The EU Removed Canada From Its Safe List & It Means Travellers Could Face More Restrictions

The European Union has recently removed Canada from its safe travel list, which means Canadian visitors could face additional restrictions when travelling there.

On Monday, January 17, the EU shared an update confirming that Canada, Argentina and Australia would be taken off the list of places for which travel rules should be lifted.

It means passengers from these countries could be subject to additional travel measures if they enter the EU, although each member state is ultimately responsible for its own border policies.

According to Forbes, to stay on the green list a country must have no more than 75 new COVID-19 cases daily per 100,000 people within 14 days.

On the same day that Canada was pulled from the safe travel list, fourteen other countries were actually added to it.

This included Qatar, Colombia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates and China, among others.

The EU suggests member states should "gradually lift the travel restrictions at the external borders" for residents of these places.

It comes as the Omicron variant continues to impact the travel industry both in Canada and internationally.

On January 10, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its advice and warned Americans to avoid all non-essential travel to Canada due to its "very high" levels of COVID-19.

On Tuesday, WestJet announced even more cuts to flight services through February due to related staffing shortages and "cumbersome" travel restrictions.

Other Canadian airlines have made similar moves in recent weeks.

Canada's strict pandemic-related border measures remain in place and the country's global travel advisory is still active.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.