Ministers of Canada for immigration, health & public safety declared new travel updates for students on 2nd October 2020.
Canada is relaxing the travel restrictions for study permit holders. To be in effect from 20th October, the international students who are accepted at a Canadian designated learning institution (DLI) will now be allowed to enter into Canada if their DLI holds a COVID-19 plan which is approved by the province or territory in which the DLI is situated in.
Same is the case for all travelers coming to Canada and people who are exempted should self-quarantine for 14 days once they enter Canada. An official announcement from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) stated that further details will be announced on its website on 8th October 2020.
At the time of introduction of the travel restrictions, students we only allowed to enter into Canada if their study permit applications were approved prior to 18th March 2020.
Canada has also exempted students from the travel restrictions in case they are arriving from the USA. Although until 20th October, students can travel to Canada only if their study program/course demands in-class presence, for example labs or workshops.
Canada initially closed its borders between 18th March and 30th June 2020. Since then, travel restrictions were extended every month. As of now, travelers from USA are not allowed in case of non-essential travel until 21st October and travel restrictions for other countries are extended till 31st October 2020. A certain category of individuals are already exempted from the travel restrictions in case they are travelling to Canada for essential reasons like working in Canada or reuniting with a family member such as their spouse.