Requirement for Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination for Air Passengers

The requirements outlined in the Presidential Proclamation and CDC’s Order apply to anybody who is considered a noncitizen nonimmigrant and is traveling to the United States by air. These people are referred to in the Proclamation and the Order as “Covered Individuals.”

Covered Individuals include:

• Any non-U.S. citizen seeking to enter the United States by air travel with a nonimmigrant visa listed in “Nonimmigrant Visa Categories” on the U.S. Department of State’s webpage Directory of Visa Categoriesexternal icon, as well as K nonimmigrant visa holders;
• Any non-U.S. citizen seeking to enter the United States by air travel who has been granted an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) as part of the Visa Waiver Programexternal icon;
• Any non-U.S. citizen seeking to enter the United States by air travel as a nonimmigrant under the Guam-Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Visa Waiver Program; and
• Any non-U.S. citizen otherwise seeking to enter the United States by air travel as a nonimmigrant in any other category exempt from the general requirement to present a nonimmigrant visa for admission (e.g., certain Canadian nationals).

No, U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, U.S. lawful permanent residents, and immigrants, are not Covered Individuals; therefore the Presidential Proclamation and CDC Order Implementing the Presidential Proclamation do not apply. See Immigrants and Other Non-affected Persons.

If you are a noncitizen who is a nonimmigrant and can show acceptable proof of vaccination with an accepted COVID-19 vaccine, and meet the definition of fully vaccinated, you meet the requirements under the Presidential Proclamation and CDC’s Order.

Yes, the Order applies to any noncitizen nonimmigrant on a flight to the United States from a foreign country, regardless of whether the United States is the final destination or a connection to another country.  (See also If I am connecting through the U.S. to another country, do I still need to get tested?)

No, if you are not a U.S. citizen and are not an immigrant, you are required to show proof of being fully vaccinated with an accepted COVID-19 vaccine to board a flight to the United States. If you do not meet the requirements to be considered fully vaccinated, you will not be able to board your flight to the United States, unless you meet criteria for one of the exceptions.

No, the requirements of the Presidential Proclamation and CDC’s Order only apply to air travel into the United States.

Yes, at this time all noncitizen nonimmigrant air passengers traveling to the United States, regardless of antibody status, are required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

Yes, different formulations of COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or listed for emergency use by WHO are accepted. Examples include:

• Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines (e.g., COMIRNATY, Tozinameran)
• AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccines (e.g., Covishield, Vaxzevria)
• Moderna COVID-19 vaccine (e.g., Takeda, Spikevax)
• Bharat Biotech International COVID-19 Vaccines (e.g., BBV152, COVAXIN)

Airlines and other aircraft operators must be able to confirm proof of vaccination and review other required information and should determine when translation is necessary for these purposes. If your documents are in a language other than English, you should check with your airline or aircraft operator before travel.

Categories of noncitizen, nonimmigrants that meet the criteria for an exception under the proclamation and CDC’s order include:

• 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 pursuant 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)

If you are a noncitizen, nonimmigrant who does not fall under any of these exceptions, you must show proof of being fully vaccinated before boarding a flight to the United States.

No, there are no exceptions under the Presidential Proclamation and CDC’s Order for religious reasons or other moral convictions.

Certain categories of persons traveling to the United States for reasons related to official foreign government travel or because they have been invited by the United Nations are eligible for an exception under the Proclamation and CDC’s Order. These categories are

• Any noncitizen seeking entry into or transiting the United States under one of the following nonimmigrant visa classifications: A-1, A-2, C-2, C-3 (as a foreign government official or immediate family member of an official), E-1 (as an employee of TECRO or TECO or the employee’s immediate family members), G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, NATO-1 through NATO-4, or NATO-6 (or seeking to enter as a nonimmigrant in one of those NATO classifications)

• Any noncitizen whose travel falls within the scope of Section 11 of the United Nations Headquarters Agreement or other travel pursuant to U.S. legal obligation (as evidenced by a letter of invitation from the United Nations or other documentation showing the purpose of such travel).

You will need to show that you are traveling under one of the visas categories (listed above) and travel with an official letter, such as letter from the U.S. government or foreign government. If you have been invited by the United Nations, you will need a letter of invitation from the United Nations or other documentation showing the purpose of such travel.

Persons excepted under the diplomatic or official foreign government travel exception should self-quarantine for 7 days after arrival in the United States unless they must attend official diplomatic or foreign government events or duties; however they are not required to attest to self-quarantining or becoming fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at this time. CDC may make adjustments to the attestation in the future for this group of excepted persons.

Persons traveling to the United States under this exception are required to show documentation that they meet the exception (see “What do I need to show if I am on diplomatic or official government travel?” above). They must also attest that they will get a viral test 3-5 days after arrival and will self-isolate if the results of the test are positive or if they develop COVID-19 symptoms.

You must show a letter from a licensed physician documenting the medical contraindication to the airline or aircraft operator before boarding a flight to the United States.

The letter

• Must be signed and dated on official letterhead that contains contact information (name, address, and phone number) of a licensed healthcare provider.
• Must clearly state that you have a medical contraindication to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. The name of the COVID-19 vaccine product and the medical condition must both be listed.
  • Medical contraindications to COVID-19 vaccination include immediate or severe allergic reaction (e.g., anaphylaxis) after a previous dose or component of a COVID-19 vaccine or known allergy to a component of a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Must have sufficient personally identifiable information (at a minimum full name and date of birth) to confirm that the letter matches with your passport or other travel information.

If your letter is in a language other than English, check with your airlines or aircraft operator to find out if translation of the letter is necessary for their review.

CDC has provided a list of qualifying COVID-19 vaccine candidates that meet CDC’s criteria for this exception. Check the list to see if the vaccine(s) used in the trial you participated in included.

You will need to show official documentation (e.g., clinical trial letter, participant card, or modified vaccination card) of clinical trial participation that includes the following information:

• Documentation you participated in a phase 3 trial of with a qualifying COVID-19 vaccine candidate
• Documentation you received the full series of an active (non-placebo) qualifying COVID-19 vaccine candidate or an EUL vaccine, with the name of the vaccine product and the date(s) received (showing it has been at least 2 weeks since you completed the series)
• Personal identifiers in the clinical trial documentation (at a minimum name and date of birth) that match with your passport or other travel documentation.

CDC may grant a humanitarian or emergency exception in very limited circumstances only when an individual must travel to the United States to preserve health (e.g., emergency medical evacuations, life-saving medical treatment) or safety (e.g., violence) and is unable to become fully vaccinated before travel. Individuals who fit the exception criteria described in the Presidential Proclamationexternal icon and CDC’s Order may contact the U.S. embassy or consulate in or nearest the country from which they are departing for the United States. The embassy will then transmit the information to the CDC for consideration.

Please review the procedures for applying for a humanitarian or emergency exception as listed on the webpage of the embassy or consulate where you will apply. This link will lead you to the relevant embassy or consulate: https://www.usembassy.govexternal icon

To facilitate the review of a humanitarian or emergency exception request, individuals should submit the following information to the embassy or consulate for transmission to the CDC. All information needs to be completed in full and in English for the request to be sent to CDC.

• Name (family name/surname, given name)
• Passport #
• Nationality
• Cell phone number (including country code) of passenger or head of household if family unit
• Email address of passenger or head of household if family unit
• US destination address
  • Is US destination home address?
• Flight itinerary, including any connecting flights
  • Airline
  • Flight #
  • Departure airport and date of departure
  • Arrival airport and date of arrival
• Vaccination Status
  • Fully Vaccinated
    • Name of vaccine product (or products if a combination)
    • Date of first dose
    • Date of second dose (if a two-dose series) PDF or photograph of vaccination record
  • NOT Fully Vaccinated
• Purpose of travel to the US and a brief explanation of why urgent travel is needed
• Justification for humanitarian or emergency exception to providing proof of being fully vaccinated (e.g., vaccine availability, passenger ineligible for vaccine at location, insufficient time to become fully vaccinated)
• Documentation to support justification (e.g., medical records, orders for emergency evacuation)
• Information regarding any other solutions that were sought prior to application (e.g., flight changes, testing en route, assistance in obtaining testing/vaccination, etc.)

You can find the list of countries with limited COVID-19 vaccine availability here: List of Foreign Countries with Limited COVID-19 Vaccine Availability

This list will be updated every three months.

You will need to show

• A passport or other proof of citizenship from a country on the list provided by CDC; AND
• A valid nonimmigrant visa that is not a B-1 (business) or B-2 (tourism) visa.

No, to qualify for this exception, you must show a passport or other proof of citizenship of a country determined to have limited COVID-19 vaccine availability.

CDC uses vaccination coverage as a proxy indicator of vaccine availability. CDC realizes that vaccine availability might be limited by multiple factors, including limited access, service delivery issues, and low vaccine supply relative to demand.  CDC considers a country to have limited COVID-19 vaccine availability if less than 10% of the total population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with any vaccine, as reported in official source data in Our World in Dataexternal icon (OWID).

CDC reviews OWID country-level data on the proportion of a population that is fully vaccinated and updates the list of countries with limited vaccine availability every three months. If country data are missing from OWID, CDC reviews other official sources of information to determine a countries’ vaccination coverage (percent of the population fully vaccinated with available COVID-19 vaccines).

You will need to show a U.S. military identification document, such as a military ID or Common Access Card (CAC) or a DEERS ID Card, or other proof of status as a member or spouse or child (under 18 years of age) of a member of the U.S. Armed Forces.

You will need to show

• Your C-1 and D visa; AND
• An official letter from your employer (paper or digital) indicating your entry to or transit through the United States is required for the purpose of operating a vessel or return travel after disembarking the vessel consistent with your visa and official letter.

The requirements for testing and quarantine post-arrival by air conveyance apply to sea crew/mariners entering the United States as Covered Individuals who are:

• not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and
• without documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 in the past 90 days.

Cruise ship crew members must follow the requirements of the Conditional Sailing Order during and after embarking the cruise ship. If crew will not be immediately embarking the cruise ship, then they must follow the requirements of the attestation prior to embarking the ship.

Non-cruise ship crew are subject to the testing and self-quarantine requirements of the attestation as long as they remain in the United States, including U.S. waters.

Self-quarantine Requirements

• Mariners who are embarking the ship the same day they arrive in the United States, must either:
  • Self-quarantine in a single-occupancy cabin with a private bathroom for 7 days after arriving in the United States or until the ship leaves U.S. waters, or
  • Maintain a “working” quarantine on board the ship for 7 days after arriving in the United States or until the ship leaves U.S. waters
    • Please see CDC’s Interim Guidance for Ships on Managing Suspected or Confirmed Cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for additional information regarding “working” quarantines.
  • Mariners who are not embarking the ship the day they arrive in the United States must self-quarantine in shoreside accommodations (i.e., a hotel room) for 7 days or until they board the ship.
    • Mariners who will board the ship before the 7-day self-quarantine period is completed must self-quarantine in their hotel until boarding the ship. Once onboard, these mariners must follow one of the self-quarantine options outlined above for the remainder of their quarantine period.

Testing Requirements

• Mariners must get tested with a viral test 3-5 days after arrival in the U.S. if they remain in the United States, including U.S. waters, at that time. Non-cruise ship operators and mariners have several options to fulfill this requirement:
  • Crew can visit a shoreside testing facility (e.g., testing at a pharmacy or healthcare facility)
  • Operators can contract a 3^rd party to preform testing onboard
  • Operators can provide crew with COVID-19 self-tests (sometimes referred to as home tests or at-home tests) or ask that crew embark the vessel with their own self-test.
    • CDC recommends that if self-tests are used, they should be conducted under supervision of tele-medicine personnel.

You will need to show an official U.S. Government letter (paper or digital) documenting approval of the exception.

An attestation is a statement, writing, entry, or other representation subject to 18 U.S.C. § 1001 that confirms that the information provided is true. Willfully providing false or misleading information may lead to criminal fines and imprisonment.

As required by United States federal law, all airlines or other aircraft operators will provide and collect the passenger attestation on behalf of the U.S. Government prior to boarding.

As required by United States federal law, all airlines or other aircraft operators will provide and collect the passenger attestation on behalf of the U.S. Government prior to boarding. Please check with the airline or aircraft operator for your flight to learn how the airline or aircraft operator will collect your attestation.

Noncitizen nonimmigrants that plan to take a connecting flight in the United States to another country may continue on their itinerary; however, they are still required to complete and sign the attestation in case their travel plans are changed or delayed. If they take their connecting flight and leave the United States, they are no longer subject to the requirements of the attestation.

Noncitizen nonimmigrants who are not fully vaccinated and meet an exception do not have to get a COVID-19 test if they are in the United States less than 3 days; however, they must self-quarantine until they leave the United States. They also must complete and sign the attestation in case their travel plans are changed or delayed. If they leave the United States less than 3 days after arrival, they are no longer subject to the requirements of the Order and attestation.