Travel and COVID-19

Staying close to home can help contain the spread of COVID-19. Some provinces and territories may have extra regulations about interprovincial travel. Please check your destination for any COVID-19 related domestic travel information.

All international travellers returning to British Columbia are required by law to self-isolate for 14 days upon their arrival. They must complete a self-isolation plan. This requirement also applies to travellers returning from the United States. All students and staff who have travelled outside of Canada are required to self-isolate for 14 days after arrival under both provincial and federal orders. To learn how to complete the self-isolation plan and what to do when you return to B.C. see: 

• Government of BC: Self-Isolation on Return to B.C.

For more information about returning to Canada after travel see:

• BC Centre for Disease Control: Travel
• Government of BC: Returning Travellers (PDF 211KB)
• Government of BC: Travel Affected by COVID-19
• Government of BC: Welcoming home a friend or family member (PDF 209KB)
• Government of Canada: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Travel restrictions, exemptions and advice

The Province, through Service BC, will follow up with international travellers in self-quarantine. Service BC may contact returning travellers by phone or text message to ensure they have the support they need to complete their mandatory self-isolation. Service BC can also help travellers create or change self-isolation plans to ensure public safety.

For more information on the Province of BC’s new Travelers’ Program or if you have questions about self-isolation after returning to Canada, call Service BC at 1-888-COVID19.  

Testing before international travel

Some countries may require COVID-19 testing or proof of negative test results prior to entry. Routine screening of people without symptoms for COVID-19 infection for any reason, including for travel, is not performed in B.C. For more details please see:

• BC Centre for Disease Control: Testing information

Travelling between provinces

When travelling to other provinces or territories check the region’s public health information and travel restrictions that your destination may have. People travelling to B.C. must follow the same guidelines as everyone else in the province.

If you were exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19 on a domestic flight, you do not usually require self-isolation. You should self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days. For more information see:

• BCCDC: Public Exposure

For information from other provincial and territorial governments, see:

• Alberta: COVID-19 Travel restrictions
• Manitoba: Travellers' Information
• New Brunswick: Travel Information  
• Newfoundland and Labrador: For Travellers  
• Northwest Territories: Travel and Moving Around
• Nova Scotia: COVID-19: travel  
• Nunavut: Travel and Isolation
• Ontario: Returning from travel
• Prince Edward Island: For Travellers
• Quebec: Instructions for travellers during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Saskatchewan: Travel Information  
• Yukon: COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Update

For information on flights, cruises and public events with a confirmed case of COVID-19, visit BC Centre for Disease Control, Public Exposures.

Find more information about COVID-19 and how to protect yourself, your family and your community, see Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Last updated: November 4, 2020

The information provided in the Travel and COVID-19 Health Feature was adapted from the BCCDC: Travel, BCCDC: Public Exposures, Government of BC: Travel Affected by COVID-19, Government of BC and Government of BC: Self-Isolation on Return to B.C. web pages, accessed October 20, 2020.