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US reopened on 8 November 2021 (& subsequent entry restrictions for non-citizens)

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Old Sep 15, 2021, 1:47 pm
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Last edit by: NewbieRunner
New thread for discussing 1-day test requirements for travellers arriving in the US by air
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/coronavirus-travel/2060730-us-require-air-travelers-provide-negative-test-within-1-day-departure.html

Entry ban from eight southern African countries starting on November 29, 2021

Most non-U.S. citizens who have been in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique or Malaw within the prior 14 days will not be allowed into the United States.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/11/26/a-proclamation-on-suspension-of-entry-as-immigrants-and-nonimmigrants-of-certain-additional-persons-who-pose-a-risk-of-transmitting-coronavirus-disease-2019/

Entry ban by air to be lifted on November 8, 2021 - All travelers should refer to CDC for travel requirements.

3 day pre-flight testing requirement will continue (US citizens/LPR not vaccinated will have to test no earlier than 1 day prior) Children under 2 years old do not need to test.

Children under 18 are exempt from vaccination requirement
Accepted vaccines will include:
  • AstraZeneca
  • BIBP/Sinopharm
  • Covishield
  • Janssen/J&J
  • Moderna
  • Pfizer-BioNTech
  • Sinovac
Vaccination certificates must come from an official source
There is a face mask mandate when flying to/from the USA, with effectively no exemptions, and including children two and above years old
Airlines need to provide some sort of contact tracing information for potential follow-up cases

Update on U.S. travel policy requiring COVID-19 vaccination
Last Updated: October 25, 2021

As announced by the White House today, the new travel policy requiring foreign nationals traveling to the United States to demonstrate proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 will take effect November 8. The CDC’s website explains that, for purposes of entry into the United States, the accepted vaccines will include FDA approved or authorized and WHO Emergency Use Listing vaccines.

COVID-19 Travel Restrictions and Exceptions - U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs
Last updated: October 25, 2021

The presidential proclamations described on this page will no longer be in effect on November 8, 2021. For additional information, please see Safely Resuming Travel by Vaccine Requirement and Rescission of Travel Restrictions on Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa, and the United Kingdom (travel.state.gov).

To protect the public health, there are four presidential proclamations that suspend entry into the United States of all noncitizens who were physically present in any of 33 countries during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States. They are Presidential Proclamation 9984 (China); Presidential Proclamation 9992 (Iran); Presidential Proclamation 10143 (Schengen Area, United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, and South Africa); and Presidential Proclamation 10199 (India).

What we know so far is
- Confirmed to start on 8 November
- Children under 18 are exempt from the vaccine restrictions, so the varying international standards on jab ages won't be an issue here.

- Vaccines that are OK will include Pfizer, Moderna, AZ, J&J and the two Chinese vaccines.
- Some exemptions from vaccinations are potentially allowed, notably for US citizens, though my guess is airlines will be expecting to see vaccine certificates

- 3 day pre-flight testing requirement will continue, so this needs to be a documented antigen/Lateral Flow test or PCR.
- 3 days is potentially more than 72 hours, departure on a Friday afternoon means a test on Tuesday morning or thereafter.
- NHS Lateral Flows and PCRs can't be used.
- Children over 2 years old travelling with vaccinated travellers have to be tested on the same basis (3 days).
- 1 day testing for unvaccinated USA legal residents (testing on or the day before departure), including their children.

- All passengers need to sign an attestment to confirm their negative test result and also a statement to confirm full vaccination status.
- Children who are not vaccinated do not need to get vaccinated but do need to get a "viral test" 3 to 5 days after arrival in the USA
- As a result there is a separate attestion question for unvaccinated children to confirm that the viral test is arranged.

- Vaccination certificates must come from an official source. The NHS COVID Pass app and EU DCC are specifically mentioned as acceptable.
- Vaccination is counted as two weeks from dose2, or 2 weeks after the sole dose in the case of J&J.
- Antibody certification is not a replacement for the need for vaccination, at least for non USA residents.
- 14 clear days need to elapse before travel. So if jabbed on 1 October then 15 October is when you are good to go.
- Booster vaccinations are not a factor here, they don't count towards or against the primary dose process.

- There is a face mask mandate when flying to/from the USA, with effectively no exemptions, and including children two and above years old.
- Airlines need to provide some sort of contact tracing information for potential follow-up cases.
- These restrictions do not apply at the land border.

Note that a lot of interpretation onus falls on airlines. For example there is no language requirement for vaccine certificates as far as the CDC is concerned, however you can imagine Air France may be hesitant in accepting a vaccine certificate issued in the Welsh language, to take one example.

CDC link
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2...el-System.html


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US reopened on 8 November 2021 (& subsequent entry restrictions for non-citizens)

 
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Old Sep 15, 2021, 1:24 pm
  #2251  
 
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Originally Posted by rockflyertalk
Thanks, the one I just checked hasn’t been updated since July 26th…
I mean it’s pretty much the same, the banned list hasn’t been updated since.
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Old Sep 15, 2021, 1:34 pm
  #2252  
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Originally Posted by rockflyertalk
Where can one find a list of countries to spend the 14 days before entry to USA? (U.K. passport holder)
Originally Posted by rockflyertalk
Thanks, the one I just checked hasn’t been updated since July 26th…
Any country not listed here:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions and Exceptions - US Department of State

Banned countries are: the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom (excluding overseas territories outside of Europe), the Republic of Ireland, the Federative Republic of Brazil, and the Republic of South Africa, China, Iran and India.

If UK citizens/residents spend 14 days in a red list country before travelling to the US, they have to stay in the US for at least 10 days before returning to the UK to avoid managed quarantine.
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Last edited by NewbieRunner; Sep 15, 2021 at 1:49 pm
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Old Sep 15, 2021, 3:34 pm
  #2253  
 
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White House plans new system for international travel, contract tracing rules [Reuters]

Well at least they've reached the point of "exploring considering" things....

White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said on Wednesday the United States is developing a "new system for international travel" that will include new strong mitigation procedures like contact tracing..."We are exploring considering vaccination requirements for foreign nationals traveling to the United States," Zients said.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said at the same meeting that the spike in COVID-19 cases is preventing lifting international travel restrictions. "We want to move to a metrics-based system," Raimondo said. "Before we can do that, we have to get a better handle on the domestic situation, which requires us to get everyone vaccinated."
One would've thought that the "working groups" would have come up with such metrics by now. If "getting everyone vaccinated" is one of the criteria, the bans will be here forever.
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Last edited by NewbieRunner; Sep 15, 2021 at 4:06 pm Reason: Please add source in addition to link - FT rule #7
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Old Sep 15, 2021, 5:15 pm
  #2254  
 
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Originally Posted by zonzi
I did it via Turkey but that should be the same story. Folks in reddit group USTravelBan have a lot of trip reports via 3rd country including Canada.

In my case it was airline that checked my lenght of stay based on entry stamps to Turkey. Please be aware that you need 15 nights / full 14 24h days outside of Shengen zone as day of arrival does not count.

Canada has CBP preclearance so flights arrive as domestic flights to USA. Only Covid tests will be needed (antigen or PCR ).

ESTA - no problem with October expiration. Just do not check on-line for the flight as this will automatically flag ESTA as invalid.
Thanks, this is great info (including the reddit group, I am following some discussions on Canada as Bridge country, if I understand well, this has started just recently when Canada has opened the borders to vaccinated people, right?)
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Old Sep 16, 2021, 6:08 am
  #2255  
 
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Biden’s ‘incomprehensible’ travel ban on European visitors widens transatlantic rift (msn.com)

Found this article from the Washington Post. There's not much new here, but some may find it interesting.

I'm also not sure about the quality of the reporting - for example they say the restrictions on unvaccinated Americans imposed by France caused "outrage." I don't recall any outrage when France did that. If I hadn't been reading FT, I would never have known about it. Later on it mentions that travel restrictions are "favored by Republicans," but cites no examples of such. Indeed, towards the end it cites examples of conservatives being very much opposed to the border closure.

Last edited by LETTERBOY; Sep 16, 2021 at 1:12 pm Reason: capitalization error
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Old Sep 16, 2021, 6:36 am
  #2256  
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The UK is fighting at least a two front war to try to facilitate more travel from the UK: the UK wants the US to open up further to travelers from the UK, and it also wants Sweden to open up further to travelers from the UK.
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Old Sep 16, 2021, 10:08 pm
  #2257  
 
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Interesting report from DW News about EU urging its members to restrict non-essential travel from the US as retaliatory response to continued US travel blockade:

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Old Sep 17, 2021, 2:39 am
  #2258  
 
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Originally Posted by OGG flyer
Interesting report from DW News about EU urging its members to restrict non-essential travel from the US as retaliatory response to continued US travel blockade:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7Kp...channel=DWNews
The US have:
- 10% less vaccinated population than in Schengen countries
- Five times the number of infections rates compared to Schengen
- For almost two years they have had a travel ban from those coming from Schengen, rejecting any proposal of reciprocity. I think it would be appropriate to at least set up a 14-day quarantine to be spent in a third country, Albania, Nigeria, Algeria... is full of places to safely spend a couple of weeks before being admitted to Europe..
What is the EU waiting for to block every direct trip from the US, including visa holders and vaccinated people?
European tourism has shown that it can do without the Americans, the season went very well with mainly European tourism.
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Last edited by DL77; Sep 17, 2021 at 4:27 am
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Old Sep 17, 2021, 3:12 am
  #2259  
 
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I think the EU is desperately clinging to the poor candle of reason trying to get the US admin to change the policy. But agreed, if something doesn't change by the end of the month, reciprocity will be the only acceptable response. It will be an additional hurdle for many of us here, but the EU ought to retain at least some modicum of dignity in this dialogue.
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Old Sep 17, 2021, 4:16 am
  #2260  
 
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Originally Posted by gojko88
I think the EU is desperately clinging to the poor candle of reason trying to get the US admin to change the policy. But agreed, if something doesn't change by the end of the month, reciprocity will be the only acceptable response. It will be an additional hurdle for many of us here, but the EU ought to retain at least some modicum of dignity in this dialogue.
I disagree.

It's debatable whether EU reciprocating will have any effect on American policy, but it'll have a surefire bad impact on European airlines and hospitality. Americans have been filling the Transatlantic planes with gusto, this summer, and have been ripped off spending with the gayest of abandons in the Continent. Blocking the Americans will have some impact on a few of them but a much larger effect on Europe... And I don't know how many on the other side of the Atlantic will do the reasoning "America is blocking Europe - Europe is retaliating - Therefore we ought to open to them so that they reopen to us".

Personally, and that's just my 2p's worth, I think this is just a continuation of American isolationism. I'm straying into OMNI here, but the "America is back" trope that we've heard when Uncle Joe won is nothing more than, indeed, a trope. I've got no idea of when the US will reopen but I have a feeling that the current administration isn't really thinking about it at all. And it's not hurting them, so why bother. It's a massive pity for all of those who want / need to travel there, that's for sure.
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Old Sep 17, 2021, 5:49 am
  #2261  
 
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Originally Posted by 13901
Blocking the Americans will have some impact on a few of them but a much larger effect on Europe...
This is unquestionable, but at a certain point diplomacy needs to take over from pure economic interest. Unilateral restrictions of freedom of movement should simply be unacceptable to a political bloc the size of the EU.

That said, I remain hopeful that some kind of understanding will be reached with the test + vaccine combo.
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Old Sep 17, 2021, 6:09 am
  #2262  
 
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My biggest concern about any reopening is that we are now returning to Winter phase, which means less outdoors, more indoors and further ability of the virus to spread via aerosols in an unventilated space.

Delta causes breakthroughs even in the fully vaccinated. My son and DIL are examples of that. The only difference is that the recurrence is mild disease usually managed by several days of rest and isolation.

At some point, both the US and international community are going to have to recognized Covid as an infection causing mild (for the most part) infections in the fully vaccinated and reopen the borders to those who are vaccinated.
(Unless we all plan to be like Australia, New Zealand and China for the rest of our lives )
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Old Sep 17, 2021, 6:10 am
  #2263  
 
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Originally Posted by gojko88
This is unquestionable, but at a certain point diplomacy needs to take over from pure economic interest. Unilateral restrictions of freedom of movement should simply be unacceptable to a political bloc the size of the EU.

That said, I remain hopeful that some kind of understanding will be reached with the test + vaccine combo.
Oh, I agree... but it just seems that the US aren't interested. We'll see.
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Old Sep 17, 2021, 7:02 am
  #2264  
 
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Originally Posted by 13901
It's debatable whether EU reciprocating will have any effect on American policy,
The EU retaliating will have no impact on American policy whatsoever. The White House appears to be concerned about how this will play in terms of domestic politics. Nothing the EU can do will change the domestic political calculus.

Originally Posted by 13901
And I don't know how many on the other side of the Atlantic will do the reasoning "America is blocking Europe - Europe is retaliating - Therefore we ought to open to them so that they reopen to us".
Neither do I, but the number will be extremely small. Most Americans probably aren't even aware there's a ban on EU residents coming to the US, and if they are aware of it, they don't care.

Originally Posted by 13901
Personally, and that's just my 2p's worth, I think this is just a continuation of American isolationism. I'm straying into OMNI here, but the "America is back" trope that we've heard when Uncle Joe won is nothing more than, indeed, a trope.
Agreed.

Originally Posted by 13901
I've got no idea of when the US will reopen but I have a feeling that the current administration isn't really thinking about it at all.
The administration says they're thinking about, but thinking about it is all they're doing. They clearly don't really want to do it, otherwise it would've been done already. They could certainly manage the political consequences, if there were any (which I doubt - Republicans generally want things to go back to normal).

Originally Posted by 13901
And it's not hurting them, so why bother.
Absolutely. And unless it does start to hurt them, nothing will change. And there's nothing the EU can do to hurt the US in this regard. The US domestic travel market is thriving.

Originally Posted by 13901
It's a massive pity for all of those who want / need to travel there, that's for sure.
Yep.
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Old Sep 17, 2021, 7:33 am
  #2265  
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The number of Covid cases in the US is off topic for this thread. Several posts which could have been moved to OMNI had to be deleted since some participants are not OMNI-eligible. Please stay on topic.

/mod
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