COVID-19: Summary of Order in Council restrictions on entry by air

By Crease Harman

SUMMARY (March 17, 2020) of Government of Canada Order in Council (OiC) restrictions on entry by air:

  • Duration [OiC s.5]: Order will be in effect from noon EDT on March 18, 2020, until noon EDT June 30, 2020
  • General Prohibition [OiC s.2]: Foreign nationals (as defined in IRPA) are prohibited from entering Canada if they arrive by air from a foreign country
  • Exceptions [OiC s.3]: Prohibition does not apply to:
    1. A person who has only been in the US or Canada in the 14 days before they arrive in Canada
    2. An immediate family member of a Canadian Citizen or PR (as defined in IRPA)
    3. A person registered under the Indian Act
    4. A person authorized IN WRITING by a Canadian consular officer to enter Canada for family reunification
    5. A crew member, as defined in the Canadian Aviation Regulations
    6. A person who is exempt from the TRV requirement under R190(2)(a) of the IRPR, and immediate family members (holders of passports containing diplomatic/consular/official acceptance by DFAIT AND accredited as a diplomat/consular officer/representative/official of another country/the UN & agencies/international organization)
    7. A person who enters at the invitation of the federal Minister of Health to assist in COVID-19 response
    8. A person who enters by means of RCAF/DND aircraft
    9. A member of the CF or a visiting force (as defined in Visiting Forces Act)
    10. A protected person (as defined at A95(2) of IRPA
    11. A French citizen who resides in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, who has been only in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, the US or Canada in the 14 days before entry
    12. A person or class of persons who, in the opinion of the Chief Public Health Officer:
      • Do not pose a risk of significant harm to public health, or
      • Will provide an essential service while in Canada
    13. A person whose presence in Canada in in the national interest, in
      the opinion of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Citizenship and Immigration,
      or Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
    14. A person who arrives by air if the scheduled arrival is before 11:59
      pm EDT on March 18, 2020
  • Definition of immediate family member [OiC s. 1]: For the purposes of this order, immediate family member includes:
    1. Spouses or common-law partners
    2. Dependent children (including dependent children of spouses/common-law partners)
    3. dependent children of dependent children in paragraph b.
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