Fully vaccinated will be required to show proof of vaccination; children under 18 exempt from vaccine requirements
The Biden administration has rolled out new rules making it easier for foreign nationals from India, China and 26 Schengen countries in Europe to travel to the United States by air.
Starting Nov. 8, adults who are fully vaccinated will be required to show proof of vaccination prior to boarding their flight for travel to the US, the White House announced Monday.
Airlines will be tasked with collecting and reviewing documentation from passengers ahead of their respective flights.
Only vaccines approved or authorized by either the Food and Drug Administration or the World Health Organization will be accepted, according to senior administration officials.
Read: With US easing travel restrictions, Indians worried about cancellations (September 22, 2021)
“It is in the interests of the United States to move away from the country-by-country restrictions previously applied during the Covid-19 pandemic and to adopt an air travel policy that relies primarily on vaccination to advance the safe resumption of international air travel to the United States,” the White House stated.
“With science and public health as our guide, the United States has developed a new international air travel system that both enhances the safety of Americans here at home and enhances the safety of international air travel,” it added.
According to the new rules:
-non-citizen, non-immigrant air travelers to the US will be required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of Covid-19 vaccination status prior to boarding a plane to the US
-unvaccinated travelers – whether US Citizens, lawful permanent residents, or the small number of excepted unvaccinated foreign nationals – will now need to test within one day of departure
-children under 18 and people with some medical issues are exempt from the new vaccine requirements
-non-tourist travelers from nearly 50 countries with nationwide vaccination rates of less than 10 percent will be eligible for exemption from the rules
-those receiving an exemption will need to be vaccinated within 60 days after arriving in the US
-fully vaccinated foreign nationals will also be able to travel across the Northern and Southwest land borders for non-essential reasons, such as tourism.
Currently most non-US citizens who within the last 14 days had been to India, Britain, 26 Schengen countries in Europe, Ireland, China, South Africa, Iran and Brazil are not allowed to enter the US.
The White House is expected to announce similar plans to lift restrictions at land border crossings on Nov. 8 for vaccinated foreign nationals.