On Friday 15 October, the White House decided to finally lift all travel restrictions linked to covid-19 for fully vaccinated international visitors. from 8 November. This decision puts an end to a traffic ban that has been historic in the country's recent history. The United States had kept its borders virtually sealed for 21 months. The ban applied not only to air travel but also to land travel with Canada and Mexico.
From 8 November, the United States will be admitting fully vaccinated foreign air travellers from the 26 countries in the Schengen area as well as from Great Britain, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil. The quarantine requirement has been lifted for all vaccinated travellers.
Very flexible conditions compared with other countries...
However, foreign travellers must present proof of vaccination before boarding a flight, and proof of a recent negative Covid-19 test less than 72 hours old for a PCR test. Foreign visitors arriving via a land border will not be required to show proof of a recent negative test.
The White House has specified that it will accept all vaccines approved by the US health authorities and the WHO. This includes people vaccinated with the Chinese vaccines Sinovac and Sinopharm - in contrast to the European Union. The country also allows people who have received a "cocktail" of different vaccines.
There's still one stage to go. Identification once inside the United States. The country must therefore clarify what will be the tracing application which travellers will have to install over the next few days.
The news should give a further boost to bookings between the European continent and the United States. And we can look forward to a fine spring on the North Atlantic route.
