Travel: Vaccinated Austrians Allowed to Enter the U.S. Again
Fully vaccinated foreign nationals, including Austrians, are now allowed to enter the United States again without requiring a "national interest exemption." Read about the latest update to US entry requirements and find out who qualifies for an exception.
Vaccinated foreign nationals can now enter the USA again (Picture: The Statue of Liberty stands on Liberty Island). / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / Liberty Island photo D Ramey Logan [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced a new order for people traveling to the United States.
Since Monday morning, foreigners have been allowed to enter the USA again after a complete vaccination against the coronavirus.
Previously, a special permit from the U.S. government known as a “national interest exemption” (NIE) was required for this.
Flights are planned from Austria, for example, on Monday 15 November at 10:25 a.m. from Vienna-Schwechat to New York.
Airlines expect a high backlog of private travelers and business people in the coming weeks.
Despite the entry ban, groups of people such as U.S. citizens, diplomats and people from various non-EU nations have already been allowed to fly to the United States.
U.S. citizens have been allowed to re-enter the EU since June.
Foreign nationals are now allowed to enter the U.S. if they present valid proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test. The test must be done within three days of departure.
Unvaccinated foreign nationals may enter the country only if they meet certain criteria for exceptional cases and agree to undergo COVID-19 testing three to five days after arrival, quarantine for seven days and get vaccinated if the stay exceeds 60 days.
In addition, travelers must provide personal information to remain accessible to authorities.
Exceptional cases
The following people qualify as exceptional cases:
- Persons on diplomatic or official foreign government travel
- Children under 18 years of age
- Persons with documented medical contraindications to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine
- Participants in certain COVID-19 vaccine trials
- Persons issued a humanitarian or emergency exception
- Persons with valid visas [excluding B-1 (business) or B-2 (tourism) visas] who are citizens of a foreign country with limited COVID-19 vaccine availability
- Members of the U.S. Armed Forces or their spouses or children (under 18 years of age)
- Sea crew members traveling with to a C-1 and D nonimmigrant visa
- Persons whose entry would be in the national interest, as determined by the Secretary of State, Secretary of Transportation, or Secretary of Homeland Security (or their designees)
Due to the frequent changes to COVID-19 regulations, it is important to check with the government and airlines for the most up-to-date requirements before traveling.