The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) encourages clients who are travelling for medical appointments to have proof of vaccination ready to prevent delays.

The transition period has ended for travellers aged 12 and over who are not fully-vaccinated and wish to board planes, trains or non-essential passenger marine vessels at federally-regulated passenger terminals.

Canada requires proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 from all passengers aged 12 and over, including FNHA clients who are travelling for medical appointments, if they are:

• flying on a domestic flight within BC or Canada
• travelling by VIA Rail
  

The requirement does not apply to passengers boarding BC Ferries.

Canada continues to provide temporary accommodations for travellers from remote communities to ensure that they are able to obtain essential services and return home safely:

• Unvaccinated travellers departing from airports serving remote communities will not be required to provide proof of vaccination or a valid COVID-19 molecular test until local testing capacity is fully in place. Rapid, free testing will be available at the airports in the interim.​​
  
• Airlines will provide self-administered rapid COVID-19 test kits to all travellers at gateway airports at no charge. They will also provide clear Health Canada-approved instructions to unvaccinated travelers or those who do not have a valid molecular test result prior to checking in for any flight departing from remote communities. Unvaccinated travellers are encouraged to access molecular COVID-19 testing in their local communities before travel, if possible.

This accommodation extends only to gateway airports with free rapid testing. A negative rapid test result allows unvaccinated travellers to continue to travel without the need for another test result for 72 hours.

Hotels and other service providers may have their own vaccination policies. In addition to carrying proof of vaccination, the FNHA recommends that travellers confirm these policies ahead of time to minimize disruptions.  

Read the related story about Canada's domestic travel vaccination requirements. For questions about travel for appointments or how to access FNHA support for Medical Transportation, contact First Nations Health Benefits at 1-855-550-5454.

Travelling for Medical ​Appointments DuringCOVID-19 ​Fact Sheet​ (PDF)​