U.S. Land Border Restrictions on Travel From Canada and Mexico Extended Through August 21

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will continue to implement the ban on “non-essential” travel across U.S. land borders and ferry travel with Canada and Mexico through August 21, 2021, according to a set of notifications to be published in tomorrow’s Federal Register. The restrictions were due to expire today, July 21.

The Canadian government recently announced that effective August 9 at 12:01 EDT, non-essential travel from the United States to Canada will be allowed for fully vaccinated U.S. nationals and permanent residents who reside in the United States; these travelers will also be exempt from quarantine in Canada.

Also, beginning September 7, fully vaccinated travelers from all other countries will also be able to enter Canada without quarantine as long as the status of the COVID situation in Canada remains favorable, according to the Canadian government. The United States has not announced a similar relaxation of its border policy. U.S. restrictions will be continue to be reviewed based on the status of the COVID emergency in the coming month.

Background

The initial ban on non-essential travel across the northern and southern borders began on March 21, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak; it was originally scheduled to expire in April 2020 but has been extended continuously in one-month increments. The restrictions do not affect air travel.