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.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d60ddab691.png

So, on that landing page, under COVID-19 TRAVEL UPDATE, it states, "No quarantine is required for passengers arriving with a negative RT PCR certificate provided the test is conducted within the stipulated period from the date of journey." However, looking at the advisory for Maharashtra, under international travel it states, "14 days home quarantine/ self-monitoring." Have they just not updated the state specific info? Trying to get to my niece's wedding from the US at the end of November.

Travel to India - 7 Day Quarantine
 

I am seeing recent changes to rules for entering India. It seems that anyone coming in from "At Risk" countries which includes the US and UK are asked to quarantine for 7 nights. If i have a family holiday booked in Rajasthan for Christmas are we expected to quarantine in our rooms ? Does anyone know how hotels are being effected by this rule ?

Welcome to FT.

The request to quarantine is a recommendation with no one actually following up with you whether you are staying put in a hotel. So as long as you make it out of the first port of entry then you are free to go around as you please.

I would suggest to take normal COVID precautions when you are vacationing in Rajasthan as you still need to get back to your home country as per plan :)

So the quarantine is a recommendation not a law ? Do you have personal experience with this or is this because you know India well ? Just wondering. Am waiting for the hotel to get back to me too as they seem a little confused.

The "recommendation" is issued under the law (Disaster Management Act 2005) but the implementation like all things in India varies. Checking with your hotel is a good idea.

These days with Omicron, international arrivals (esp. foreign nationals) are under increased surveillance in some states. I don't personally know the situation in Rajasthan.

Maharashtra has extended 7-day home quarantine for all UAE arrivals, despite it not being listed as an "at risk" country: https://www.hindustantimes.com/citie...799339194.html

Mandatory quarantine for ALL INTERNATIONAL travellers starts in a few days. From The Hindu:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...le38168676.ece

RT-PCR test must on eighth day to be monitored by State govts; visitors from ‘at risk’ countries still need RT-PCR test on arrival

All international travellers will have to undergo a seven-day home quarantine on their arrival in India with effect from January 11, according to the government’s latest guidelines.

^^ It's home quarantine though, not institutional.

Anyone arrived in Hyderabad from at risk countries last few days ? Just wondering how strict they are about the Home quarantine rules , I am meant to fly to hyderabad on 30th jan and then to Kolkata to get married on 3rd Feb.

From at-risk countries you are subject to testing on arrival so you might want to arrive a few days earlier in case you test positive...unless you want to do your wedding in PPE. Also all international arrivals are subject to home quarantine and a D8 RTPCR test from Jan 11.

I am wondering as well - does anyone have any details on home quarantine rules applicable to different cities or is it common across all?

No is going to be calling you after you leave the airport.

Started day 1 of my home quarantine today. Will keep this forum posted in case anyone calls to follow up if I'm staying at home.

Thank you , look forward to your reply. Which city did you arrive in? Also wondering if they are forcing the day 8 pcr test

Arrived in DEL. No one mentioned anything about taking the test on day 8.

Let us know if they check on your home quarantine. It looks like the same rules are applied differently based on the personnel at the airport. Usual Indian chaos.

7-Day quarantine even if tested negative upon arrival?

This document indicates that 2% of all arriving passengers on a flight will be tested and "All travellers (including those 2% who were selected for random testing on arrival and were found negative) will undergo home quarantine for 7 days and shall undertake RT-PCR test on the 8th day of arrival in India*.

So even if you test negative you still have to spend 7 days sitting around and twiddling your thumb? And what if you have no "home" in India but were planning to stay at a hotel?

Day 3 now. No one has contacted me yet & I don't think anyone will.

This is similar to the rule they had initially when they resumed international flights in 2020. You had to quarantine at home (or in your hotel) on arrival for a set number of days. No one followed up to see if this was actually being done.

Thats good , Do let us know about future days too. Thanks for letting me know. I am due to fly to hyderabad from heathrow on 25th and meant to get married on 5th in WB. Hopefully everything goes smoothly

Congratulations on the upcoming wedding:tu:

Any calls or visits yet from the health officials ?

Nothing so far.

sharing an experience - friend of mine arrived in Delhi on Jan 12. Address provided in Air Suvidha form was local Delhi address. Received a call on Jan 14 from Delhi Health Dept asking if he has any symptoms and reminder that they have to quarantine at home for 7 days.

Good to know that they are following up with some people. I'm on day 6 now & have not received any call. I'm supposed to upload a Covid test report on day 8. Lets see if I get a call by then.