Showing Articles for "Travel Restrictions"

Since its inception in 1986, the U.S. Government’s Visa Waiver Program has allowed foreign nationals from over 42 countries to visit the United States without needing to apply for a visa. The program allows travelers to visit the U.S. for a period up to and including 90 days for tourism or business reasons. At the same time, it provides advance information that allows law enforcement and border security…

COVID-19 Travel Restrictions have been lifted Effective from 12:01 am Eastern Daylight Time on May 12, 2023, foreign individuals traveling on nonimmigrant visas or ESTA are no longer required to demonstrate that they have received a full course of an approved COVID-19 vaccine before boarding an aircraft bound for the United States. To provide some historical context, initial COVID-19 testing rules…

After a travel ban that lasted more than 18 months, the United States has opened its borders for fully vaccinated travelers from Mexico, Canada, the EU, South Africa, Iran, China, India, and Brazil. The only requirements are that they have to show proof of vaccination and a negative Covid-19 test. The new system came into operation on Monday, November 8 2021. This follows an announcement about two…

The United States has finally, after nearly 18 months, decided to remove its travel ban and ease restrictions on arrivals from the EU and the UK. In terms of the revised rules, travelers from the UK who are fully vaccinated will now once again be able to travel to the US for leisure and/or business purposes. This comes after the United Kingdom terminated its 'traffic light' system earlier in October.…

The White House announced on Monday, September 20, 2021, that it plans to reopen its borders to fully vaccinated airline passengers from 33 nations early in November. The list includes most European, ESTA eligible nations, as well as Brazil, China, and 5 other countries. Although unvaccinated individuals will no doubt be unhappy with the announcement, it was nevertheless widely welcomed because it…

Duty-free shopping offers international travelers the opportunity to purchase goods without paying the local import taxes or duties that would normally apply. In the United States, duty-free shops are commonly found in international airports, border towns, and cruise ship ports. Understanding how duty-free shopping works in the U.S., including what can be purchased, the limits on duty-free allowances,…

Last month the U.S. government set up working groups to interact with the UK, EU, Mexico, and Canada to investigate how travel restrictions could be lifted to facilitate the resumption of travel between these countries. Last week, however, the Biden administration announced that it has no immediate plans to remove international travel restrictions. This announcement came despite increasing pressure…

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US chief medical adviser, said in an interview with ITV News that there was a fair chance that people would be able to travel between the United States and the UK with fewer restrictions by the end of summer.  However, while he hoped that free travel between the two countries would soon resume, he could not put an exact date on this development. Dr. Fauci pointed out that it…

Following a proclamation from the White House on April 30th, 2021, people traveling from India on nonimmigrant visas will be unable to enter the United States from May 4th, 2021. The ban will not apply to those with a valid visa who have not been present in India for more than fourteen days before traveling to the US. US citizens and US permanent residents are also exempt from the travel ban. However,…

In his last days in office, outgoing President Donald Trump lifted some of the COVID-19 related restrictions on incoming travel from the European Schengen area, the UK, Brazil, and Ireland, to come into effect on January 26th. Incoming President Biden has promised to reverse this decision. Easing travel restrictions on Schengen, UK, Irish and Brazilian travelers Trump issued an executive order on…