COVID-19 and International Travel
Level 1 - Practise health precautions (more details)
Original publication date: March 14, 2020
Updated: May 12, 2025
Current Situation
COVID-19 continues to spread within Canada and around the world. Outbreaks can happen where you’re travelling, and new variants of concern may also emerge.
Before your trip
Talk to a healthcare provider or visit a travel health clinic preferably about 6 weeks before your trip to get personalized health advice. Even if your travel date is coming up soon, it’s still worthwhile to make an appointment.
Discuss:
- which pre-travel vaccines or medications may be right for you, including the COVID-19 vaccine
- Vaccination is one of the most important ways to protect yourself from developing serious complications from COVID-19.
- The COVID-19 vaccines used in Canada are very effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19.
- whether your routine vaccinations are up-to-date. Some vaccines require a booster dose
- the medications you’re currently taking or planning to bring with you
Don't travel if you're sick with COVID-19-like symptoms.
Review the travel advice and advisories page for your destination. The 'Health' section has information on the health risks at your destination and the steps you can take to reduce those risks.
Travel advice and advisories by destination
Sign up with the Registration of Canadians Abroad service to stay connected with the Government of Canada in case of an emergency abroad or an emergency at home.
Registration of Canadians Abroad
Pack a travel health kit and consider purchasing travel insurance.
Travel health kit
Travel insurance
During your trip
What you do while travelling can affect your chances of getting or spreading COVID-19.
- Settings where the risk of getting or spreading COVID-19 is increased include those that are small, crowded, poorly ventilated, and ones where people are visiting for longer periods of time. Examples include:
- large indoor events like concerts, conferences, and sporting events
- indoor bars
- travel in crowded and enclosed and/or poorly ventilated forms of transportation (e.g., a local bus/minibus)
- The risk is higher if people are also singing, shouting or beathing heavily (like when exercising) in these settings.
How to reduce your risk of getting or spreading COVID-19
Consider your personal risks and make informed decisions on using personal protective measures to help keep yourself and others safe, including:
- limiting contact with others when you’re sick
- wearing a well-constructed, well-fitting mask when appropriate (i.e., if you’re sick or in a crowded or closed space like train stations or airports)
- improving indoor ventilation when possible (i.e., opening windows or doors if weather permits and if safe to do so)
- practising hand hygiene
- covering your coughs and sneezes
cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces and objects
Learn more about:
- Respiratory infectious diseases: How to reduce the spread with personal protective measures
- Clean your hands to help reduce the spread of infectious diseases
- COVID-19 mask use: Advice for community settings
- COVID-19: Spread, prevention and risks
- Mass gatherings
- Tips for healthy travel
- If you become sick or injured while travelling outside Canada or after your return
Returning to Canada
Don't travel if you're sick with COVID-19-like symptoms.
If you feel sick while travelling back to Canada, you should:
- put on a well-constructed, well-fitting mask, if possible
- limit contact with other people, if possible
- tell the flight attendant, cruise staff, and/or a border services officer as soon as possible. You may be referred to a quarantine officer for a health assessment and further direction.
If you become sick after you return to Canada, call a healthcare provider and let them know what symptoms you have and which countries you visited.
Learn more:
If you become sick or injured while travelling outside Canada or after your return
Information for Health care professionals
The Committee to Advise on Tropical Medicine and Travel (CATMAT) has a statement on COVID-19 and International Travel.
Statement on COVID-19 and International Travel
Learn more:
COVID-19: For health professionals
- Date modified: