United States. Updated entry requirements

The US authorities have updated the provisions governing entry into the United States for international travellers.
– Only foreign nationals who present official certification of having received the full course of vaccinations will be allowed to enter the US (whether by air, land or ferry terminal). As of 12 June 2022, the US authorities do not require a negative covid test to enter the country.
– Full vaccination: 14 days must have passed since the second dose of the vaccine was received (or since the first dose in the case of single-dose vaccines such as Janssen/Johnson&Johnson) before travelling to the United States.
– Only vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (which, as of June 2022, are the Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen/Johnson&Johnson vaccines) and those approved by the World Health Organisation (which as of June 2022 are, in addition to the three above, the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Serum institute of India, Novavax, Bharat Biotech, Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines) are valid.
– According to information released by the US authorities, they do not allow entry into the US for those who have received only one dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, even in cases where those individuals have previously passed the coronavirus.
– FDA-approved vaccines can be found at the following link: https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/covid-19-vaccines.
– WHO-approved vaccines can be found at the following link: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/covid-19-vaccines.
– The US authorities accept that the full vaccination schedule may have been carried out with a combination of different vaccines (provided that both have been approved by the FDA or WHO).
– Proof of vaccination must be a paper or digital record issued by an official source (e.g. public health agency, government agency) and must include the traveller’s name and date of birth, as well as the vaccine product and date(s) of administration of all doses received. The digital vaccination certificate issued by the European Union is accepted as proof of vaccination.

– Exempted from the vaccination requirement are: (i) all persons under 18 years of age; (ii) those persons with medical contraindications to vaccines and who can prove it with a medical report; (iii) urgent and humanitarian cases (previously endorsed by a US public institution through a written letter); (iv) those persons residing in countries with very poor access to vaccines (according to a list drawn up by «Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC»; Spain is NOT among those countries) and who at the same time have a substantiated and exceptional reason to travel to the US (tourism is not included among those reasons).
– Those exempted from the vaccination requirement to enter the United States must agree in writing to follow the public health measures indicated by the US authorities, which may include: a commitment to take a covid test within 3-5 days of arrival in the US, and to self-quarantine or self-isolation depending on the results of the test. The US authorities may require a few days of self-quarantine even in case of a negative covid test result after arrival in the US. Persons entering the US without proof of vaccination under exemptions iii (urgent and humanitarian cases) and iv (residents of countries with very poor access to vaccines and who have a compelling and exceptional reason to travel) above, may be required by the US authorities to receive the full course of covid vaccination within 60 days of arrival in the US, when such persons plan to stay in the US for more than 60 days.
– Unvaccinated children under 18 years of age will, in principle, be required to take a covid test within 3-5 days of arrival. If the test result is positive, or if the child develops symptoms of covid, he or she must be placed in self-isolation.
– Children under 2 years of age are not required to present proof of vaccination upon arrival in the US, and in principle the US authorities do not require a covid test upon arrival in the US.
– Persons who enter the US without being vaccinated because of medical contraindications to vaccinations and who can prove this with a medical report will in principle be required to take a covid test within 3-5 days of arrival. If the result of this test is positive, or if the child develops symptoms of covid, he/she will have to be placed in self-isolation. Regardless of the test result, the person will be placed in self-quarantine for 5 days (even if the test result is negative).

All international travellers entering the US must agree to the release of their personal contact details to the US authorities so that they can be contacted in the event that they are potentially infected or have been in contact with persons infected with covid.
These requirements also apply to travellers making a stopover at a US airport for onward travel to a third country.