Good news for those scheduled to travel to the United States on or after May 12. Inbound travel to the US is going to be free of all pandemic-induced regulations, with effect from 12 May 2023. The White House officially announced that the COVID-19 vaccine requirements for USA-bound international air travelers will come to an end on May 11. America’s updated inbound travel policy applies to travelers from most countries, including India.
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Precisely, travelers from India and from other countries are not required to show an international travel certificate (vaccination proof) at the departure airport in India and at the port of entry in the US. Even unvaccinated travelers, who have been barred from traveling to the US since November 2021, can book flight tickets to USA now onwards. This is a great relief for those elderly Indians who could not visit their families in America because their existing medical conditions did not allow them to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
“It is still recommended that you (if fully vaccinated) carry vaccination proof to avoid any uncertainty while traveling to USA via a third country,” said the chief travel advisor at Indian Eagle, a trusted air-ticketing partner of Indian Diaspora for 15 years. Though transit in the Middle East or Europe does not require vaccination proof from international travelers from India.
You may be wondering whether you need to take a pre-departure test in view of the COVID vaccination requirement being revoked. The answer is a big NO, because the US government dropped the pre-departure COVID testing regulation for incoming travelers in June 2022. Currently, there is no such requirement. Traveling to USA will be an altogether new experience, without compliance to any COVID-related mandate three years after the pandemic curbed international travel.
International air tickets to USA are being anticipated to cost more after the lifting of the remaining regulation for travelers flying in. If you are seeking cheap airfare deals for your parents’ travel to USA from India, you can grab Indian Eagle’s discount coupons to be released on the eve of May 12, Mother’s Day 2023.