Feds Are Making 'Improvements' To ArriveCAN So It's 'Faster & Easier' To Use When Travelling

The federal government is making "improvements" to ArriveCAN so that it's "faster and easier" to use in an attempt to reduce airport delays and wait times.

In a statement shared on June 24, federal government officials provided an update on the progress being made to ease wait times at airports after they had a meeting with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), CEOs of Canada airlines and airports, and others.

"The government of Canada continues to make improvements to ArriveCAN so it is faster and easier for travellers to use," officials said.

Travellers arriving at Toronto Pearson Airport and Vancouver International Airport will be able to "save time" by using the Advance CBSA Declaration feature to submit their customs and immigration declaration before their arrival.

That option will be available on both the ArriveCAN app and website as of June 28.

Another change is that frequent travellers can use the "saved traveller" feature in ArriveCAN which allows them to save their travel documents and proof of vaccination information so it can be reused for future trips.

The next time the traveller goes to make a submission before they arrive in Canada, their saved information will be pre-populated.

Federal officials said that this will make the process "faster and more convenient."

All travellers must use ArriveCAN and submit their information within 72 hours before their arrival in Canada.

Not using ArriveCAN could mean being denied entry into Canada, not being eligible for the fully vaccinated travel exemption, facing additional delays at the border for questioning and potentially being subjected to fines or other enforcement actions.

Other measures that have already been put in place by the federal government include hiring more screening officers, maximizing the availability of CBSA officers, adding additional kiosks at Toronto Pearson Airport, temporarily suspending random COVID-19 testing and adding additional PHAC staff to verify ArriveCAN submissions.

"We are making progress, but we also recognize that there is still work to be done. We continue to take action with air industry partners to reduce the delays in the travel system," officials said.

Also, CBSA recently announced that new electronic gates — aka eGates — have been added at Pearson Airport and more will be added throughout the summer to try and make the process "faster."

As travellers continue to face delays at Canadian airports, new rules for flight refunds in Canada will be coming into effect soon that are meant to help passengers when their flights are delayed or cancelled.

Before you get going, check out our Responsible Travel Guide so you can be informed, be safe, be smart, and most of all, be respectful on your adventure.