On June 29, the Federal Government shut the border to non-Canadian residents to restrict the spread of COVID-19 by mid-March. The extension of the international travel ban was made by a federal order.
Canada announced earlier this year that international students would be exempt from a travel ban as long as they had a valid study permit or have been approved for a study permit before March 18, 2020.
But now, the Canadian Government is considering possible ease of travel restrictions for international students in time for the fall semester of 2020. The Canadian Government is now saying that candidates who had a study permit before March 18 will only be exempt from travel restrictions if they are travelling for a ‘non-discretionary or non-optional’ purpose.
The Canada Border Services Agency said, “All foreign nationals seeking entry into Canada must come to Canada for non-optional or non-discretionary travel purposes”.
Canada will soon be relieving more international students of its current travel restrictions. However, it strongly suggests that Canada will go ahead and introduce new exemptions for international students as long as it is safe to do so, and when it receives confirmation from the respective provinces and territories, as well as DLIs that they are equipped to welcome more international students.