White Paper: Making Travel Plans? Here’s the Short-Term Outlook

Nov 15, 2021 | Consular Services & Travel

As the holidays approach and travel increases, several countries are experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases once again. Risk assessments and tricky entry and exit requirements vary from country to country. The situation is obviously more complex and inconvenient for unvaccinated travelers than for the vaccinated, but even the latter have risk-mitigation considerations and requirements to meet.

Meanwhile, the United States opened up travel for vaccinated people as of November 8, 2021 and is no longer banning entry based on country of origin. With respect to processing at U.S. embassies and consulates, delays have increased, and services and appointments are not available everywhere.

So as to provide an in-depth look at the state of global travel, WR Immigration has produced a white paper on this subject. For a complete picture of how the changes in travel restrictions relates to you, consider attending our webinar led by Managing Partner, Bernie Wolfsdorf, and Partner Avi Friedman on Nov. 18, 2021, at noon Pacific. All are welcome to join. Register here.

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UPDATE: To further clarify the travel updates, WR Immigration is hosting a free webinar on this subject, led by Managing Partner, Bernie Wolfsdorf, and Partner Avi Friedman on Nov. 18, 2021, at noon pacific. All are welcome to join. Register here. The Biden administration will ease travel restrictions on all fully vaccinated international travelers at air and land borders effective November 8, 2021.  The decision rescinds geographic travel bans implemented in 2020 under the Trump Administration. Global mobility and human resources professionals should prepare for a noticeable bump in requests for travel. Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know:   Travel Bans Rescinded Under the covid travel bans, foreign nationals who had been in Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, Schengen countries, South Africa and the United Kingdom within two weeks preceding travel were banned from flying directly into the United States unless they first applied for and received a National Interest Exception waiver.  These travel bans are being rescinded. A New Vaccination Mandate Under Biden’s new policy, all international travelers will be required to prove they have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and furnish proof of a negative Covid-19 test within 3 days of boarding a flight to U.S. […]

White House: All Foreign Nationals Flying to the U.S. Required to be Vaccinated – Some Regional COVID Travel Bans to be Waived

The White House announced on September 20, 2021, that all foreign nationals will be required to show proof of full COVID vaccination to board a flight to the United States. Some exceptions may apply to children, COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial participants, and individuals traveling for important reasons who lack access to a vaccine in a timely manner. The CDC will provide details on which vaccines will be accepted. The new vaccine requirement will be in addition to existing COVID test requirements for air travelers, which require a negative COVID test taken within 3 days prior to traveling, or documentation of recent COVID recovery. This requirement will coincide with cessation of the regional COVID air travel bans currently in place for the countries of Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa, or the United Kingdom. For those areas, this policy is a shift from imposing restrictions on specific regions towards focusing on the individual. However, current travel bans for all “non-essential” land travel from Canada and Mexico have been extended to October 21, 2021. Hopefully, the US will be able to adopt similar policies at our northern and southern borders soon. Important to note – foreign nationals who […]