Fully vaccinated foreign nationals wishing to travel to the U.S. via both land and air can do so beginning November 8, according to the White House.
The administration announced on Sept. 20 its plans to begin reopening the country for some foreign travelers entering the country by air but declined to give a specific date on when the new guidelines would take effect. Fully vaccinated foreign nationals must provide airlines with a negative COVID-19 test to fly and proof of vaccination, according to the new rules.
“The US’ new travel policy that requires vaccination for foreign national travelers to the United State will begin on Nov 8,” White House assistant press secretary Kevin Munoz tweeted Friday. “This announcement and date applies tooth international air travel and land travel. This policy is guided by public health, stringent, and consistent.”
Travellers wait to cross into Canada at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, Ontario, August 9, 2021 as Canada reopens for non-essential travel to fully vaccinated Americans. (Photo by Geoff Robins / AFP) (Photo by GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty Images)
President Joe Biden’s administration announced its plans to reopen land travel for the Mexico and Canadian border to fully vaccinated foreign travelers on Oct. 12, though again did not give a specific date at the time. The U.S. closed the land border with Canada and Mexico to non-essential travel because of the COVID-19 pandemic back in March 2020 while barring most foreign travelers coming by air from various different countries.
Those arriving by plane will need to have received COVID-19 vaccine shots that have been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration or acknowledged by the World Health Organization, officials previously said. As for land travel, an official suggested the rules will likely be the same, though no official announcement has been made. (RELATED: Biden Admin Says It Will Require Private Companies With 100+ Employees To Mandate Vaccine Or Test Weekly)
Non-vaccinated foreign travelers will largely remain barred from entering the country for non-essential purposes. The administration’s land travel plan includes two phases, the second of which begins in January 2022, a senior administration official said. This phase will require all inbound foreign nationals traveling across the land border to be fully vaccinated, even if traveling for essential reasons.