Canada will finally open its borders, first to Americans, beginning August 9

The long wait will soon be over for foreigners who have been banned from entering Canada for nearly 16 months.

Beginning August 9, fully vaccinated citizens and permanent residents of the United States currently residing in the US will be permitted to enter Canada. Non-essential travel into Canada has been banned since March 2020, something the Canadian government said was necessary to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.

International travelers may also be allowed to enter Canada beginning September 7, provided that the “COVID-19 epidemiology remains favorable,” the Canadian government said in statement released Monday.

Entry to Canada will continue to be prohibited for all foreign travelers who are not fully vaccinated.

Further, the statement says all fully vaccinated American citizens and permanent residents must have received the full series of a vaccine — or combination of vaccines — accepted by the Government of Canada at least 14 days prior to entering Canada. Currently, those vaccines are manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD, and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson).

Other vaccines, including those from China or Russia, will not be recognized by Canada and officials say they are continuing to “look into it” and will announce policy changes accordingly.

Travelers must provide evidence proving they have been vaccinated.

In a significant concession, unvaccinated minors under the age of 12 entering Canada with vaccinated parents or guardians will not have quarantine for 14 days.

In another change to policy, fully vaccinated travelers will not need a post-arrival test unless they have been randomly selected at the port of entry to complete a Covid-19 molecular test. All travelers coming into Canada, regardless of vaccine status, will need a negative PCR or molecular test within 72 hours of requesting entry.