Biden Administration Announces Plan to Lift COVID-19 Travel Restrictions in November and Replace with Vaccination Requirement

In a much-anticipated development, the Biden Administration has announced plans to end the COVID-19 travel restrictions affecting foreign nationals traveling from Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa, and the UK, sometime in November 2021. These travel restrictions have been in place since the beginning of the pandemic.

The geographic-based travel restrictions will be replaced with a new vaccination requirement for all foreign national air travelers coming to the US from any region in the world. The existing COVID-19 testing requirements issued by the CDC will continue to remain in effect, in addition to the new vaccine requirement. Some limited exceptions to the vaccination requirement are anticipated for children, vaccine clinical trial participants, and individuals traveling for an urgent reason but lack immediate access to vaccination.

What This Means for You

When the new policy becomes effective, individuals who were previously subject to the COVID-19 travel restrictions will no longer be required to obtain a National Interest Exception (NIE) before traveling to the US. As a result, individuals who already possess a valid Visa Waiver Program ESTA or a valid visa will be able to travel to the US without restriction as they could before the pandemic, as long as they provide proof of vaccination and comply with the testing requirements.

Similarly, individuals who do require a US visa will be able to travel to the US upon receiving a visa from a US Consulate, with no NIE required. Keep in mind, however, that Consular visa processing backlogs continue to cause significant delays in obtaining a visa appointment. Emergency appointments may still be secured in certain urgent circumstances.

What’s Next

The Biden administration’s announcement did not provide a specific November effective date for these new policies. Ellis Porter will continue to monitor this issue closely and provide updates on the implementation plan as they are revealed.

However, until these new policies become effective, any foreign nationals traveling to the US from a country that is subject to current COVID-19 travel restrictions will still be required to obtain an NIE.

Questions?

If you have any questions about current travel restrictions, please do not hesitate to contact a member of your Ellis Porter service team.