Travelling outside Canada

Our tips can also help you if you travel outside the country. Remember, though, that Canadian standards and rules generally don't apply in other countries (although the CTA has sometimes extended some Canadian standards and rules to Canadian carriers when they operate outside Canada). In some places, travel is very accessible, but in many other places, it is not.

If you use a service dog, it is always advisable to ask ahead about what the rules and restrictions related to travel with a service dog are, including any quarantine or permit requirements that might apply in your destination country. It is also advisable to ask whether an international health certificate and/or proof of vaccination for your dog are required and to keep the required documentation for your service dog with you at all times while visiting foreign countries.

If you are planning on taking an international flight and bringing a mobility aid, your airline is required to offer you the opportunity to make a special declaration of interest for your aid. This declaration allows you to reflect the monetary value and a description of your mobility aid in case it is damaged, destroyed, lost or not returned to you within the usual time frame at your destination. A special declaration of interest is important because, without it, international instruments cap the carriers' limits of liability to a level far less than the value of most mobility aids. The impact of this is that, if an aid is lost, damaged or destroyed during a trip and the traveller has not completed a special declaration of interest, they may only be entitled to reimbursement for a portion of the value of the aid. You can find out more about this on your airline's website.

Ask before you go what you can and cannot take with you. For example, there may be restrictions on the types of oxygen devices that are permitted and on the number and types of batteries for mobility aids. There may also be restrictions on the types of emotional support animals that you can travel with and conditions on how they are transported. Look for information from your travel agency, carrier, government of the country you will be visiting, travel publications, and websites.