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Lots of news circulating with travel requirements for those traveling to the United States. In a nutshell, here’s what we know:
- Effective January 26, 2021 – all international air travelers to the United States will need to present a negative COVID test results prior to boarding their flight to the US.
- As announced on January 21, 2021 via Executive Order from the White House, requiring travelers to US to quarantine
- As of this writing (Jan 22, 2021) – it is still unknown how quarantine will be enforced, what guidelines to follow, the length of time to quarantine. More to come on that.
I did come across this list of FAQs (Frequent Asked Questions) as published by the U.S. Department of State: Consular Affairs. I thought it was worth sharing to those who are still in need of clarification with the negative testing requirements.
𝐍𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐅𝐀𝐐𝐬
𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃: 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏
𝐐: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝?
A: See our U.S. Embassy pages on how and where to get tested in the country from which you are traveling. https://travel.state.gov/…/ea/covid-19-information.html
𝐐: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬? 𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝟑 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔.𝐒.?
A: If you are arriving on a direct flight to the US, your test must be done within the 3 calendar days before your flight departs. If you are arriving via one or more connecting flights, your test must be done in the 3 days before the first flight in your itinerary, but only if the connecting flights were booked as a single passenger booking with a final destination in the US and layovers are no longer than 24 hours. If your connecting flight to the US was booked separately, a layover in your itinerary lasts longer than 24 hours, or your travel is disrupted and you leave the airport, you will need to get tested within the 3 days before your flight that arrives in the US.
𝐐: 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧?
A: You will need a viral test (NAAT or antigen test) to determine if you are currently infected with COVID-19.
𝐐: 𝐃𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡? 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬?
A: Please check with your airline to determine in what language results can be submitted. #CDC requires air passengers to have a paper or electronic copy of their test result for review by the airline before you board and for potential review by public health officials after you arrive in the US. Passengers will also attest to the authenticity of the test presented.
𝐐: 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐚?
A: We have no changes to visa requirements to announce at this time. However, this order does apply to nonimmigrant and immigrant visa holders.
𝐐: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟑 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬? 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭?
A: If your flight is delayed before departure, you will need to get re-tested if the delay causes your test to fall outside of the 3-day pre-departure testing period requirement. A delay while traveling on a continuous itinerary will not invalidate an otherwise valid test unless it results in you leaving the airport terminal or a layover lasting longer than 24 hours.
𝐐: 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬?
A: Yes. Any passenger on a flight entering the US, even for a connection, will require testing before departure.
𝐐: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞? 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐲? 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬?
A: The U.S. government does not plan to provide COVID-19 vaccinations or testing services to private U.S. citizens abroad.
For more information regarding inbound travel testing requirements, we refer you to the #CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/…/testing-international-air…).
For more information on where to obtain a test overseas, travelers should review the relevant Embassy website. You may need to consider a routing change to a different country or city in order to meet the testing requirement.
𝐐: 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐲/𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠?
A: U.S. citizens are required to pay for their own tests. In general, if a U.S. citizen abroad faces destitution, the Department can offer certain limited types of assistance if eligibility requirements are met; you may find more information about what we can do on our website: https://travel.state.gov/…/emergency-financial….
𝐐: 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬. 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲?
A: In general, if a U.S. citizen abroad faces destitution, the Department can offer certain limited types of assistance if eligibility requirements are met; you may find more information about what we can do on our website: https://travel.state.gov/…/emergency-financial….
𝐐: 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧𝐬, 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐔𝐒 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬?
A: The Department of State does not provide direct medical care to private U.S. citizens abroad. We are committed to providing all possible consular assistance to U.S. citizens in need overseas, including by providing information on local medical resources when appropriate.
𝐐: 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭?
A: Please visit the CDC’s website for a list of limited exemptions: https://www.cdc.gov/…/testing-international-air…
𝐐: 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔.𝐒.?
A: If the negative viral test result is outside of the 3 day window, you will need to test again.
𝐐: 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐃𝐨 𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝?
A: All air passengers traveling to the US, regardless of vaccination status, are required to provide a negative COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery.
𝐐: 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭. 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭?
A: All air passengers age 2 and older need to provide negative test results. Children under the age of 2 do not need to provide negative test results.
𝐐: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞? 𝐈𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥?
A: The CDC order does not ban U.S. citizens from entering the US. The order relates to boarding a U.S.-bound aircraft and is meant to protect and preserve human life, as well as prevent further transmission of a highly contagious and often deadly virus.
𝐐: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞. 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?
A: It depends. While some resorts are planning to offer testing, there is no guarantee you will test negative. The #CDC estimates that 40% of all COVID-19 cases are asymptomatic. If you test positive you should be prepared to extend your trip for a few weeks at your own expense.
A: Some resorts and int’l airports are working to provide testing but there’s no guarantee there will be enough tests, or that results will be ready in 3 days, especially at popular locations. Verify your destination offers testing, and have a back-up plan. https://travel.state.gov/…/ea/covid-19-information.html
A: If your resort does offer COVID testing, remember not all types of tests will be accepted. Only a viral test (either molecular NAAT or antigen) is acceptable for boarding on U.S.-bound flights.
𝐐: 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠?
A: We encourage U.S. citizens to avoid non-essential travel. If you must travel abroad we want you to have all the information you need to do so safely. Have health and financial contingency plans should you test positive, and do your part to help slow the spread of the virus.
𝐐: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟑 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬? 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞.
A: The 3-day time-frame is meant to provide a reasonable turnaround time for test results. While you could be infected after your test, the #CDC order is meant to reduce the risk of further introduction, transmission, and spread of the virus (including new variants) into the US.
𝐐: 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐚 𝐔.𝐒.-𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝?
A: The CDC order does not replace Presidential Proclamations that suspend/limit entry into the US of aliens who were physically present within specific countries during the 14-day period before attempted entry. We will provide updates on these policies if/when they are available.
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