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Western Mountain Man

Hero Member
Nov 2, 2018
667
294
Canada
My friends are coming from Pakistan via Chicago, then by car [from Chicago] to Canada. Could someone explain me why the hell people are getting exempted from hotel quarantine when they are crossing borders by car ??? Can’t they force them like what they’re doing at the airports??
The direct flights are all banned until June 21st so only the wealthy are able to transfer through the US if they're desperate.
Hope it costs them a bundle and not bring the covid variant with them.
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
17,254
8,872
The direct flights are all banned until June 21st so only the wealthy are able to transfer through the US if they're desperate.
Hope it costs them a bundle and not bring the covid variant with them.
My understanding for both Pakistan and India is that since there are no direct flights to Canada, and that since Canada requires travellers from either country to have a covid test in whatever (third) country the travellers fly from to Canada:
-any traveller would need to get a covid test in a transit country;
-which means either getting the covid test within the transit zone of the airport of that country, or,
-being able to enter the transit country to have the covid test (i.e. having a visa or the right to enter that country and staying long enough to have the test and get the results).

For those who can get to the USA and can enter by car, whatever restrictions at Canadian land border apply.

As far as I'm aware:
-don't know of any countries that currently provide the covid test facilities within the transit zone;
-many countries (eg USA) also have serious flight restrictions from India and Pakistan (with small differences from country to country);
-obviously many India/Pakistan citizens do not have visas to enter those 'transit countries' and so effectively cannot travel on to Canada;
-I do not know but I am guessing that very few countries right now would allow India/Pakistan citizens to enter (possibly even with a visa) just for the purposes of getting a covid test (i.e. they might allow to enter for permanent residence or other purposes but just for transit, they may be restricting and/or not issuing new visas);
-if those transit countries also have quarantine rules for those entering the country (not just transitting through airport), presumably quarantine rules would apply as well.

And obviously for many travellers, the severe inconvenience and uncertainty and additional costs may just be impractical.

I'm not aware of any 'route' to Canada that's proved reliable for large numbers of Pakistani/Indian travellers.

There are lots of people searching and while there are always some so-called 'loopholes', it seems so far that where there are gaps, they're rather minimal and/or limited just to travellers who already have visas/passports that allow them to stop, travel through and get tested in 'transit countries.'
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
17,254
8,872
Addendum to my above: even for those travellers who find a route that seems like it might work on paper - warning! - the airlines can decide not to let you board in case of any uncertainty about what's allowed.

So don't just assume that it will work because you think you've found a way to travel that technically should work.

And also I repeat previous warning: yes, the current restrictions have been extended to June 22. But ALL of the travel restrictions have been on 30-day rolling renewals (this is how it works under law, all restrictions must be re-authorized every month). Do NOT count on them being lifted just because of the expiry date. They will likely be renewed until the covid situation considerably improves.
 

kingofpsg

Star Member
Jul 26, 2017
105
61
Hi all
I have a query tied up with the residency obligations for PR. Is the government considering to ease the number of days (730 days in every 5 year period) considering the fact that people from India/Pakistan can't enter during this pandemic period ? And it doesn't look like the ban be lifted on 22 June. Thus the question on residency obligations
 

scylla

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Jun 8, 2010
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Toronto
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Hi all
I have a query tied up with the residency obligations for PR. Is the government considering to ease the number of days (730 days in every 5 year period) considering the fact that people from India/Pakistan can't enter during this pandemic period ? And it doesn't look like the ban be lifted on 22 June. Thus the question on residency obligations
There are no indications at this time that there is going to be an ease on the number of days required to meet RO.
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
17,254
8,872
Hi all
I have a query tied up with the residency obligations for PR. Is the government considering to ease the number of days (730 days in every 5 year period) considering the fact that people from India/Pakistan can't enter during this pandemic period ? And it doesn't look like the ban be lifted on 22 June. Thus the question on residency obligations
There's a whole forum about the residency obligation here:
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/forums/permanent-residency-obligations.11/

As mentioned, there is no indication that there will be any change to the 730 days requirement.

But: CBSA/IRCC have the ability - indeed requirement - to consider issues that kept a PR from complying, such as travel bans. If your non-compliance is truly because of the travel ban and you return as soon as feasible, you likely have little to worry about (but read some of the threads on the subject in that forum).
 
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canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
55,587
13,519
Hi all
I have a query tied up with the residency obligations for PR. Is the government considering to ease the number of days (730 days in every 5 year period) considering the fact that people from India/Pakistan can't enter during this pandemic period ? And it doesn't look like the ban be lifted on 22 June. Thus the question on residency obligations
The travel ban is only for months while you have 3 years to travel to Canada so the travel ban shouldn't prevent people from meeting their RO
 

Idrissrafd

Hero Member
Aug 12, 2020
299
65
I was reading out of curiosity how can we book a hotel, and there' s a list of hotels listed by the government here : https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/latest-travel-health-advice/mandatory-hotel-stay-air-travellers/list-government-authorized-hotels-booking.html

In that link, we only find :
  • Toronto International Airport.
  • Vancouver International Airport.
  • Montréal-Trudeau International Airport.
  • Calgary International Airport.
However, I was wondering : what about these airports :
  • Ottawa International Airport
  • Winnipeg International Airport
  • Halifax Stanfield International Airport
  • Kelowna International Airport
What happens if someone comes at these airports ? I couldn't find a list of government-authorized hotels for these airports/provinces.
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
17,254
8,872
I was reading out of curiosity how can we book a hotel, and there' s a list of hotels listed by the government here : https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/latest-travel-health-advice/mandatory-hotel-stay-air-travellers/list-government-authorized-hotels-booking.html

In that link, we only find :
  • Toronto International Airport.
  • Vancouver International Airport.
  • Montréal-Trudeau International Airport.
  • Calgary International Airport.
However, I was wondering : what about these airports :
  • ...
What happens if someone comes at these airports ? I couldn't find a list of government-authorized hotels for these airports/provinces.
One of the travel restrictions is to limit international flights to those top four airports listed. The other ones are only working for domestic flights right now. (I presume there are some exceptions but for normal regularly scheduled flights, Toronto Vancouver Montreal Calgary is it).
 

Canada2020eh

Champion Member
Aug 2, 2019
2,194
887
One of the travel restrictions is to limit international flights to those top four airports listed. The other ones are only working for domestic flights right now. (I presume there are some exceptions but for normal regularly scheduled flights, Toronto Vancouver Montreal Calgary is it).
To add a bit more info to your post. It has been limited to those 4 airports for quite some time now. A traveler used to be able to carry on to their destination to do their quarantine but since the hotel quarantine came in to place, that has to be done first then they can travel to their destination to complete the 14 days.
 
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