New Pandemic-Related Travel Rules including COVID Vaccination Requirements for Some Air and Land travel to the U.S.
As of November 8, 2021 certain pandemic-related requirements for travel to the U.S. by air and land will be changing. The U.S. will start requiring proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 for most adult air travelers who are not citizens or permanent residents entering the U.S. and will revoke geographic-based travel bans. COVID-19 testing requirements prior to entry for all air passengers, including U.S. citizens, have been amended to apply differently to vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. The U.S. land ports of entry on the northern and southern borders will open to tourism (and other non-essential travel) by those who are not citizens or permanent residents for the first time since March 2020, but only for fully-vaccinated individuals. Those traveling by land with work visas (and for other essential purposes) will continue to be able to enter the U.S. as they currently do and there will be no requirement to prove that they are fully vaccinated until sometime in January 2022.
Air travel
An executive order issued on October 25, 2021 outlined new requirements for international air travel into the U.S. effective November 8, 2021. The order revokes previous geographic-based travel bans affecting entry from China, India, the Schengen Area, UK, Ireland, Brazil, South Africa, and Iran. Under the new guidelines, passengers who are not U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or holding an immigrant (permanent residence) visa must present acceptable proof to airlines prior to boarding a flight that they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 according to the standards of the CDC. There are limited exceptions to this requirement outlined below.
Testing required for U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike prior to traveling by air to the U.S.
All passengers ages 2 and older traveling by air must provide negative COVID-19 test results before boarding a flight to the U.S. For those fully vaccinated, proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test result taken no more than three days before travel are required. For those U.S. citizens and others who are not fully vaccinated and who otherwise qualify for entry, a negative COVID-19 test result taken no more than one day before travel is required. The tests must be viral tests – NAAT (including PCR) or Antigen. For more information on the types of test that are acceptable, see the CDC website. Children under two and some individuals who have documented recovery from COVID-19 in the past 90 days are not required to provide negative COVID-19 test results.
CDC standards for proof of vaccination
Travelers must provide to the airline COVID-19 vaccination records which contain their name and date of birth as well as the vaccine product and date(s) of administration, and which were issued by an official source in the country where the vaccine was given, according to a White House Fact Sheet. This documentation should fall into one of three acceptable categories outlined in the CDC Technical Instructions, including a digital vaccination certificate accessible via QR code (such as the UK NHS COVID pass), a paper vaccination certificate (such as the CDC vaccination card), or a digital record downloaded from an official source. If the documentation is in a language other than English, travelers should check with the airline to determine whether a translation is needed. The CDC has confirmed that for purposes of travel to the U.S., vaccines approved or authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the World Health Organization emergency use listed vaccines will be accepted. The list of vaccines can be found here. Individuals will be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receipt of the last dose of a multiple-dose vaccine, the first dose of an approved single-dose vaccine, or after any combination of two dose of approved vaccines (mix and match).
Exceptions to the Vaccine Requirement
The executive order requiring full vaccination does not apply to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or those traveling on immigrant (permanent resident) visas. However, individuals in these categories should still carry proof of vaccination when traveling for use in conjunction with the three-day pre-travel testing requirement described above.
Exceptions to the vaccine requirement outlined in the executive order and CDC guidance include: Children under the age of 18; Those who have participated in qualifying clinical trials (See table 3) for COVID-19 vaccinations; Individuals for whom approved COVID-19 vaccination is medically contraindicated; Those granted humanitarian or emergency exceptions by the director of the CDC; Citizens of a country with limited vaccine availability (See table 4) traveling on a visa other than B-1/B-2; Members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their spouses or children; Those granted National Interest Exceptions (The application process has not been outlined, however, it appears that previously issued NIEs for prior travel bans will not be valid for purposes of the new vaccination requirements); Diplomats or persons on official government travel; Travel to the United Nations pursuant to legal agreements; Certain Sea Crew members; and Certain Airline Crew members.
While individuals in these categories of exceptions will not have to show proof of vaccination upon entry, some adults will be subject to a requirement that they be vaccinated within 60 days of arriving in the U.S. and some may be subject to post arrival testing and self-quarantine.
It is notable that there are no exceptions to the vaccine requirement for religious or moral conviction reasons. There are also no specific exceptions for individuals (other than diplomats) who have received vaccines approved by their home country, but which have not been approved by the FDA or WHO.
Travel by Land or Ferry to the U.S.
Starting on November 8, 2021, visitors who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents will be allowed to enter the U.S. through northern and southern land ports of entry and ferry terminals for the first time since March 2020, provided that they can produce proof that they are fully vaccinated. These requirements will be applied to those traveling for non-essential reasons (tourism, family visits, etc.) who are over the age of 18 and who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Travelers should be prepared to attest to their vaccination status and to provide proof of full vaccination. The types of acceptable vaccines and definition of full vaccination will follow the same CDC guidelines described above for air travel.
Those seeking entry for essential travel (including those with temporary U.S. work visas) will be exempt from the requirement to provide proof of vaccination. However, starting in January 2022, both essential and non-essential travelers will be required to be fully vaccinated. U.S. citizens and permanent residents may continue to enter the U.S. by land or ferry without regard to vaccination status.
The Department of Homeland Security has issued this guidance on these new requirements for entry by land, however, some details have yet to be clarified.
Tips for those considering travel
Before planning travel, make sure that all necessary travel documents are still valid. Many people have not traveled internationally in the last 20 months and may have not noticed that passports, green cards, visa stamps, and other documents may have expired or will be expiring soon. Government agencies in the U.S. and in other countries are facing pandemic related delays in renewing documents such as passports. The Department of Homeland Security is expecting an increase in land border wait times at its busiest crossing location, so plan accordingly for travel delays.
If you leave the U.S. and would need a new non-immigrant (temporary) visa stamp to re-enter the US, you should be aware that you may face delays in applying for new U.S. visa stamps. Although the geographic-based travel bans will be revoked, the Department of State has confirmed that local U.S. embassies and Consulates may be limited in the ability to schedule visa interviews. Commentators are predicting that U.S. Consulates may not be caught up on their backlog and fully functioning at pre-pandemic levels until 2023.
For more information about the new vaccination and testing requirements for air travel, The Department of State has issued this helpful Frequently Asked Questions on COVID-19 Vaccinations and Testing for International Travel (state.gov). The CDC website has many resources about the guidelines for vaccination requirements including International Travel | CDC, Requirement for Proof of Negative COVID-19 Test or Documentation of Recovery from COVID-19 | CDC, Technical Instructions for Implementing Presidential Proclamation Advancing Safe Resumption of Global Travel During the COVID-19 Pandemic and CDC’s Order | Quarantine | CDC. For more information about changes in the requirements for land travel, the DHS has issued a Fact Sheet: Guidance for Travelers to Enter the U.S. at Land Ports of Entry and Ferry Terminals | Homeland Security (dhs.gov) , Frequently Asked Questions: Guidance for Travelers to Enter the U.S. at Land Ports of Entry and Ferry Terminals | Homeland Security (dhs.gov), and this summary guidance.
