Good news for potential immigrants: Lately, the CIC website has announced that ,after a pause of 15 months, holders of preeminent resident confirmation (COPR) are now allowed to land in Canada, keeping in mind they will be subject to same quarantine rules as all arrivals.
With this announcement the immigration minster Minister Marco Mendicino has opened up Canada's borders to new immigrants since June 21, 2021.
Until recently, people who were granted Confirmation of Permanent Residency (COPR) after March 18, 2020 were not allowed to arrive in Canada due to Covid travel restrictions. The only way they could quality to land was to meet a restriction exception, which most did not. Therefore thousands of immigrants were stuck in bureaucratic limbo, not quite reaching the status of landing immigrants, although officially permanent residents.
Although this is a pleasant news for most new immigrants, one issue arises from the situation because the 15 months hold on immigration landing has resulted in some Confirmation of Permanent Residency (COPR) being expired since its validity is only 12 months from the medical examination date. For those cases the borders officers are still awaiting instructions from CIC and the government webpage says more information is coming soon.
That being said, there is still plenty to plan for new immigrants at their first arrival to Canada, as all arrivals now are required to takes tests and quarantine in a government approved hotel for 3 days, completing their 2 weeks isolation at home, as long as they are negative to Covid. Once landed, the travellers path will depend on whether they had been vaccinated. To facilitate arrival plans, the Canadian government has provided this online tool.
Yet another good news: starting July 5th, fully vaccinated arrivals can skip the hotel quarantine and will only have to quarantine at home while they wait for the results of their COVID-19 test. Therefore it is recommended that you receive your Covid vaccine before arriving, since hotel quarantine can cost up to $2000 per person.
