Entered Canada today with study permit approved after March 18

[Matt173]

From Seattle to Vancouver airport, 200 usd plus 25 usd gas

How much did it cost for the one way rental car?

 

[Nuttykumar]

From Seattle to Vancouver airport, 200 usd plus 25 usd gas

On what visa u went to usa, how did u clear ur usa embassy...

 

[Matt173]

I don't need visa for US, only ESTA

On what visa u went to usa, how did u clear ur usa embassy...

 

[dope46]

I don't need visa for US, only ESTA

Hey Matt,

I am a Swedish Citizen who happens to have ESTA as well, do you think there is any possibility of me following the same route as you?

 

[Matt173]

I don't see why not but you can't be in the Schengen area in the past 14 days if you want to go the US route. Sweden is. So you would need to spend 14 days in a country that is currently not on the travel ban list of the US. This might raise the risk and cost.

Hey Matt,

I am a Swedish Citizen who happens to have ESTA as well, do you think there is any possibility of me following the same route as you?

 

[dope46]

I don't see why not but you can't be in the Schengen area in the past 14 days if you want to go the US route. Sweden is. So you would need to spend 14 days in a country that is currently not on the travel ban list of the US. This might raise the risk and cost.

Sorry mate which countries are exempted from the restrictions apart from hong kong?

 

[Matt173]

You can check on the US government websites.

Sorry mate which countries are exempted from the restrictions apart from hong kong?

 

[Lksin]

Hi, great to hear from a fellow mate from HK. I actually landed in the US and drove straight to the border with a one-way rental car. I chose a land based border because I got the impression from reading a lot on this forum that border agents at land based borders are more conservative in their political leaning and hence care more about the local economy and logic of regulations whereas at airports border agents seem to be more overly self protective and hence rather interpret regulations overly stringent. That is only my own impression. Not sure it applies broadly. I drove through the Douglas, BC border. Interestingly I was not asked a single question about essential vs nonessential travel. I just spoke the truth that aside my online courses I also need to do graduate level research and he did not ask any questions in response. I am pretty sure that this particular agent would not even have asked anything regarding this issue if I did not volunteer to speak about why I think my travel should be treated as essential.

In summary, I get the impression that a number of border agents seem to be fed up with contradictory and certain nonsensical regulations. Now, that's not a suggestion to ignore regulations on our part but it now makes sense why the border agent did not even raise eyebrows when I was honest and told him I live in HK and flew to US in order to qualify as "coming from the US" to avoid the Match 18 cutoff criterion. The regulation makes zero sense and is indeed stupid when you really think about it and I just venture a guess that many border agents think alike. Hope this helps.

Think about it for second. From a logical perspective, you could interpret this as a loophole: flying directly to Canada I would be bound by the March 18 deadline regulation but when I enter the US and come to Canada from the US (which I did) I also adhere to the regulation when strictly taking it by the exact wording of it. It states "if coming from the US, including non national (meaning non US citizen) then I can enter with an approved study permit if my travel is deemed essential without the March 18 criterion". It seems inconsistent but on the other hand if "coming from US" meant US legal residents (citizen or foreigner with legal residence in US) then that seems nonsensical as well given the US has one of the worst infection rates in the world. Well, I am glad it worked out this way and wanted to share that this might be an option for those who have an approved study permit.

thank you so much! Did you fly to Seattle through a direct fight? Cause I couldn’t find any direct flight from HKG to SEA in Oct..

 

[scaria197]

Hey Matt173,

Thanks for the detailed update.
Question-
Entering on an ESTA and then driving to Canada- will that fulfill the ESTA condition ( max 90 day stay in North America)? Will that later cause a problem if you try re-entering USA on ESTA?

 

[dope46]

You can check on the US government websites.

This is all I could see, does it mean African nations are excluded ?


Can I travel to the United States?/What does the travel order (Presidential Proclamation 9996) mean?
Entry of foreign nationals who were physically present within the following list of countries within 14 days prior to their entry or attempted entry into the United States is suspended, per Presidential Proclamations 9984, 9992, 9993, 9996 and the subsequent proclamation issued May 24, 2020:

Brazil;

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, excluding overseas territories outside of Europe;

The Republic of Ireland;

The 26 countries that comprise the Schengen Area (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland)

The Islamic Republic of Iran;

The People’s Republic of China, not including the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau

 

[Matt173]

Ironically I transited through Vancouver, just had to connect flights, luggage went all the way through.

thank you so much! Did you fly to Seattle through a direct fight? Cause I couldn’t find any direct flight from HKG to SEA in Oct..

 

[leointheair]

wow that's really good to know because my family is under March 18 restrictions too and we were thinking to give it a try...

 

[Lksin]

I am thinking to get into Toronto by air, cause my driving skill is not good enough and my final destination is Toronto. I am afraid the possibility of turning me away is higher than through by land and not at BC border.

Ironically I transited through Vancouver, just had to connect flights, luggage went all the way through.

 

[Matt173]

No way to tell imho, though I guess from comments on this forum it sounds to me like border agents in Toronto ask a lot more specific questions. Keep in mind that different political leanings in different provinces have an impact on how border agents evaluate incoming travellers.

What I mean is that more conservative provinces like Alberta are generally weigh economic benefits higher than the health risk of covid while provinces like Ontario weigh health considerations higher. BC lies somewhere in the middle imho.

I am thinking to get into Toronto by air, cause my driving skill is not good enough and my final destination is Toronto. I am afraid the possibility of turning me away is higher than through by land and not at BC border.

 

[Lksin]

No way to tell imho, though I guess from comments on this forum it sounds to me like border agents in Toronto ask a lot more specific questions. Keep in mind that different political leanings in different provinces have an impact on how border agents evaluate incoming travellers.

What I mean is that more conservative provinces like Alberta are generally weigh economic benefits higher than the health risk of covid while provinces like Ontario weigh health considerations higher. BC lies somewhere in the middle imho.

I got your point. Hmm.. maybe I have to wait until Oct, see any updates for international students, but obviously Im not really hopeful. Just because the route of landing ON is more complicated than BC like you said. Anyway, truly thanks to your humble opinion!!!