Worldwide entry requirements

[aikman]

I've noticed that a few people have already booked international trips for 2022.

What resources are people using to find out the current entry, transit, testing and quarantine requirements for each country? Is there a website that shows all this?

 

[justinbrett]

I've noticed that a few people have already booked international trips for 2022.

What resources are people using to find out the current entry, transit, testing and quarantine requirements for each country? Is there a website that shows all this?

I wouldn't trust anything but the official government website of the country concerned.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I wouldn't trust anything but the official government website of the country concerned.

And even then, a month or two is like a lifetime in covid terms. Entry requirements are changing daily, for example UK is moving to remove the traffic light system and PCR test requirements.

I would not be basing travel *plans* for 2022 on entry requirements unless going to a particularly high risk country. As long as flights are refundable I think it's a case of book as soon as you get a good fare/find award seats, and worry about entry requirements closer to the time.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

I've noticed that a few people have already booked international trips for 2022.

What resources are people using to find out the current entry, transit, testing and quarantine requirements for each country? Is there a website that shows all this?

This one is interesting - just need to select Australia as origin to see what is what.

Where can I travel to? Travel Restrictions by Country | KAYAK

Get information on travel restrictions by country with our map. Check the entry, vaccination, COVID-19 testing, and quarantine requirements by country before planning your next trip.

www.kayak.com

Where can I travel to? Travel Restrictions by Country | KAYAK

Get information on travel restrictions by country with our map. Check the entry, vaccination, COVID-19 testing, and quarantine requirements by country before planning your next trip.

www.kayak.com

But I would also double check the foreign government websites, especially as transits could be an issue.

 

[Mattg]

This one is interesting - just need to select Australia as origin to see what is what.

Where can I travel to? Travel Restrictions by Country | KAYAK

Get information on travel restrictions by country with our map. Check the entry, vaccination, COVID-19 testing, and quarantine requirements by country before planning your next trip.

www.kayak.com

Where can I travel to? Travel Restrictions by Country | KAYAK

Get information on travel restrictions by country with our map. Check the entry, vaccination, COVID-19 testing, and quarantine requirements by country before planning your next trip.

www.kayak.com

But I would also double check the foreign government websites, especially as transits could be an issue.

This is not up-to-date. It shows New Zealand as "open" when this hasn't been the case for 2+ months.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The Air Canada travel requirements page looks quite good. It allows you to select any starting and end point and your passport of travel: Travel Ready hub | Air Canada

It also includes links, so for example if you state an Aussie passport there's a link to the Aust Gov's outbound travel exemption page.

 

[TonyHancock]

I've noticed that a few people have already booked international trips for 2022.

What resources are people using to find out the current entry, transit, testing and quarantine requirements for each country? Is there a website that shows all this?

It is all a bit of a gamble....I got caught out thinking that the US may change entry restrictions once vaccinations were well under way. I am currently on an ESTA reset trip to MEX and changed my UK flights because of this. That said things are changing in November and I am scheduled to fly back to the UK in December with a return in January.)

I think the key is to make sure you have tickets that can be rebooked or refunded.

In terms of resources I follow the broadsheet news, sorry @burmans not the BBC or Daily Mirror*, Airlines, and government websites and then I try to predict the future - mostly unsuccessfully.)

* No offence.

 

[Danger]

IATA - International Travel Document News

www.iatatravelcentre.com

 

[Quickstatus]

Reminded that USA did not approve AZ as a Covid Vax

US approved CovidVax:
PZ (Pfizer)
SV (SpikeVax = Moderna)
JJ (Johnson and Johnson/Jannsen)

Would the US view AZ 2jabbers as being unvaccinated?

 

[drron]

But the USA has now said they will allow any vaccine approved fully by the WHO when they open up in November.AZ is one of those vaccines.

Which vaccines will the United States accept?​

There had been questions surrounding what vaccines would be eligible for entry into the United States. There’s an update on that front, as the United States will recognize any vaccines authorized by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) or World Health Organization (WHO). That includes the following vaccines:

• AstraZeneca
• Johnson & Johnson
• Moderna
• Pfizer-BioNTech
• Sinopharm
• Sinovac

It's A Big Day: United States Ends Travel Bans, Requires Vaccination

The United States has ended its travel bans as of November 8, 2021, replacing them with a vaccination requirement. Here are all the details.

onemileatatime.com

 

[Must...Fly!]

I found this tool today - really useful and seems current. Of course heaps will change between now and whenever you travel.

https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-us/announcements/coronavirus-outbreak/travel-restrictions/

 

[stroudie]

My wife & myself are booked on a European Viking river cruise departing early July 2021, postponed from June 2019.
We will fly into & out Europe (cities yet to be decided) & possibly internal flights there as well.
Here's the problem. My wife has dual citizenship (Australia/Russia) I am Australian. Her Australian passport is in her maiden name, as her Russian external & internal passports were in that name & it would have been a nightmare, if not impossible to get them changed over to her married name from here in Australia. All other documents, drivers licence, medicare, tax etc. are all in her married name. This worked fine 'till now, when travelling overseas, tickets were purchased in her maiden name & we had no problems. Now with Covid, Australian authorities require proof of double vaccination (which we have) when returning to Australia & no one knows what requirements will be needed to prove vaccination status when entering overseas countries. Under current situation, we can purchase tickets in her maiden name, but the vaccination evidence will be in her married name. Is there some way we can get tickets to show both names or some other method ?
I have not been able to get any definitive advice from travel agent & others to date & am getting a little concerned. Will we need to change all Australian id's Medicare, drivers licence et al back to her maiden name ?
I would appreciate any suggestions or advice you may be able to pass on.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

My wife & myself are booked on a European Viking river cruise departing early July 2021, postponed from June 2019.
We will fly into & out Europe (cities yet to be decided) & possibly internal flights there as well.
Here's the problem. My wife has dual citizenship (Australia/Russia) I am Australian. Her Australian passport is in her maiden name, as her Russian external & internal passports were in that name & it would have been a nightmare, if not impossible to get them changed over to her married name from here in Australia. All other documents, drivers licence, medicare, tax etc. are all in her married name. This worked fine 'till now, when travelling overseas, tickets were purchased in her maiden name & we had no problems. Now with Covid, Australian authorities require proof of double vaccination (which we have) when returning to Australia & no one knows what requirements will be needed to prove vaccination status when entering overseas countries. Under current situation, we can purchase tickets in her maiden name, but the vaccination evidence will be in her married name. Is there some way we can get tickets to show both names or some other method ?
I have not been able to get any definitive advice from travel agent & others to date & am getting a little concerned. Will we need to change all Australian id's Medicare, drivers licence et al back to her maiden name ?
I would appreciate any suggestions or advice you may be able to pass on.

It seems this is becoming a bit of an issue worldwide. Here is an article of what's happening in France, where, from what I can make out, vaccination certificates are always in the maiden name, even though passports might now be in the married name! French Covid pass maiden name issue continues to cause problems

There is some discussion in there about how the UK has suggested handling the issue - although at the moment it seems far from easy... involves getting to the airport early with a copy of the marriage certificate. That doesn't seem guaranteed, and is silent on whether that would work outside the EU.

Hopefully the authorities will work something out - there must be lots of people in the same situation.

 

[Mattg]

This article from AFF may be of interest. It includes a summary of international transit requirements as of today for 20 of the major aviation hubs.

COVID-19 Transit Requirements for Key International Airports

Australia no longer requires international arrivals to get a pre-departure COVID-19 test. But many other countries still have their own travel

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[Telemachus]

IATA - International Travel Document News

www.iatatravelcentre.com

It all depends on the context for which the OP's question was being posed:

• For initial planning, destination and route selection prior to booking, then as suggested by others here the authoritative resource will generally be the relevant website maintained by the destination country's government.
• For pre-departure checks in the days/hours before travel:
  • There will be more pre-flight guidance from carriers than ever before.
  • There will be an online health declaration to complete 72 hrs pre-departure (currently the Australia Travel Declaration but to be replaced shortly by the Digital Passenger Declaration in lieu of the old OPC & IPC).
  • Your useful link is to the tool (IATA Timatic) used by airlines & border agencies to inform a go/no go decision at check-in. Timatic also drives the IATA Travel Pass with which many of us will be getting familiar shortly, and it should tell us before we leave home whether we have a full set of compliant documentation for departure and immigration at our destination.

Obviously the requirements have grown and become more complex than pre-Covid, and governments and industry have taken the opportunity to attempt a step change in digitising the verifiable credentials needed for travel. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[aikman]

Most people walking into a Flight Centre would expect the travel agent to do all this research for them and provide the correct advice. Statistically, some travel agents may get it wrong sometimes. I wonder who will be liable if someone's trip gets disrupted because the travel agent forgot to mention that they had to do this or that.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Most people walking into a Flight Centre would expect the travel agent to do all this research for them and provide the correct advice. Statistically, some travel agents may get it wrong sometimes. I wonder who will be liable if someone's trip gets disrupted because the travel agent forgot to mention that they had to do this or that.

But isn't the issue also that the travel agent could be giving the correct advice at the time of booking/issuing tickets, but that rules change in the interim.

 

[Eastwick20]

But isn't the issue also that the travel agent could be giving the correct advice at the time of booking/issuing tickets, but that rules change in the interim.

Correct , at my travel company we run reports on clients travelling to a particular country and changes to that countries entry requirements and pass on the information if and we receive it.

If we know, we’ll contact you and tell you of the change but we can only advise and its ultimately the travellers responsibility to ensure they tick all the requirement boxes on the day of departure.

 

[Telemachus]

Another piece of the changing picture for prospective travellers to the UK. From Sun 24 Oct the UK rules are changing –as expected – to replace the Day 2 PCR test with option of a Lateral Flow (Rapid Antigen) test. This is only for fully vaccinated pax who meet UK requirements for proof of vaccination and have not visited a Red List country in prior 10 days. Note you can’t use the freely distributed NHS LF test kits but have to book a private test in advance (and pay; but less than PCR) and input the ref to your PLF. Test can be done before Day 2 e.g. at a testing centre at/near the airport on day of arrival, subsequently at a test centre, or a kit can be posted to your nominated address.

Within last 24 hrs the link to the list of private providers has been updated to include LF as well as PCR tests. See tool on Gov.UK site here: multiple options and looks straightforward, with prices shown.

 

[Scr77]

USA now requires negative test 24hrs before departure.