United States reopening plans: Here’s what travelers need to know

0

(CNN) — The United States’ new international travel policies requiring most foreign visitors to be fully vaccinated are set to go into effect on Monday, November 8.

US Customs and Border Protection outlined more details on Tuesday about the changes at US land borders coming in less than a week.

CBP anticipates an increase in travel volumes and wait times as travelers are once again allowed to enter the US for nonessential purposes at land and ferry crossings, according to CBP officials.

Unlike air passengers, travelers arriving at land borders and ferry crossings will not be required to present a negative Covid-19 test result.

Here’s everything we know so far about what the new policies will mean for travelers:

Who can travel?

The policies allow fully vaccinated noncitizen, nonimmigrant travelers to enter the United States, replacing a patchwork of bans and restrictions that have been in place since the start of the pandemic.

That means foreign nationals arriving from countries that have been subject to bans — China, Iran, Europe’s Schengen area, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Brazil, South Africa and India — will soon be allowed under a policy that applies to all international air travelers.

A vaccination requirement goes into effect November 8 for both air travelers and those crossing borders via land and ferry.

Which vaccines are accepted?

All FDA-approved and authorized vaccines, as well as vaccines that have an Emergency Use Listing from the WHO, will be accepted for entry into the United States.

That means the AstraZeneca vaccine, used in places including Canada and Europe, will be accepted. The Sputnik V vaccine developed in Russia is among several vaccines in use that have not been approved by the World Health Organization or the Food and Drug Administration.

People are considered “fully vaccinated” by the CDC two weeks after their second dose in a two-dose series, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine.

What about mixed-dose vaccinations?

The CDC recently updated its definition of “fully vaccinated,” confirming that mixed-dose vaccinations will be accepted.

Individuals are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receipt of the last dose of “any combination of two doses of an FDA approved/authorized or WHO emergency use listed COVID-19 two-dose series,” the guidance reads.

The guidance also outlines that some participants in vaccine trials will also be considered fully vaccinated.

What about unvaccinated Americans?

Unvaccinated Americans can still enter the United States but will face more stringent testing requirements for air travel.

Unvaccinated US citizens, legal permanent residents and any unvaccinated foreign nationals exempt from the vaccination requirement “will need to provide a negative test taken within one day of traveling,” per a White House fact sheet.

Travelers who are not fully vaccinated and allowed to travel to the US by air are also required to take a test 3 to 5 days after arrival and self-quarantine for a full 7 days, even if the test is negative.

The rules for Americans are different for travel via land and ferry crossings. US citizens and lawful permanent residents do not need to show proof of vaccination to return to the US, according to CBP officials.

Covid tests are not required to cross a land border, only vaccination proof.

What about unvaccinated children?

Children younger than 18 arriving by air are exempt from the vaccination requirement, according to the White House fact sheet. They are subject to testing (see below).

Children under the age of 18 crossing via land or ferry will also be exempted from the vaccination requirement provided that they are traveling with a fully vaccinated adult, and testing is not required.

Are there other exceptions to the vaccination requirement?

There are a few other rare vaccination exceptions, according to the White House fact sheet pertaining to international air travel.

Those include “certain Covid-19 vaccine clinical trial participants, those with medical contraindications to the vaccines, those who need to travel for emergency or humanitarian reasons (with a US government-issued letter affirming the urgent need to travel), those who are traveling on non-tourist visas from countries with low-vaccine availability (as determined by the CDC), and other very narrow categories.”

However, travelers’ reasons for entering the US from those countries must be compelling. “They need to have a specific, compelling reason. So, tourist visas will not qualify for that,” a senior official said.

Is testing required?

Yes, testing will still be required for vaccinated air travelers and will become more stringent for unvaccinated air travelers.

Fully vaccinated air travelers, regardless of citizenship, are required to test negative for Covid-19 within three days of their flight’s departure for the United States, in line with the current testing rule.

Unvaccinated US citizens, legal permanent residents and any unvaccinated foreign nationals exempt from the vaccination requirement will be required to take a Covid-19 test within one day of their departing flight.

Children younger than 2 do not need to test. Those from ages 2 to 17 are required to take a test before departure, the White House fact sheet said.

If traveling with a fully vaccinated adult, unvaccinated children can test three days before departure. Unvaccinated children traveling alone or with unvaccinated adults will be required to test within one day of departure.

Covid tests are not required to cross a land border.

What kind of documentation is required?

Both digital and paper proof of vaccination will be accepted as long as the documentation meets US requirements for being fully vaccinated, officials said.

According to the White House fact sheet, airlines will be responsible for determining that the record “was issued by an official source (e.g., public health agency, government agency) in the country where the vaccine was given.”

Airlines will also be charged with reviewing the information presented to determine that it meets the CDC’s definition of “fully vaccinated” (see above).

Airlines already have systems in place to collect the testing information required of air travelers.

“The airlines will verify vaccination status in the same way they have been and will continue to do with the proof of a pre-departure negative test result,” a senior administration official said.

Airlines will also be required to collect contact information for all inbound air travelers, per a CDC contact tracing order. That information must be turned over to the CDC when it’s needed to follow up with travelers to mitigate the spread of disease.

According to the CDC, all proof of vaccination must include personal identifiers — minimally the passenger’s full name and date of birth — that match their passport. The name of the source issuing the record and the vaccine manufacturer and dates of vaccination are also required.

At land and ferry crossings, travelers will be required to attest to vaccination status and present proof of vaccination to a CBP officer upon request, according to CBP offiicals, and vaccine cards do not need to be in English.

Who can no longer get into the United States?

The new international travel system largely bars unvaccinated foreign nationals from entering the United States.

Unvaccinated travelers coming from countries not affected by travel bans who currently are allowed to fly into the US (from Mexico and Canada, for example) will no longer be allowed entry as of November 8.

At land borders, the vaccination requirement going into effect on November 8 applies to nonessential travel such as tourism and visits with friends and family.

Individuals traveling for essential reasons, including truck drivers and students, will still be allowed across borders until early January, whether they’re vaccinated or not.

In January 2022, documented non-citizens traveling across the land border for both essential and nonessential reasons will be required to be fully vaccinated.

Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our  Twitter, & Facebook

We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.

For all the latest Travel News Click Here 

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! Rapidtelecast.com is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
Leave a comment