What you should know
- From Monday, the travel bans from certain countries will be lifted.
- All adult foreigners traveling to the United States must be fully vaccinated before boarding their flight.
- Travelers are still required to provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test performed within 72 hours of flying to the United States
More than a year and a half after COVID-19 concerns led the US to close its borders to international travelers from countries like Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the UK and much of Europe, restrictions are shifting to vaccine status.
From Monday, the travel bans from certain countries will be lifted. The US will allow international travelers, but they will need to be vaccinated – with a few exceptions.
The USA is also reopening the land borders with Canada and Mexico to vaccinated people. Most travel to the United States from Canada and Mexico is by land rather than air.
Here are some questions and answers about the changes:
Why are these changes taking place?
The goal is to restore more normal travel while limiting the spread of COVID-19, the government says. The travel industry and European allies have pushed for an end to the country-specific bans. Americans have been allowed to fly to Europe for months, and Europeans are pushing the US to change its policies.
In 2019, before the pandemic, around a fifth of the approximately 79 million US visitors came from Europe.
What are the most important requirements?
All adult foreigners traveling to the United States must be fully vaccinated before boarding their flight. As before, travelers must demonstrate a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of departing for the United States
Everyone needs to be vaccinated?
Yes, with a few exceptions. Children under the age of 18 do not need to be vaccinated, but they do need to have a COVID test. Children up to 2 years of age are exempt from the examination requirements.
What about adults who are not vaccinated?
With half the world going unvaccinated and with the distribution of vaccines to rich countries so skewed, the Biden government is leaving a void for people living in countries where vaccines are scarce. This list includes around 50 countries where less than 10% of people have been vaccinated. Travelers from these countries need US government permission to come, and it can’t just be for tourism or business travel.
The US government says it will allow unvaccinated international visitors to enter the country if there is a humanitarian reason or emergency, such as an emergency medical evacuation. These exemptions are applied “extremely closely” and require the approval of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There may also be a medical exception with medical documentation.
What will the Americans have to do?
Unvaccinated Americans must have a negative COVID-19 test within one day of traveling internationally. If you are vaccinated, you must take a test within three days of your departure, for both Americans and citizens of other countries. This does not apply to flights within the USA
Who will enforce vaccination regulations?
That’s up to the airlines. They need to verify vaccination records and match them with ID, and if they fail to do so, they could face fines of up to nearly $ 35,000 per violation. Airlines will also collect information about passengers in order to take contact tracing measures. There will be CDC staff performing random checks on travelers in the US for compliance
What vaccines do you bring in?
Most, but not all. Any COVID-19 vaccine approved by the World Health Organization for emergency, including the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines used in the US, as well as the most widely used vaccines overseas, such as AstraZeneca and China’s Sinovac. Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine, which is approved in 70 countries, is currently not allowed. The WHO is reviewing Sputnik, but has not approved it.
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What if you are traveling or taking a ferry from Mexico or Canada?
The land borders have only been open for “essential” travel in recent months. Now everyone can come if they have been vaccinated against COVID. Prepare to provide evidence of the shot to customs and border guards. Children are exempt from the obligation.
How will that affect travel?
While the government is calling this reopening, some people who were previously technically allowed to fly to the US during the pandemic are now banned due to their vaccination status. Other barriers to resumption of normal travel include major delays in US visa issuance, which people in most countries need to visit the US for business and tourism purposes, and restrictions in other countries that make travel difficult.
Even if people coming from China, for example, are now allowed to enter the USA, not many are allowed to travel at home due to the restrictions. Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists were a lucrative market for the US travel industry.
Industry experts anticipate a large influx of people flying from Europe and hope a broader recovery in travel follows as more people around the world are vaccinated, U.S. visa processing speeds up, other countries lift their own restrictions, and people less fear have gotten COVID because of travel.
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