A one-time exemption for vaccinated travelers is authorized by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for those who were unaware of the requirement to submit their information in ArriveCAN, Global News reported.
This measure has been in place at the land border since May and applies to travelers with no history of non-compliance.
“Canadian citizens, permanent residents and persons registered under the Indian Act entering Canada who may not have been aware of this requirement […] are exempt from quarantine, testing and fines on a one-time basis,” CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy said in an email to the media.
The exemption has been extended since July 29 to fully vaccinated foreign nationals arriving in the country from a land point.
“After this one-time exemption, Canadian citizens, permanent residents and persons registered under the Indian Act who do not submit their information through ArriveCAN will be subject to quarantine and testing and may also be fined,” Purdy said.
A foreign national who does not meet the ArriveCAN criteria after the one-time exemption will, however, be denied entry to Canada.
Recall that the ArriveCAN application was launched in April 2020 to control the admissibility of travelers due to the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From May 24 to August 4, the exemption was used 308,800 times out of the 5,086,187 travelers crossing the land border.