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As an international traveler, you must fulfill several requirements before your departure and after your arrival in Canada. There are some exemptions for fully vaccinated travellers, please see below for more information.

Prior to travelling to Canada, you must prepare a credible 14-day isolation/quarantine plan that demonstrates that you have a suitable place to isolate or quarantine, with access to necessities including food and medication.

You are also required to test negative for COVID-19 within the 72 hours before travelling and provide documentation of your negative laboratory test result to the airline prior to boarding a flight to Canada.

Not fully vaccinated travellers will need to take an additional COVID-19 test after they arrive in Canada before they continue to their planned place of quarantine. Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 will be relocated to a designated quarantine facility, or other suitable place of quarantine.

If you do not have an adequate self-isolation plan, you will be directed to government-managed accommodation where you can safely complete your 14-day self-isolation.

For more information, visit:

• Self-isolation on return to BC (Government of British Columbia)
• Self-isolation and self-monitoring (BCCDC)
• Dos and don’ts of self-isolation (BCCDC)

Travellers are also required to check-in the day after arriving in Canada and to report symptoms daily, either by phone or through the ArriveCAN app.

NOTE: The Government of Canada has introduced additional travel restrictions due to the Omicron variant.

* Please be advised that starting January 15, 2022, certain groups of travellers, who are currently exempt from entry requirements, including international students who are 18 years old or older, will only be allowed to enter the country if they are fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved for entry into Canada (see below for the list of accepted vaccines).

After January 15, 2022, unvaccinated or partially vaccinated foreign nationals will only be allowed to enter Canada if they meet the criteria for limited exceptions.

Exempt unvaccinated travellers will continue to be subject to testing, quarantine and other entry requirements.

Non-exempt unvaccinated or partially vaccinated foreign nationals will be prohibited from entering Canada.

Fully vaccinated travellers, who are allowed to enter Canada, will not be required to quarantine for 14 days or to take an additional COVID-19 test when they arrive in Canada.

To be considered fully vaccinated, travellers must have received the full series of a vaccine – or combination of vaccines – at least 14 days before entering Canada. Currently, vaccines accepted by the Government of Canada include Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD, Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), Sinopharm, Sinovac and  COVAXIN.).

Fully vaccinated travellers must:

• provide documentation of their vaccinations in English, French or with a certified translation
• meet all other mandatory requirements including testing negative for COVID-19 within the 72 hours before travelling
• take a COVID-19 molecular polymerase chain reaction (or PCR) test upon arrival in Canada
• be asymptomatic
• have a paper or digital copy of their vaccination documentation
• provide COVID-19-related information electronically through ArriveCAN before arriving in Canada

Please note: Fully vaccinated travellers must still present a suitable quarantine plan and be prepared to quarantine if it is determined at the border that they do not meet all the conditions required to be exempt from quarantine.

Even if they are exempt from quarantine, all travellers entering Canada will be required to follow public health measures in place, such as wearing a mask in public, keep a copy of their vaccine and test results, and a list of close contacts for 14 days after entry to Canada.

UCW has created a Pre-Arrival Package so students can prepare for their journey to Canada and UCW. The package includes information you need to know before you leave, while in transit and once you arrive.

If you don’t already have somewhere where you can self-isolate, the list of Vancouver hotels on this page offers special rates for UCW students. However, to get these rates, you must book these hotels directly through the hotel websites as listed below.

• All prices are subject to tax.
• These hotels include free Wi-Fi. Every hotel except the Ramada Limited includes a mini-fridge at no extra charge.
• If you’re self-isolating, hotels will require you to stay in your room. Hotel staff, including housekeeping, won’t be allowed to enter your room.

Any questions can be emailed to [email protected].

There are many websites and apps available to order food and groceries in Vancouver. Here are just a few:

Restaurant delivery:

• Doordash
• Uber Eats
• SkipTheDishes

Grocery delivery:

• Parcelpal (also delivers from restaurants)
• Instacart
• Inabuggy

* Use of these links to websites for facilities offering local accommodation linked to, and from this site, are operated by organizations outside of UCW (“external service providers”). These links are being provided solely for your convenience and for informational purposes only. While we have attempted to provide links to reputable external service providers of accommodation for the covid-19 quarantine period, provision of these links does not constitute an endorsement or an approval by UCW of any of the accommodation or services provided by these external service providers. UCW, its employees, servants, agents, successors, administrators, assigns, and contractors do not assume and are not responsible for any injury, loss, damage or any liability whatsoever for the student’s use of these linked websites or the accommodation and related services provided by these external service providers.

While you’re self-isolating, you should be watching out for symptoms of COVID-19. These include:

• fever/chills
• cough
• sore throat
• shortness of breath

If you have symptoms, you should get tested for COVID-19 by a healthcare provider or at a local collection centre. HealthLink BC recommends testing for anyone with cold or flu symptoms.

If you don’t have symptoms, you don’t need to be tested. If you are unsure if you should get tested, use this online assessment tool or call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1.

If you develop symptoms, you must continue to self-isolate for at least 10 days from when your symptoms started or 14 days from when you started self-isolation, whichever is longer.

For more information, visit:

• Symptoms of COVID-19 (HealthLink BC)
• COVID-19 testing information (BCCDC)
• COVID-19: If you are sick (BCCDC)