NEWS: U.S. to Ease Canadian and Mexican Border Restrictions Soon

To ensure we are equipping our readers with all the information they need, we will continue to report on all travel, safety, and COVID-related news that could impact a Disney Parks visit.

The global pandemic continues to impact travel around the world.

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In August, the U.S. was removed from the European Union’s list of safe travel destinations. However, in September, the U.S. announced it is planning to ease restrictions for travelers from foreign nations including the U.K. and countries in the European Union as long as they’re fully vaccinated. And now, two other countries are set to have their U.S. travel restrictions lifted soon.

The United States is planning to open the Canadian and Mexican borders to fully vaccinated travelers in early November, according to CNN. According to USA Today, this will be done in 2 stages:

Phase 1: During Phase 1, which starts in early November, fully vaccinated travelers from Canada and Mexico will be able to enter the U.S. for nonessential reasons. “Unvaccinated travelers can only travel to the U.S. for essential purposes in this phase.”
Phase 2: During Phase 2, which is set to begin in early January, travelers from Mexico and Canada will be able “to cross the land border for both essential and nonessential reasons if they have been fully vaccinated. There will be no testing requirements in either phase.”

©CNN

“These new vaccination requirements deploy the best tool we have in our arsenal to keep people safe and prevent the spread of Covid-19 and will create a consistent, stringent protocol for all foreign nationals traveling into the United States whether by land or air,” a senior administration official told reporters, according to CNN.

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Nonessential ground travel has been limited at the Canadian and Mexican borders since the beginning of the global pandemic. Air travel has been possible, and the restrictions haven’t applied to things like cross-border trade, U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, people traveling to attend school, and people traveling for medical purposes.

Travel is changing

The most recent restrictions are set to expire on October 21st and Senior White House administration officials said the limits on cross-border travel will stay in effect until November — the official date has not been announced yet. We’ll keep you updated when a date is announced, so stay tuned to DFB for more.