Understanding Land Border Crossing

What RVers need to know about the new Canada/U.S. border customs requirements.

by

Words by Jan Lee

For many RVers, late winter and early spring are the ideal times to head south over the border. After enduring the cold Canadian months, a vacation in California or Florida may seem like an exotic escape to paradise. Even a short jaunt to Seattle or Portland with the warm April weather may seem exhilarating after the past year of staying at home.

RVers will still need to take a few extra steps this year to cross the border and return home without delays. In late 2021, the U.S. opened its border to land traffic, which had been closed for more than a year as the country worked to reduce COVID-19 infections.

On November 8, 2021, the U.S. and Canada announced new temporary procedures for travellers entering either country. On November 30, Canada made further adjustments to entry requirements (see the section below regarding Entering Canada by Land).

It’s important to remember that the regulations for land travel are not necessarily the same if you wanted to fly to the U.S. However, both countries are making efforts to simplify the requirements at border crossings as they work to eliminate the COVID-19 epidemics in their respective countries.

Entering the U.S. by Land

  • With very few exceptions, foreign travellers (including Canadians) who are not U.S. citizens or card-holding U.S. immigrants are required to be fully vaccinated to enter the U.S. (see below for the definition of ‘fully vaccinated’). Travellers are required to verbally attest that they are fully vaccinated and if requested, provide copies of their vaccination documents.
  • The U.S. accepts eight specific vaccines for entry from Canada (see the link in the sidebar for a list of those vaccines).
  • Travellers must have received the full number of doses required for the specific vaccine. For example, there is only one dose offered from Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (J&J) so the recipient of this vaccine would only be required to have a single dose. A person who has received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, however, is considered fully vaccinated if he/she has received both of the required doses. A booster shot was not required at the time of publication.
  • You are considered fully vaccinated 14 days after receiving the full dose(s) of the vaccine. For example, if you received your last dose on January 1, 2022, the 14 days would start January 2 and would end the day before you arrived at the border on January 15.
  • You must have a record of your vaccinations with you and be able to present it upon request by the customs officials. If you can’t provide a copy to the customs official, you may not be permitted to enter the U.S.

There are different requirements for U.S. citizens and legally recognized immigrants. United States U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesman Jason A. Givens confirmed that “there is no vaccination requirement for U.S. citizens to return to the U.S.,” but added travellers need to remember that “U.S. citizens must be fully vaccinated to enter Canada.”

If one or more family members are U.S. citizens, those travelling in the same group who aren’t U.S. citizens or immigrants will still be required to show full vaccination status. So, even if your child or a parent is a U.S citizen, and you aren’t, you’ll still be required to show that you’re fully vaccinated to drive into the U.S.

Returning or Entering Canada by Land

Canada’s requirements for entry by land are a bit different from U.S. regulations. For instance, all Canadian and foreign travellers re-entering or entering Canada by land who are age 5 or older (with some very limited exceptions) must provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 covid molecular test (note: NOT an antigen test) taken within 72 hours before their entrance to Canada.

This requirement is waived for fully vaccinated Canadian travellers who have been outside of the country via land passage for less than 72 hours. So, if you travelled to Bellingham or Boston by RV and returned two days later, you wouldn’t be required to show a negative molecular test. But if you were gone for a week, a test would be required.

As soon as you receive a negative molecular test result, be sure to register it on Canada’s new ArriveCan website. This step must be done within 72 hours before arriving at the border. Travellers who show up at the border without registering on ArriveCan may be subject to quarantine or turned away. Canada also supplies an excellent screening tool to walk you through entry requirements.

“Before heading to the border, [travellers] should be informed and understand their obligations by ensuring their eligibility to enter Canada,” explained Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Senior Spokesperson Rebecca Purdy.

Those obligations also include having a suitable quarantine plan in place, should the customs official deem that you need to quarantine. While this is unlikely for fully vaccinated travellers that have negative test results and can meet Canada’s entry requirements, you may be required to describe where you’d quarantine if necessary. This verbal plan is mandatory.

The good news is that as of November 30, 2021, Canada expanded the list of acceptable vaccines for entry into Canada. The list now includes the World Health Organization’s (WHO) list of Emergency Use covid vaccines. (see the sidebar for Canada’s travel advisory website).

Canada does provide some exemptions to its vaccination requirements, but that list narrowed as of Jan. 15, 2022, and for the most part, doesn’t affect recreational travellers. Canada’s screening tool (see sidebar), will determine if you qualify.

More Tips for Easy Travel

  • Be sure to consult the U.S. CBP and Canada’s travel websites for updates before heading to either border as regulations may change.
  • Both countries still require you to carry travel documents such as a passport and if necessary, a permanent resident (PR) card.
  • Plan your schedule before leaving home including where you’ll get the molecular test if needed. If you’ll be entering Canada through a rural border, do your homework before leaving home.
  • It takes an average of three days to get the results of the molecular screening test result, so be sure to factor that into your travel time.
  • Fulfill all requirements for entry. These steps are meant to keep people safe while travelling. Getting mad at border officials won’t get you to your destination any earlier.

“[We] recommend travellers monitor the border wait times and attempt to cross during non-peak times,” Givens said. He also noted that the current average wait time at the border is from five to 10 minutes. “[While] wait times haven’t seen significant spikes, we do anticipate to see increases at some point. We ask that travellers remain patient as we work through any potential spikes.”

For up-to-date and detailed information regarding each country’s entry and return policies, visit (Canada) https://travel.gc.ca; (U.S.)  https://help.cbp.gov/s/sidebar-top-5-travel?language=en_US

For a list of vaccines accepted for entry to the US: https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/order-safe-travel/technical-instructions.html#anchor_1635182819015

To access Canada’s informative screening tool, including a list of accepted vaccines, or to register on ArriveCan: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid

*Ed Note: Border crossing laws and regulations may change after our publication date. Be sure to contact  www.travel.gc.ca/travel-covid to stay current before travelling.