Temporary foreign agricultural, food, and seafood workers must quarantine

All temporary foreign workers in the agricultural, food, and seafood sectors arriving in B.C. in order to work in B.C. are required to quarantine in provincially-managed accommodations for 14 days.

Employers must ensure a safe workplace and demonstrate proof of an infection prevention and control protocol before workers can be released from quarantine. 

Last updated: March 19, 2021​

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Temporary foreign worker quarantine

A 14-day quarantine period in provincially-managed accommodations is required for:

  • All foreign nationals arriving to B.C. to work in B.C. on a temporary basis, and
  • Who work on sites that produce commodities on the National Commodities List or are classified under the following National Occupation Codes (NOCs)
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National Occupation Codes (NOCs) requiring temporary foreign worker quarantine

  • NOC 9617 – Food processing labourers
  • NOC 9461 – Process control and machine operators, food, beverage and associated products processing
  • NOC 9462 – Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
  • NOC 6331 – Butchers, meat cutters and fishmongers – retail and wholesale
  • NOC 9463 – Fish and seafood plant workers
  • NOC 9465 – Testers and graders, food, beverage and associated products processing
  • NOC 9618 – Labourers in fish and seafood processing
  • NOC 9213 – Supervisors, food, beverage and associated products processing
  • NOC 8252 – Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
  • NOC 8255 – Contractors and supervisors, landscaping, grounds maintenance, and horticulture services
  • NOC 8431 – General farm workers
  • NOC 8432 – Nursery and Greenhouse workers
  • NOC 8611 – Harvesting labourers
  • NOC 0821 – Managers in agriculture
  • NOC 0822 – Managers in horticulture
  • NOC 0823 – Managers in aquaculture
  • NOC 8613 – Aquaculture and marine harvest labourers
  • NOC 8261 – Fishing masters and officers
  • NOC 8262 – Fishermen/women
  • NOC 8441 – Fishing vessel deckhands
  • NOC 2222 – Agricultural and fish products inspectors
  • NOC 2225 – Landscape and horticulture technicians and specialists
  • NOC 2123 – Agricultural representatives, consultants and specialists

 

Eligible temporary foreign workers may have been brought in under any of the Temporary Foreign Worker program streams (Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program, Agriculture, High Wage, or Low Wage) and the duration of their work permit may be for months or years. 

Screening process on arrival

Air travellers whose final destination is Canada must submit their information through the ArriveCAN app before they board their flight. This includes:

  • Travel and contact information
  • Quarantine plan
  • COVID-19 symptom self-assessment

Travellers are required to show their ArriveCAN receipt when seeking entry into Canada.

Unless exempt, all agriculture, food and seafood workers entering Canada are required by law to:

  • Present a negative COVID-19 molecular test on arrival
  • Quarantine for 14 days at the provincially-managed accommodation
  • Have a post-arrival COVID-19 test administered on day 1 at Vancouver International Airport and again on day 10 at the provincially-managed accommodation
    • Temporary agriculture, food and seafood workers will be registered at YVR for these tests and are not required or encouraged to pre-register using the FlyClear app

If temporary agriculture, food, and seafood workers have symptoms upon arrival, depending on the severity of their condition, they may be placed in quarantine at the point of entry or be sent to the hospital.

Quarantine successfully

Financial support during quarantine

The Province will fund hotel, food-service and worker support costs during the 14-day self-quarantine period.

  • Accommodations will be in the Lower Mainland near the Vancouver International Airport and will not be at employer-provided housing.
  • Access to socio-economic and cultural supports will be provided for workers while they quarantine.

Employers are responsible for paying temporary foreign workers their wages for a minimum 30 hours per week during quarantine. Employers are also responsible for providing or arranging transportation from YVR to the government-managed accommodations; and from the hotel to the worksite or employer-provided housing after quarantine is completed.

Monitoring symptoms during and after quarantine

Temporary foreign workers will need to monitor their conditions during quarantine.

  • If symptoms like a cough, shortness of breath or fever develop, workers should contact the front desk and say “Nurse.” They will then be tended to by the on-site medical team
  • Following 14 days of quarantine, if no symptoms develop (or once the worker is fully recovered) and the worker’s employer-provided housing site has passed inspection, workers may then be transported by the employer to their employer-provided housing or workplace and begin working
    • WorkSafeBC and the Employment Standards Branch provide support to temporary foreign workers
    • If a worker develops symptoms during their term of employment, the employer must immediately self-isolate that worker and any of their close contacts, notify their local health authority, and ensure the coordination of appropriate testing, medical care and essential needs

Temporary foreign workers are expected to comply with the Provincial Health Officer's orders and recommendations.

Ensure a safe workplace

All agricultural, food, and seafood workplaces in B.C., including those that employ temporary foreign workers, must follow the Ministry of Health's requirements to protect themselves and their workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please see below for a series of COVID-19 requirements guidance provided in English, Punjabi and Spanish:

If agricultural, food, and seafood employers do not comply with these requirements, the arrival of temporary foreign workers to a worksite will be delayed, denied and/or prohibited.

Process to receive temporary foreign agricultural, food and seafood workers

Farm operators that employ temporary foreign workers must apply for authorization from the Province to receive temporary foreign workers. Farm operators must:

To provide proof of protocol, submit the Screening Form. 

Submit Screening Form online  

The form does not work on Internet Explorer.

Receive a housing site inspection

Provincial inspection officers will schedule farm site inspections once it is confirmed that an employer’s workers have arrived in the quarantine program.

If an employer is already housing domestic or foreign workers on-site and hasn't received an inspection, they need to reach out to the inspections team as soon as possible.

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When an inspection of employee-provided accommodations in the agriculture sector is required

  • Before providing accommodation to workers who arrive by way of provincially-managed quarantine
  • Before providing accommodation to domestic workers
  • Changes have been made to previously inspected sites, including but not limited to the addition of beds, bedrooms, or housing units
  • There are plans to house more occupants on a site than it was inspected and approved for in the previous inspection
  • There is a change in farm ownership
  • It is a new calendar year
  • An employer is currently housing temporary foreign workers or domestic temporary foreign workers in employer-provided housing that has not yet been inspected

 

Employers must identify all sites where temporary foreign workers will be housed.

Employers who fail to properly identify each employer-provided housing site during inspection will be responsible for the hotel accommodation and food costs for each additional day workers must be held back at the hotel, until all sites pass inspection.

Submitting the online form does not automatically trigger an inspection. It is still a required part of the inspection process. It outlines obligations of the employer.

Employers who wish to contact their inspector may contact AGRI.TFWProgram@gov.bc.ca.

Federal government resources

The federal government has shared information to ensure employers, workers and stakeholders comply with public health requirements related to COVID-19.