Vaccines are being administered all around the world. Canada has fully vaccinated 80% of their eligible population. There has been a lot of confusion around the question whether vaccination is mandatory to enter Canada or not.

Answer to this question is; yes and no. There are certain categories of travelers that need to be fully vaccinated, but most of the categories don’t require vaccination.

Travelers Who Need Mandatory Vaccine?

Canada allowed fully vaccinated non-essential travelers starting September 7. Fully vaccinated means you have received 2 doses of Canada approved vaccines. Below is the list of vaccines approved by Canada:

Moderna/Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine (2 doses)
Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine (2 doses)
AstraZeneca/Vaxzevria COVID-19 vaccine (2 doses)
Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine (1 dose)

If a traveler anywhere from around the world is coming to Canada for discretionary purpose, then they need to be fully vaccinated with above mentioned vaccines. Otherwise, they will be denied entry to Canada. Following are the categories of discretionary/non-essential travelers:

Tourists
Immediate family members of temporary residents (students, workers, visitors) without authorization from IRCC.
Extended family members of PR/Citizens visiting without authorization from IRCC

Travelers Who Don’t Need Mandatory Vaccine?

All the travelers coming to Canada for essential/non-discretionary purpose, don’t need vaccination as a mandatory requirement. Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated essential travelers can travel to Canada. However, they will need to follow the requirements of on-arrival testing, quarantine, and day-8 testing. Following are the examples of essential tarvelers:

International Students
Work Permit Holders
Immediate family members of Canadian Citizens/PR
Immediate family members of Canadian temporary residents (students, workers, visitors) with authorization from IRCC.
Approved permanent residents (who has not yet arrived in Canada)
Coming to receive essential medical services or treatments (for a condition other than COVID-19)
Coming for grief and loss (funerals, visit during the final moments of life, etc.)

We appreciate you asked this question. Vaccination is not mandatory for direct flights from India, if you are traveling for essential/non-discretionary purpose.