Toronto Airport COVID Testing

Planning to re-enter Canada from international travel was a multi-step process.

Within three days (72 hours) from your flight departing for Toronto (or any of the four airports permitting arrivals from international destinations in Canada) you must have had a PCR test administered and provide a paper or digital copy of the negative test result. This is the first step to re-entering Canada from traveling outside of the country.

All those arriving, not just Canadians, are required to download the ArriveCAN app. The ArriveCan app is available to download on any smartphone and is user friendly. Inside this app, you provide personal information regarding your arrival. You must also enter your Quarantine Hotel reservation details. Lastly you create your Quarantine Plan (for the remainder of the fourteen days mandatory quarantine). Your Quarantine Plan is information on where you will stay when isolating. It prompts you to provide details about your address, and how you will transit home. The app further requests information on what your living situation is like, if you share communal space with others and who else you live with. Once you have completed the necessary steps within ArriveCan, it shows a code that is unique to you. I suggest you take a screenshot of this code, so you have it handy to show when requested. This is also the app you use to provide daily check ins while in quarantine.

When checking in for our flight leaving the USA to Canada, I was asked to show proof of my hotel quarantine reservation. The gate agent also asked to see proof of my negative PCR test taking in the United States. I was also required to show that I had downloaded the ArriveCan app and had completed the mandatory information. I displayed the unique code showing all information and my quarantine plan was submitted correctly.

On the plane you are required to complete your Customs Declaration (blue) form as usual. Travellers in possession of a valid NEXUS card do not have to complete this form.

Upon arrival to the airport in Toronto, passengers must also register for Switch Health. Switch Health is the company that does COVID19 testing in the Toronto airport. You can also register and create a Switch Health account in advance, prior to your departure. I recommend that you do this in advance so you’re not fumbling with your phone while walking through the airport. You can create your Switch Health account from any device - computer, laptop or smartphone. Switch Health also provides the at-home test kit you are required to complete on day ten of your quarantine. Switch Health does not have an app, rather it is just a web portal. Once you create your Switch Health account, you can then proceed to enter the physical queue at the airport. The COVID19 testing at the Toronto airport is completed after you exit the baggage hall.

Once you get off the plane, you walk through the airport towards Customs as normal. While walking towards Customs there are signs posted with the arrivals process, prompting you to scan a QR code to access Switch Health. If you have not already created a Switch Health account, this is a good time to do it. You follow the signage and inside the airport there are airport staff showing you the direction to go. When we arrived the terminal was very quiet and it was not crowded. You are required to wear a mask at all times while inside the Toronto airport. From the terminal you proceed to Customs (generally or through the NEXUS line). Upon meeting with a Customs officer you provide your negative PCR test results, show completion of the ArriveCan app and proof of Hotel Quarantine reservation. Like every time you speak with a Customs officer, they ask you questions about your travel and confirm you understand what the next steps are. Here I recommend you ask further questions if you are unsure of the process moving forward. This is the only chance you have to speak with an official regarding the arrivals process. After Customs, the only people who are available to speak to are airport staff (who are mostly there to direct you), and Switch Health administrative staff and the nurses who perform the test.

After customs you enter the Baggage Claim area, and collect your bags as usual. From there you walk towards the exit and present your arrival printout (from the NEXUS machine) or declaration form you completed on the plane to the final Customs officer. As you exit the Baggage Claim hall there is signage informing you of the upcoming COVID19 testing.

Travellers who are essential workers, travelling for essential purposes exit the Baggage Claim hall to the left. Leisure passengers are directed to the right, entering the queue for arrival COVID19 testing. When I arrived there were less than five people in the queue and I was served right away. This is a two step process. You first meet with a person who checks you in - confirming your name and birth date as you had registered in the Switch Health portal. This person provides you with a biohazard bag containing your arrival test. The second step is where you are directed to the next available nurse who takes the bag and performs your PCR test. For me the PCR test was completed in both nostrils - 15 seconds each. Upon completion of this step you then exit the testing funnel and are provided with a COVID19 at home test kit. This test kit comes in a small blue box and you are required to administer it yourself on day 10 of your quarantine. More on the at home COVID19 testing process below.

Once you exist the arrivals PCR testing you are then directed to your Hotel Quarantine location by airport staff.

Read all about our Hotel Quarantine experience here.

If you are arriving to Canada and want to know more, or need help making travel arrangements, please email Jakki at travel@princeadventures.com. As a trusted Travel Advisor and someone with first hand experience, Jakki is the best person to ask to support your journey home. Email her today!

I DID A COVID19 TEST MYSELF AT HOME, HERE IS HOW IT WENT.