The United States to ease travel restrictions imposed on Mexico and Canada as Washington decided to open the borders to travelers from Canada and Mexico, after more than 19 months of travel restrictions due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
From next November, the United States will allow travelers who receive two doses of the vaccine against the Coronavirus to cross the land borders.
From January, obtaining the vaccination will be necessary to enter the United States.
The administration of US President Joe Biden is preparing to reopen the US land borders with Canada and Mexico for fully vaccinated individuals sometime in early November when a formal announcement will be made by the Department of Homeland Security to modify the restrictions.
Senior administration officials who reviewed the announcement said the move to reopen land borders in early November would be in line with the announced policy to ease coronavirus restrictions on fully vaccinated air travelers.
As of early January, any foreign traveler crossing the land border must be fully vaccinated, whether for essential or nonessential reasons, and a senior administration official said the phased approach would provide “plenty of time” for essential travelers such as truck drivers to get vaccinated.
Cross-border travel restrictions have been renewed monthly since the pandemic began in March 2020, and the current restrictions, which were extended last month until October 21, have come under heavy criticism from lawmakers and lobbyists in the travel industry.
Currently, fully vaccinated US citizens are allowed to enter Canada, but Canadians are not allowed to cross into the US by land while Mexico is open to all travelers. There would have been no exceptions allowed.