On Monday October 25, 2021 President Biden signed a Proclamation - Advancing Safe Resumption of Global Travel announcing new requirements for air travel that will take effect on November 8, 2021. This proclamation will end the travel restrictions under Presidential Proclamations (P.P.) 9984, 9992, 10143, and 10199 as they relate to the suspension of entry into the United States of persons physically present in Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, effective November 8, 2021. In place of these geographic restrictions, the President announced a global vaccination requirement for all adult foreign national travelers.
Full details about the announcement can be found on the CDC and Department of State websites. Key takeaways include the following:
Vaccination Requirement for Air Travel Entry to the US
Starting on November 8, non-citizen, non-immigrant air travelers to the United States will be required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to fly to the U.S.
Proof of Vaccination:
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Proof of vaccination will be required for nonimmigrants– with very limited exceptions. Passengers will need to show their vaccination status, and the airlines will need to:
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Match the name and date of birth to confirm the passenger is the same person reflected on the proof of vaccination;
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Determine that the record was issued by an official source (e.g., public health agency, government agency) in the country where the vaccine was given;
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Review the essential information for determining if the passenger meets CDC’s definition for fully vaccinated such as vaccine product, number of vaccine doses received, date(s) of administration, site (e.g., vaccination clinic, health care facility) of vaccination.
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Accepted Vaccines:
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The CDC has determined that for purposes of travel to the United States, vaccines accepted will include FDA approved or authorized and World Health Organization (WHO) emergency use listed (EUL) vaccines.
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You can find the list of acceptable vaccines on the CDC Travel Vaccination requirements page and additional travel and vaccine information on the CDC Air Travel page.
Limited Exceptions from the Vaccination Requirement:
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There are a very limited set of exceptions from the vaccination requirement for foreign nationals. These include exceptions for children under 18, those who are traveling on non-tourist visas from countries with low-vaccine availability (as determined by the CDC), certain COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial participants, those with medical contraindications to the vaccines, those who need to travel for emergency or humanitarian reasons (with a US government-issued letter affirming the urgent need to travel), and other very narrow categories.
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Those who receive an exception will generally be required to attest they will comply with applicable public health requirements, including testing and quarantine, and with very limited exceptions, a requirement that they be vaccinated in the U.S. if they intend to stay here for more than 60 days.