Thermal screening would be carried out in respect of all the passengers by the health officials present at the airport. The self-declaration form filled online shall be shown to the airport health staff.
Travellers coming from these countries who are fully vaccinated and 15 days have elapsed since completion of the COVID-19 vaccination schedule shall be allowed to leave the airport and self-monitor their health for 14 days post-arrival, according to the revised guidelines.
Travellers fully vaccinated and coming from a country with which India has reciprocal arrangements for mutual acceptance of WHO approved COVID-19 vaccines shall be allowed to leave the airport and need not undergo home quarantine and testing from October 25, according to the revised guidelines for international arrivals released on Wednesday.
They will, however, have to produce a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report.
If partially or not vaccinated, the travellers need to undertake measures that include submitting samples for the post-arrival COVID-19 test at the point of arrival.
They will be allowed to leave the airport, home quarantine for seven days re-test on the eighth day of arrival in India. If negative, further self monitor their health for the next seven days.
The Union health ministry said that these guidelines for international arrivals supersede all policies issued on and after February 17, 2021.
“The global trajectory of COVID-19 pandemic continues to decline with certain regional variations. The need to monitor the continuously changing nature of the virus and the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) must remain in focus.
The existing guidelines (issued on February 17 2021, with subsequent addendums) for international arrivals in India have been formulated taking a risk-based approach.
“Because of increasing vaccination coverage across the globe and the changing nature of the pandemic, the existing guidelines for international arrivals in India have been reviewed,” the ministry said.
The new document provides protocols to be complied with international travellers and those to be followed by airlines, points of entry (airports, seaports and land border) for risk profiling of passengers.
This Standard Operating Procedure shall be valid from October 25 till further orders. Based on the risk assessment, this document shall be reviewed from time to time, the ministry said.
According to the ministry, India has signed agreements for nationally or WHO recognised COVID-19 vaccines with 11 countries – the UK, France, Germany, Nepal, Belarus, Lebanon, Armenia, Ukraine, Belgium, Hungary and Serbia.
Travellers coming from these countries who are fully vaccinated and 15 days have elapsed since completing the COVID-19 vaccination schedule. According to the revised guidelines, they shall be allowed to leave the airport and monitor their health for 14 days post-arrival.
While planning for travel, all travellers should submit a self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha portal before the scheduled trip and upload a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report.
According to the guidelines, this test should have been conducted within 72 hours before undertaking the journey. Each passenger shall also submit a declaration concerning the report’s authenticity and be liable for criminal prosecution if found otherwise.
If a traveller is coming from a country excluding those covered under category A (coming from a country with which India has reciprocal arrangements for mutual acceptance of WHO approved COVID-19 vaccines,)
They would be required to undergo the measures such as submission of sample for post-arrival COVID-19 test at the point of arrival after which they will be allowed to leave the airport, home quarantine for seven days, re-test on the eighth day of arrival in India and if negative, further self-monitor of their health for next seven days, irrespective of their COVID-19 vaccination status.
“Travellers from countries excluding those countries at risk will be allowed to leave the airport and shall self-monitor their health for 14 days’ post-arrival.
This applies to travellers from all countries, including countries with which reciprocal arrangements for mutual acceptance of WHO approved COVID-19 vaccines also exist,” the guidelines stated.
The list of countries from where travellers would need to follow additional measures on arrival in India, including post-arrival testing (countries at-risk), are South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and countries in Europe, including The UK.
Under home quarantine or self-health monitoring, travellers will immediately self-isolate and report to their nearest health facility if they develop signs and symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 or test positive for COVID-19 on re-testing or call the national helpline number (1075) or state helpline number.
Thermal screening would be carried out in respect of all the passengers by the health officials present at the airport. The self-declaration form filled online shall be shown to the airport health staff.
According to health protocol, the symptomatic passengers shall be immediately isolated and taken to a medical facility during screening. If tested positive, their contacts shall be identified and managed under the laid down protocol.
Some countries have an agreement with India on mutual recognition of vaccination certificates of nationally recognised or WHO recognised vaccines.
Similarly, countries currently do not agree with India, but they exempt Indian citizens from being fully vaccinated with nationally recognised or WHO recognised vaccines.
During travel, in-flight announcements about COVID-19, including preventive measures, shall be made at airports and in flights and during transit.
During in-flight, the crew shall ensure that Covid-appropriate behaviour is always followed. If any passenger reports symptoms of COVID-19 during flight, they shall be isolated as per protocol, the guidelines stated.
International travellers arriving through seaports/land ports will also have to undergo the same protocol, except online registration is unavailable for such passengers.
Such travellers shall submit the self-declaration form to the concerned authorities of the government of India at seaports/land ports on arrival.
