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COVID19: Testing (and vaccination) Requirements to enter India

COVID19: Testing (and vaccination) Requirements to enter India

Old Nov 8, 2020, 7:35 am
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COVID19: Testing (and vaccination) Requirements to enter India

Hello,

I'll be traveling to India in about 2 weeks from the US. As an OCI, I don't need a visa, and am traveling through one of the already established air-bubbles. I understand that international passengers who want to avoid the instiutitional 14 day quarantine must fill out a form on the following website (Air Suvidhia). Apparently those with a negative RT-PCR test within 72 hrs of departure are allowed to self-quarantine at home.

https://www.newdelhiairport.in/airsu...onal-passenger

Has anyone recently gone through this experience? The website above actually has a FAQ with this exact same question. The answer is non-sensical, cut and pasted below:

RT-PCR test results takes more than 24 hours, then how one can do the test within 96 hours of flight and upload on portal at least 72 hours prior the flight?
As per the latest government guideline, International arrival passengers are exempted from quarantine (institutional quarantine & home quarantine) basis negative RT-PCR report. This test should be taken within 72 hours of departure or on arrival at the airport where the COVID19 testing facility is available.

Has anyone tried to fill out the form? Here is the catch 22:

1) Form has to be filled out no later than 72 hours prior to departure
2) Form requires a negative PCR test result for submission
3) I've made an appointment for a PCR test 2 days prior to my departure. But obviously I don't have the negative test results yet. The form won't let me submit unless I upload something.
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Old Nov 8, 2020, 11:53 pm
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there are tons of threads already discussing this....there is a lot of good info in the thread below:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/indi...l-allowed.html

i've done this twice over the last couple of months....both times got my test done in nyc & told them i was due to travel within the next 72 hours....both times i got my result under 48 hours....

you can fill out the form even 24 hours prior to departure....both times i filled out the form on the last day & got my approval before i landed in del....
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Old Nov 9, 2020, 9:18 am
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You have to fill out the first form 72h in advance and then upload the test result atleast 24h before arrival. Its a two part process: first you fill out the health form, then later when you have the test result you reference the confirmation number of the health form to submit the test result. Both can be done at the airport on arrival, but doing it before departure gives you the clearance to skip the lines and pre-approval before you board your flight.
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Old Nov 12, 2020, 12:43 pm
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Thanks, this clears things up. I didn't realize it was a 2-part form. Navigating the Indian government rules can be intimidating.

Does anyone have experience with the Aarogya Setu app? I've read conflicting stories on whether it was required to travel to some states or not. I'm arriving into BOM, and then staying overnight before heading to my final destination. Some states appear to mandate the Aarogya Setu, and others don't. Does domestic travel within India require showing the app to board?

Setting up the Aarogya Setu app from here in the US is impossible -- A one time password is delivered by SMS to a mobile number. The app defaults to an Indian mobile (+91). When manually trying to change this to a US based number (+1), none of the OTP messages are received by me. Has anyone with a mobile number outside of India been able to successfully activate this app?
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Old Nov 12, 2020, 11:43 pm
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The app doesn't work outside of India and can only be activated in India with an Indian mobile number.
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Old Nov 13, 2020, 2:11 pm
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Originally Posted by sgopal2
Does anyone have experience with the Aarogya Setu app? I've read conflicting stories on whether it was required to travel to some states or not. I'm arriving into BOM, and then staying overnight before heading to my final destination. Some states appear to mandate the Aarogya Setu, and others don't. Does domestic travel within India require showing the app to board?
i've traveled out of del twice in the last couple of months & i did not download the app....a friend of mine has taken multiple flights between del & bom over the last 3-4 months & even she was never asked to show the app....
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Old Nov 19, 2020, 11:22 am
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Does anyone know if it is possible to opt for 7-day institutional quarantine in lieu of 7-day home quarantine if arriving with RT-PCR test? Or will it be mandatory to undergo the home quarantine in addition even if exempted from the institutional quarantine but choosing to opt for it nonetheless?
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Old Nov 20, 2020, 2:41 am
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Originally Posted by B747-437B
Does anyone know if it is possible to opt for 7-day institutional quarantine in lieu of 7-day home quarantine if arriving with RT-PCR test? Or will it be mandatory to undergo the home quarantine in addition even if exempted from the institutional quarantine but choosing to opt for it nonetheless?
its either 7 days institutional quarantine followed by 7 days home quarantine or its 14 days home quarantine....either way its 14 days....

if you are exempt from institutional quarantine then you can either chose to quarantine at home for 14 days or at any hotel....it doesn't really matter where you stay, it just has to be for 14 days....
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Old Nov 20, 2020, 4:50 am
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The RT PCR is basically your ticket out of jail, err 'institutional quarantine'. If you want to quarantine away from home, I would suggest to stay in a hotel. All major hotels have nice staycation deals right now, which are around the published rates for institutional quarantine.
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Old Nov 20, 2020, 10:10 am
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Friends, I am flying out next Wednesday EWR-DEL - flight is at 9.30pm, so to take the RT PCR test, can I go on Sunday (>72 hr before flight)? In NJ, the testing places tell me its ok to go more than 72hr before the flight since otherwise they cant guarantee the results if I go Monday morning (which would be within the 72 hr period). Has anyone taken the test a few hours before the 72 hour mark?
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Old Nov 20, 2020, 2:13 pm
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The test needs to be taken less than 72h before departure. You can submit the result upto 24h before departure for advance clearance Or show it to the health officers on arrival. Each time they will look at the time of the sample collection. So don't mess with that.
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Old Nov 21, 2020, 2:23 am
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Originally Posted by Keyser
it doesn't really matter where you stay, it just has to be for 14 days....
Does anyone have actual experience of this? The traveler (relative of mine) doesn't want to do "home quarantine" because of elderly family members at home, but is worried that if they opt for the 14-days in a hotel they will still be required to do a further 7-days at home.
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Old Nov 21, 2020, 5:30 am
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The moment s/he leaves the airport nobody will bother to check where they are or what they are doing. My actual experience in October.
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Old Nov 21, 2020, 10:46 am
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Originally Posted by oliver2002
The moment s/he leaves the airport nobody will bother to check where they are or what they are doing. My actual experience in October.
Didn't you transit within India so as your port of entry into India was not in the same state/territory as your declared place(s) of stay in India?

Originally Posted by B747-437B
Does anyone have actual experience of this? The traveler (relative of mine) doesn't want to do "home quarantine" because of elderly family members at home, but is worried that if they opt for the 14-days in a hotel they will still be required to do a further 7-days at home.
Once they do the 14-days, the chances of being followed up on drop even further; and it's already very low if the 14 day stay is in a not-so-close, different state/territory than the state/territory used as the airport of entry into India.
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Old Nov 21, 2020, 12:43 pm
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Originally Posted by GUWonder
Didn't you transit within India so as your port of entry into India was not in the same state/territory as your declared place(s) of stay in India?
Nope, that was the initial plan, in the end I flew directly to the state because the MOCA had a problem with LH.
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