Quarantine upon arrival in India?
 

I am a little confused about entry rules at the moment because they seem to be somewhat vague (lots of “may be” in the text). I am a resident of USA and have an OCI card and am planning to arrive in Delhi with a connecting flight to Kolkata; I am vaccinated and will of course do a test 3-days before boarding the flight. I will be flying on British Airways and only transiting in Heathrow airport, without entering the UK. Plan to stay at a hotel of my choice in Calcutta. Here are my questions:

1. Will I be required to take a Covid test after landing in Delhi?
2. If yes, how long does it take to get the results?
3. Assuming the result is negative, may I proceed to my connecting flight without any delay?
4. What is a safe margin from the arrival time to the departure of the domestic flight?
5. Other than testing positive, under what circumstances can I be forced to quarantine?
6. If forced to quarantine, can it be at a hotel of my choice? Although I have an OCI card, I do not have a home address in India.
7. At the moment I have only a US mobile phone and will not have am Indian number when I land. I plan to get a SIM for an Indian number after arrival in Calcutta. Is that OK?

If I have left out something, i.e. not considered a potential hurdle, I will be grateful if someone could please point it out. Since my intended duration of stay is only about 7 days, I DO NOT WANT any kind of compulsory quarantine

thanks for any advice
.

I flew into DEL last week and connecting to MAA.

When you deplane, right outside they have set up test stations (guarded by police, welcome to 1984). I was also worried I have to wait for the results, but that's not the case. You have to leave your sample, pay INR 500, and you get some paper. You give them your details, email and phone number (Just give them your US number, your email address is there as a redundancy anyway). But you don't have to wait for the results. After leaving your sample things are like usual. Head to immigration, collect your bags, walk through customs and then back in to your departures and that's it.

I guess if you were to test positive, the Indian gov. is expecting your to quarantine at your final destination. But since we have false positives, just test again and see if you come up negative and fly back after your 7 days.

Note that the WB Govt expects you to quarantine with 'self-monitoring' at home for 14 days when arriving from outside India. Make sure to file your details via the sandhane app. No one comes to verify, but it is better to report.

Details on page 5 of the pdf:

my family & i flew jfk-del on ba last week with only a transit in lhr....we took the test upon landing in del & didn't have to wait for the results....its been 9 days now & i still haven't received the results of the test....i called the lab a couple of times & got vague answers & was asked to download their app which does not work....i'm guessing the results are all negative otherwise someone would have contacted us....

That's very interesting that you mentioned that because I was also wondering why I haven't received any result. I looked at the receipt from them and the company which does the testing on behalf of the airport is "Genestring Diagnostics" (it says so on the receipt), which made me have a ... moment, especially after going to their website. Genestrings ? Driving Fine Genetics
Says nothing about PCT tests on their website. What if these guys are just collecting DNA and genetic data from us. Wouldn't surprise me at all.

What category of US visitors are currently allowed to travel to India?
 

I see some posts of US citizens traveling to India. Are US residents (with an OCI card) currently being allowed to visit family in India (Delhi)? This is assuming that do they meet the vaccination/RT-PCR requirements.
The reason for the query is because the COVID-19 Information | U.S. Embassy & Consulates in India (usembassy.gov) website states: "Are U.S. citizens permitted to enter India? Yes, depending on the purpose of travel. Travel to India for tourism and most other short-term purposes is still not permitted. However, some additional categories of travelers including certain business travelers, as well as individuals moving to India as residents, are permitted.”

OCI are allowed to come, no issues.

I am planning to visit Mumbai late September / early October. I am an Indian citizen, UK resident, fully vaccinated. Is home quarantine for 2 weeks in Mumbai still required? I am asking as I am not planning to stay more than a few days. Thanks in advance for the help.

No more. See here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/indi...uarantine.html

Thanks. Hopefully, things don't go backwards in a month from now.

ya a test is required for the saftey purpose

This is no longer valid!

I arrived on 20 Sep, from the US via a transit (no entry) in LHR on BA. Most passengers who were booked to fly beyond DEL were taken for compulsory testing made to pay an atrocious sum of INR 1,750 each (including a spurious 'convenience fee" + a fee to use the airport and made to wait 4 hours for the results to come in). I had purposely booked my connecting flight with a very healthy margin to account for possible delays, so that did not upset my plans too much, but I would have rather not been confined to a gate holding area. I shudder to think what would have happened if I rested positive though!

The local newspapers seemed to suggest this is the Modi government's tactic for dealing with the UK's refusal to accept the Indian vaccine to be as good as the others - but who knows.

Any new experiences flying into BOM from the US with a transit in Europe AMS/CDG? We are booked for Dec. US Passport holder with an OCI and final destination is BOM. No onward travel beyond BOM.

I'd like to visit India as a tourist after I receive my e-visa.

Do the testing and quarantine requirements for US and UK citizens and/or arrivals vary by state?

How can I find out what the current testing and quarantine requirements are for US and UK citizens arriving as tourists from the US and UK?

The overview is on this page: https://www.newdelhiairport.in/covid19

Select your state and read the general MoHFW rules.


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