President Joe Biden has signed an order detailing the new travel policies, which will come into effect on November 8.
In an attempt to “move away from country-by-country restrictions previously applied during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the US government will impose a new worldwide travel restriction policy that focuses heavily on vaccination as a requirement to travel, the White House has said.
Starting on November 8, foreign national air travelers to the United States will be required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to fly to the United States, with only limited exceptions.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has determined that for the purposes of entry into the United States, vaccines accepted will include those FDA approved or authorized, as well as vaccines with an emergency use listing (EUL) from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Fully vaccinated air travelers will continue to be required to show documentation of a pre-departure negative viral test from a sample taken within three days of travel to the United States before boarding. That includes all travelers – U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (LPRs), and foreign nationals.
To further strengthen protections, unvaccinated travelers — whether U.S. citizens, LPRs, or the small number of excepted unvaccinated foreign nationals — will now need to show documentation of a negative viral test from a sample taken within one day of travel to the United States.
Learn more about the change here.
