exact same thing, and I had added that it was my first time in Secondary. The Secondary Officer asks about work and primary residence and proceeds to search my bags. I mentioned to both the Primary Officer and the Secondary Officer that I was starting work on 2 August 2021. As I did not have any checked bags, I went from upstairs (Primary Inspection) to the Secondary Inspection Area in a matter of minutes. I asked him why I was sent to Secondary, and he replied that he had no idea and he was looking for contraband and undeclared goods (not sure if the Primary Officer made any notes on my file, but I did not see him type anything besides my ArriveCAN Code -- after which he specifically asked for my proof of Pfizer Vaccination after typing in the code, not sure he actually looked at the file I uploaded on ArriveCAN). The Bag Search probably added 10-20 minutes (can't remember exactly). The Secondary Officer then told me that it was not my first time in Secondary at YUL according to his computer, and then looked closer and saw that it had been cleared upstairs (ABC Kiosks then sent to another officer upstairs for food).

After I cleared Secondary, I went up to the 2nd Floor of the Marriott In-Terminal Hotel to get tested by Biron. Travellers who were not fully vaccinated were tested directly in the Int'l Arrivals Area. It took approximately an hour from landing at YUL to getting into my Uber Ride. All in all, a pleasant experience. No reason to file a complaint as I was not yelled at (unlike the plenty of times I have been yelled at by CBP at the Ambassador Bridge and the Windsor Tunnel while my parents were applying for TNs) and the officers were doing their jobs, but being in Secondary did make me more nervous (part of the cost of travel I guess). Now were they sending everyone who was fully vaccinated to Secondary? Probably not, but it is possible. Also the picture below is technically incorrect for those who received the Janssen Vaccine lol.

sydneyracquelle

I have entered Canada as a Cdn living in USA every month since March 2020. Reread this and other threads including my detailed post above on 7/14.

txp

Just did. Thank you for your detailed reports and reassurances.

Finkface

The Abbott BinaxNow home test that includes the telehealth appointment with emed. If you are purchasing from a store (some do sell it, check where on the emed site), make sure it is the correct test that includes the video proctor by emed. Only certain places sell it in store. https://www.emed.com/walgreens Don’t just get the home test with no video monitoring. It doesn’t provide the result needed for travel. They can also be ordered from emed or Optum.

cheltzel

I believe there is no difference between the self administered BinaxNow test and the Covid-19 AG Card test sold by Emed. The critical difference as you point out is with the Emed test, you must start a online session with a registered/licensed professional and that person monitors you performing the test and issues a formal certificate. And that is what makes the Emed variant acceptable for immigration authorities and the airlines.

There is a pretty exhaustive discussion on this in the UA forum.

UA: Use Home Testing Kit for U.S. Return from International

under2100

I flew into YVR last night (Sunday). I took my own advice (upstream in this thread) and chose to arrive from SEA on AC8094, although it took some effort to work that leg as the final flight of my trip. I am non-essential, non-Canadian, non-PR, fully vaccinated (in Europe), eligible to enter under the current rules. I had the Walgreens ID NOW test result, completed Arrivecan, and pre-registered with Lifelabs. I also paid to select a seat near the front of the (all economy) turboprop, although the plane only holds about 75 passengers, so even disembarking near the end is probably not too bad. On this trip, the flight was completely sold out, as compared to two weeks ago, when it was half empty. However, just as before, when we landed, the arrivals hall and testing center were completely deserted, as there are no scheduled international arrivals within the previous hour before our landing. They were subdividing arrivals into Nexus, non-vaccinated non-Nexus, and vaccinated non-Nexus. I happened to be the first person to complete Nexus formalities, so went straight to the officer who was very friendly. She just asked why I'd been away, and sent me on my way in a couple minutes. After the customs hall, the testing queue was divided into pre-registered and non-registered, and there were plenty of staff working for the few people in either half, so I went straight to a booth to complete the testing admin, which just took a couple of minutes. The testing tents were similarly empty, so I got my sample taken in a minute or so. I asked some of the workers along the way whether it had been busy earlier, and they all said yes. I asked the final guardian who were segregating non/quarantines what percentage of people were exempt, and he just said 'lots'. I asked if that was over half, and he said yes. He then complained about how it was way too busy with the number of passengers arriving, and he was very tired from all the work and was not looking forward to it getting even busier in August. Anyway, until the flight schedules change in the future, I think that at the moment, the 6.44pm arrival is a good one to pick into YVR if you want to avoid the crowds.

Finkface

While you are correct that the test itself is the same, not all of the BinaxNow tests can be used with emed’s telehealth monitored testing. Maybe something to do with the barcode? Not sure but just make sure you buy the correct test.

canadiancow

I don't even recall if they asked. It was a very simple process.

I was born in Canada, and I've been sent to secondary at least twice. It's not that uncommon.

I don't even know why a complaint would cross your mind.