Can you believe that it was 16^th March 2020 when the president at the time, Donald Trump, announced that those travelling from the UK were no longer allowed to enter the US, due to the risk of Covid?

It has been a long 20 months for those needing to make transatlantic journeys to visit friends and family, or to conduct business in the US. The announcement in October 2021 saw the US Government confirm that the USA would once again allow foreign nationals back into the country, a declaration welcomed by the masses hoping to visit the land of the free and the home of the brave!

November 8^th 2021 (5:01am UK time) sees the long-awaited reopening of the US borders to those double vaccinated adults and their unvaccinated children wishing to travel there, from the UK.

As with all countries, the US will have its own set of entry requirements that must be adhered to in order to be admitted.

Only but last week there was a threat to the resumption of families travelling to the US, as it was somehow missed in the guidance that children under-18 would have to self-isolate for 7 days on arrival.

Frantic lobbying by industry leaders saw this unnoticed rule overturned by the US government meaning the period of quarantine for minors was no longer required.

The new rules for travelling to the US from the UK:

When the US borders open, they are currently only allowing those double vaccinated adults to enter from the UK plus unvaccinated children.

All passengers over the age of 2, including those fully vaccinated, must undertake a supervised Covid-19 test prior to travel to the US.

The only exception to this rule is if any traveller can prove that they have recovered from Coronavirus in the preceding 90 days, prior to travel, from a licenced healthcare provider.

You have the option to take either a PCR or private lateral flow test but either way the test must be conducted under live supervision.

Double vaccinated adults and those unvaccinated children accompanying a fully vaccinated parent or legal guardian have the option to take the test within 3 days of departure.

Those under-18s who are travelling alone will be required to take the test within 1 day of departure of travel.

You can self-test (otherwise known as a home test). The test must be a SAR-CoV-2 viral test with Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) from the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

The home test service must also provide a video supervision service via an audio and video connection.

Express Test by Cignpost are currently advertising Antigen Lateral Flow Fit to Fly tests that provide results in 40 mins. These tests start from £35 and are suitable for travel the US.

There are a list of exemptions allowing non-vaccinated passengers to enter the U.S for exceptional reasons.  

These passengers are required to take a Covid-19 viral test 3-5 days after arrival in the United States, unless you have the correct documentation to prove of recovering from Covid-19 in the past 90 days.

When travelling to the US passengers will be required to wear a mask on all airlines and for the duration of the flight unless eating or drinking. Masks are also mandatory within all transportation hubs including airports.

Don’t forget if you are travelling to the US and require currency for our trip Currency Online Group provide the best market rate for your US Dollars and provide a home delivery service, meaning you can receive your travel money the next working day if ordered before 12pm. The service is completely secure and insured via Royal Mail Special Delivery. The service is free of charge for orders over £750.

Want to go cashless? Why not purchase one of our prepaid currency cards? Our currency card, teamed with the COG app allows you to be in complete control of your currency conversion. The card is accepted free of charge at all Mastercard locations worldwide. The app allows you to do instant top-up.

© Currency Online Group

5^th November 2021