Traveling/Flights to Canada from India during COVID 19
- Thread starter pkhare23
- Start date
AN UPDATE: Lots of assumptions/conclusions in the below post without any concrete sources so take it as you will.
POST FROM FACEBOOK group - Canadians stranded in India
Hi everyone, I've been ask to repost this here:
Flights available to book online or through agents for the month of August apart from Air India Vande Bharat Mission, have not yet received authorization to carry passengers from India. This includes, United, KLM, Air France and Lufthansa, which are all permitted to fly from India through special flights, but do not have any special flights organized beyond August 1st. All airlines, including Air Canada (operated by Lufthansa) are offering commercial flights to purchase on their website for the month of August and beyond. This is because officially, the ban on international flights to and from India is until July 31st. These flights will likely be cancelled when the government of India extends the ban (which it is likely to do, since it has already stated that international flights will only be carried out through travel corridors with a select few countries). So, if you book anything except an Air India VBM flight for travel in August, be prepared for it to be cancelled.
Once the flight schedule of special flights by air France, KLM, Lufthansa, United (and maybe British Airways) is released for the month of August, these flights can be booked by eligible passengers. So far, it seems that those eligible are Foreign Nationals (non-Indian passport holders) and certain immediate relatives (e.g spouse who has PR, etc.). BUT, for the most part, Indian citizens, including those who have PR, COPR, work permit, visa to Canada, etc. are largely not eligible to travel on these flights. This means that the only option for PRs at this stage is VBM flight or Qatar (which is only running in July).
Air Canada usually code shares with Lufthansa, but will not be doing that on special flights out of India. After talking to air Canada directly, it is clear that they will not operate from India, independently or through a code share, in August (unless by a bilateral deal is struck with the Indian government for travel - which seems unlikely).
Let me reiterate - Besides Air India though VBM, no flights and airlines have been officially cleared an authorized to fly in the month of August. I do not know when they will be. Whatever is available on their websites can be booked at your own risk.
POST FROM FACEBOOK group - Canadians stranded in India
Hi everyone, I've been ask to repost this here:
Flights available to book online or through agents for the month of August apart from Air India Vande Bharat Mission, have not yet received authorization to carry passengers from India. This includes, United, KLM, Air France and Lufthansa, which are all permitted to fly from India through special flights, but do not have any special flights organized beyond August 1st. All airlines, including Air Canada (operated by Lufthansa) are offering commercial flights to purchase on their website for the month of August and beyond. This is because officially, the ban on international flights to and from India is until July 31st. These flights will likely be cancelled when the government of India extends the ban (which it is likely to do, since it has already stated that international flights will only be carried out through travel corridors with a select few countries). So, if you book anything except an Air India VBM flight for travel in August, be prepared for it to be cancelled.
Once the flight schedule of special flights by air France, KLM, Lufthansa, United (and maybe British Airways) is released for the month of August, these flights can be booked by eligible passengers. So far, it seems that those eligible are Foreign Nationals (non-Indian passport holders) and certain immediate relatives (e.g spouse who has PR, etc.). BUT, for the most part, Indian citizens, including those who have PR, COPR, work permit, visa to Canada, etc. are largely not eligible to travel on these flights. This means that the only option for PRs at this stage is VBM flight or Qatar (which is only running in July).
Air Canada usually code shares with Lufthansa, but will not be doing that on special flights out of India. After talking to air Canada directly, it is clear that they will not operate from India, independently or through a code share, in August (unless by a bilateral deal is struck with the Indian government for travel - which seems unlikely).
Let me reiterate - Besides Air India though VBM, no flights and airlines have been officially cleared an authorized to fly in the month of August. I do not know when they will be. Whatever is available on their websites can be booked at your own risk.
Can visit visa holders(related to PR) travel at this time? I was able to get tickets HYD-DXB-YYZ AUG 5th
All i was able to get from Emirates was they need COVID tests to be done 96 hrs prior from departure.
Does anyone know any special requirements during these times?
All i was able to get from Emirates was they need COVID tests to be done 96 hrs prior from departure.
Does anyone know any special requirements during these times?
There are multiple questions here:
1. Would Indian government allow Emirates to fly passengers out from Hyderabad (or any other Indian city) on 5th August?
A: I have only read news on Emirates allowed to operate flights from some cities (not including HYD) till 26th July. So hard to say anything beyond that right now.
2. Would India allow you as a person to board these flights to go out?
A: No clarity here, as flight itself doesn't seem to be allowed yet.
3. Would Canada allow you to enter?
A: Looks like answer is yes, assuming you qualify their definition of an immediate family member and you're going to stay for more than 15 days. Reference: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19/travel-restrictions-exemptions.html
1. As long as the PR holder is your immediate family (spouse/brother/sister) You would be allowed. If not then you will need written authorisation letter from IRCC.
2. Even though Emirates are currently operating their flights they have very specific instructions to ferry only those people who have UAE visa and you require GDFRA approval to board the flights. You cannot transit through Dubai because indian government hasn't given permission to Airlines to do so.
3. So even though you have a valid ticket and everything sadly you can't board Emirates at this time. Your only options currently are VBM flights or wait till travel restrictions are lifted.
Unless B1 Visa is banned no one can stop you from transiting through USA. Just have sufficient halt time(immigration and luggage) in USA. USA and Canada are trying to curb unnecessary travel that is why they are saying no.Okay, thanks for sharing that!
This seems rather odd to me, but we're all living in some odd times here, I guess
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Thanks @crackMBA!
I've been also thinking on similar lines. Yet, another possibility could be that some regulation to this effect (no transit allowed) is going to arrive soon. Without having a written record of communication with embassy or any public info on the matter, it's hard to make sense of this.
For now, my takeaway from this is that this option may also have some risks and isn't entirely risk-free. I need to take a call soon, whether I want to take the risks (transit via EU/UK or US) or let the CoPR expire (wait for few to many months).
Still, good to know that I'm not being crazy. Cheers!
Hi @navyasri99, Can I please ask you to share more details on your conversation with the consulate?
I take it that it was a verbal conversation (not a chat or email). Did they also provide any context/reasoning or quote any (new?) rule/regulation? Were you conversing with a consular or perhaps a support staff member? Did you feel that they had properly understood your query and are giving you a confident response?
My apologies for being so inquisitive (perhaps even intrusive). I realize that I'm probably clutching at straws here, but if I end up gaining some more context, it'd still be worth it.
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Even if the embassy or US authorities allows it, the Indian authorities sometimes deny boarding as they are not well versed in the up to date regulations. I don't have a specific example available but I know this always occurs especially in grey areas or if its not a clear cut regulation.
Just something to keep in mind. Perhaps clarify with airport authority or DGCA & obtain a written confirmation.
FYI
I was just googling and found that US airports have no international transit zone. Everybody coming through an international flight has to go through immigration, luggage and customs. After that, they can take next flight or go wherever they want to.
Thanks @crackMBA for alluding to that! I wasn't aware of it.
I was just googling and found that US airports have no international transit zone. Everybody coming through an international flight has to go through immigration, luggage and customs. After that, they can take next flight or go wherever they want to.
Thanks @crackMBA for alluding to that! I wasn't aware of it.
US probably the only country that does not allow any landing without Visa(if not from visa free country).
Also, before this pandemic no airlines would have allowed you to travel on 2 separate tickets and tag the luggage from Delhi till Toronto (even after alliance) but now they know the scenario and doing it from Delhi(which is good).
I believe Europe would be best if you want to travel as of now. USA was never a scene unless you have USA Visa.