Vaccination Requirement Replaces Regional COVID Travel Bans for Air Travelers

On October 25, 2021, President Biden that the U.S. will move away from country-by-country travel restrictions and adopt an air travel policy that relies primarily on vaccination, with limited exceptions.

Effective, November 8, 2021, at 12:01 am (ET), foreign national air travelers to the U.S. must be fully vaccinated to travel to the U.S. and will be required to provide proof of vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane. This requirement does NOT apply to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), or those traveling to the U.S. on an immigrant (permanent resident) visa.

Foreign national children under 18 are exempt from the vaccination requirement but must take a pre-departure COVID test within three days before departure and show proof of a negative viral test to board an airplane to the U.S. Children under 2 years of age are encouraged but not required to undergo pre-departure testing..

The has been updated with information regarding testing and vaccine requirements. The U.S. will accept vaccines that are FDA approved or authorized as well as those that are on the WHO’s emergency use list.

Fully-vaccinated air travelers will continue to be required to show pre-departure negative viral test from a sample taken within three days of travel to the U.S. This testing requirement applies to ALL travelers including U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and foreign nationals.

For additional details, please visit the Dept. of State website.

U.S. to Open Land and Ferry Borders on November 8, 2021

Effective, November 8, 2021, at 12:01 am (ET), DHS will lift its ban on “non-essential travel” for fully-vaccinated foreign nationals arriving via land or ferry. By providing proof of vaccination, foreign nationals will be allowed to cross the land border from Canada and Mexico without having to prove that their travel is for an “essential” purpose.

The has been updated with information regarding testing and vaccine requirement. The U.S. will accept vaccines that are FDA approved or authorized as well as those that are on the WHO’s emergency use list.

The U.S.–Canada and U.S.–Mexico land border remains closed for non-essential travel for unvaccinated foreign nationals until January 21, 2022. The Biden Administration may decide to extend these restriction further.