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ArriveCAN App is soon to be Compulsory

Posted on 05/11/2020

The ArriveCAN app was unveiled last April by immigration authorities in Canada. If you haven’t started using it to communicate information on your health status and period of self-isolation when you arrive in Canada, you should think seriously about doing so as soon as possible.

From November 21, 2020, ArriveCAN will be required by anyone whose final destination is in Canada, in order to submit their health and other relevant information digitally by means of the app before they will be allowed to board their flight to Canada. In other words, you will use the ArriveCAN app to submit information digitally to Canadian authorities rather than doing so through when arriving at your Port of Entry in Canada.

The app will help you submit information like:

  • Your state of health (your COVID symptoms self-assessment)
  • Your quarantine plan upon arriving in Canada (Your place of quarantine, who will be living there with you and whether they include vulnerable people at greater risk from COVID, whether you have planned for deliveries of food and medicine to your place of quarantine)
  • Your contact information (phone, cellphone, email, etc.)
  • Your travel information (when, where, and on what flight you’ll be arriving in Canada, purpose of your travel to Canada)
  • You may also use the app to communicate the same information about:
    • Your spouse or common-law partner
    • Your children aged 18-years or younger (or under your guardianship)
    • Any other adult for whom you are a guardian
  • Once you have submitted your information using the app, a receipt page will appear which you should print out to show to immigration officials when you arrive in Canada.
    • If you can’t print the receipt take a screenshot of the receipt to show to officials.

If you cannot for some reason use ArriveCAN, you will have to call the following number and provide the above information by phone to Canadian authorities:

  • 1 – 833 – 641-0343
  • The above toll-free phone number can also be used when arriving by sea or land in Canada.
  • Please Note! If you don’t use ArriveCAN before you board your flight you will NOT be able to use it once you arrive in Canada and you will have to continue communicating with authorities by phone through the above number. You may also receive calls from provincial health authorities to monitor your period of quarantine.
  • It will take longer to be processed at your Port of Entry if you cannot use ArriveCAN and instead use the above phone number.
  • As well, if you don’t use ArriveCAN your so-called non-compliance rating (how close you are to not meeting your obligations under Canada’s travel restrictions and therefore being assessed as a public health risk) may be affected.
  • Please Note! You may be subject to verbal warnings, delays, $1,000 fines, or other enforcement measures if you do not use ArriveCAN to digitally submit your information to Canadian authorities.

The ArriveCAN app is available at the following locations:

  • Google Play for Android (go here)
  • App Store for iOS (go here)
  • Online (go here to sign up)

FAQs about ArriveCAN

My final destination is not in Canada. Do I need to submit information through ArriveCAN?

  • No, you do not. Use ArriveCAN only if your final destination is in Canada.

I’m having trouble submitting information through ArriveCAN. Who do I contact?

Where I am has inadequate infrastructure (internet etc.) or I have disabilities which prevent me from using ArriveCAN. Do I have to use ArriveCAN anyway?

  • You may not have to as exceptions will be made.

Will I enjoy faster processing at my Port of Entry if I use ArriveCAN?

  • Yes, at Vancouver’s, Calgary’s, Toronto’s, and Montreal’s international airports you should enjoy dedicated lanes if you have used ArriveCAN which should speed up your processing.

Will ArriveCAN track my movements in Canada?

  • Your privacy will be protected.

Posted in News Tips and tagged COVID-19, Travel to Canada

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