Travel Guidelines To India During COVID-19 Pandemic – All You Need To Know

It’s the holiday season and we are all in need of a good winter break to end this treacherous year of 2020. It’s safe to say we all are tired of the air-kisses over zoom calls to our near and dear ones. It seems like a mere memory now of that feeling of planning trips, looking for cheap tickets, the bustling airports, that take-off and landing swishes of the many airplanes. Although the COVID-19 pandemic is not over, there is still a ray of light to travel back home to India as the country is opening its borders to foreign nationals.

Unfortunately, this time around, travel is not that easy and straightforward. There are several guidelines and sanitary precautions necessary to ensure responsible travel. The below travel guidelines to and from India hold good as of Jan 13th, 2021.

1. Visa and Eligibility

First things first, check specific visa requirements between India and the country you are flying from. It is important to look into the requirements of both countries so that you can re-enter the country you are flying from without any hassles.

I booked a roundtrip ticket from the US to India. India is allowing all Indian foreign nationals (including OCI holders) from the US to enter the country. And the United States of America (USA) holds no such restrictions, so Indian Nationals (including OCI holders) with valid visas can easily enter the US.

Breaking: On Jan 12th, 2021, CDC announced that entry to the US will now require a negative RT-PCR test as well!

As we can see, regulations can change rapidly due to the nature of the virus so it’s important to stay up-to-date until the day of your flight departure. In early January, India banned all flights from the UK due to the new strain of the Covid-19 virus.

Also, extra care needs to be taken while booking flights as only certain airlines may be allowed to enter a particular country. For instance, only United Airlines, Air India, and some European airlines like Lufthansa (in agreement with air bubble) permits entry into India from the US. And while flying back to the US, it is safest to travel with United Airlines or Air India. A key point that I recommend here is that all bookings to be done directly via the airline website and not via a third-party website. This will help with rebooking and refunds hassles which is quite common under these circumstances.

Below’s my travel Itinerary that I booked with Lufthansa airlines back in October. After figuring out the travel restrictions, I had to call Lufthansa and they rebooked the return leg with United airlines (under Star Alliance). This was necessary since guidelines for traveling via Europe (e.g. Frankurt – Seattle) are quite unclear and likely NOT permitted when entering the United States.

1. Seattle - Frankfurt - Delhi - Kolkata (Lufthansa + AirIndia)
2. Kolkata - Delhi - Chicago - Seattle (Vistara + United)

Next, it is important to prepare the travel documents required to enter India.

2. Travel Documents

2.1 Get a negative COVID-19 test report

As you might have already expected, you do need to test negative for Covid-19 and carry the lab result in order to be exempted from the 7 days of institutional quarantine (in a hotel) upon arrival in India.

In case you can’t get tested before your flight departure for whatever reason, there is another option to get tested upon arrival in select airports – Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru (as of December 2020). But, expect at least 5-7 hours of waiting before you can test negative and step outside. So, it’s best to get tested prior to traveling.

It’s important to note that the test must be a RT-PCR lab test and NOT the Rapid antigen test that is done by a lot of clinics today to get faster results (within a few minutes). So, make sure you confirm the type of test by calling the clinic.

At the time of writing, the test must be done at most 72 hours prior to flight departure. Say your flight departs at 3 pm on Sunday from Seattle, then the test must be done post 3 pm on Thursday. In some arriving states in India, you might have 96 hours instead prior to flight departure. If there is any confusion, it’s best to follow the 72-hour rule.

You can get the RT-PCR test done very easily in most US cities – Walgreens, CVS, and many health clinics will do it for you. Being a resident of the Seattle area, I got myself tested from Overlake Clinics – Urgent Care in Redmond. They accept walk-ins and are very quick in providing the results (less than 24 hours in most cases). If you have decent medical insurance (like I did), the cost of the test will be fully covered otherwise you might end up paying ~ $100.

I would recommend carrying 2 printed copies of the report along with your other travel documents.

2.1.1 Exemption during emergency

The following emergency situations may exempt you from the 7-day institutional quarantine without requiring a negative RT-PCR test report.

1. Pregnancy.
2. Death in the family.
3. Parents accompanying a child under the age of 10 years.

You may be required to upload/show the appropriate proof for being exempted (for example, a death certificate in case of death in the family), either by filling the form in section 2.2 below or showing the document directly at the airport.

2.2 Apply for exemption from institutional quarantine

Once you have the negative Covid-19 test report (or fall in one of the emergency categories), the next step is to apply for exemption from institutional quarantine by uploading the same on the Air Suvidha website here. As per the website, you need to apply for this exemption 72 hours prior to departure by uploading the negative report of your RT-PCR test. As you can imagine, this can be a little tight if the turnaround time for your RT-PCR test results is ~ 48-72 hours.

A lot of people have also seen issues where the application gets rejected and you have to upload the pdf file of the report again. Some clinics provide vague wordings in the report due to which rejections may occur. Make sure the report mentions the RT-PCR test and keywords like “Not detected” or “Negative”. In other cases, the rejections are just random and simply filling the application again gets it approved.

On a good day, you will receive an approval confirmation within 30 minutes that will have an exemption certificate.

You must print it and carry it with your travel documents.

In case you can’t get the exemption certificate before flight departure, don’t panic. The recommendation is to simply carry the hard copy of the negative RT-PCR test report. If asked, you can explain your case and should still be exempted from institutional quarantine.

While filling the exemption form, you may see the following message: “All asymptomatic passengers having the first airport of entry located in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Odisha, have to undergo 14 days mandatory home quarantine.” In that case, filling the above exemption is not required as there is no requirement for institutional quarantine in these states. Note: You may still be asked to provide the hard copy of the negative RT-PCR test upon arrival in these states. For instance, my state of arrival was Bangalore so I did not fill the exemption form above but I was asked to produce the negative RT-PCR test report (and they kept that copy).

Note: Regardless of this exemption, you should still do the 14 days mandatory home quarantine to avoid spreading the virus to your family and our community!

2.3. Fill the Self-Reporting Form

This one is rather straightforward and mandatory for everyone. Fill the self-reporting form at the Air Suvidha website here that goes by the name of ‘Air Suvidha Self-Reporting Form’. This form is mandatory to be filled by all international travelers before the departure of their flight from the source country.

After filling up this form, you will get a confirmation by e-mail that will contain a PDF file of the declaration. You must print it and keep it with your travel documents.

Note: It’s also advised to download the Arogya Setu App on your smartphone before you enter India.

3. Flights and Airports During Covid-19

I suppose if we need to look at the bright side of traveling in 2020, it’s that menace of crazy queues at the check-in counters, baggage claims, immigration, etc. is close to negligible due to the reduced influx of travel!

Travel is comfortable and seamless with almost empty flights. Most of the airlines do a good job at ensuring the necessary sanitary conditions are met. Some airlines will even block the middle seats so that social distancing is possible even during your long haul flights.

Make sure you pack extra masks and gloves. Face shields act as an additional security measure. Generally, most of the airlines do provide these essential items but it’s always good to pack some extra, in case you lose one.

Be sure to carry sanitizers and disinfectant wipes. These are really helpful to use before touching any shared surfaces. To most, this might seem a bit of a stretch but it’s better safe than sorry!

Even though airlines do provide food and water, it is advisable, if possible to carry your own packed food, a water bottle, and some munchies.

It might sound odd, but carry a spare pen as well. You might need to fill some forms like declaring customs when entering the US, and it’s better to use your own given the circumstances.

4. Arrival in India

On your arrival in India, your temperature will be taken (also known as a thermal screening) to ensure you don’t have any Covid symptoms. Then, you will be asked to present the appropriate forms depending on the city. For example, in Delhi, you will be asked for the self-reporting form, the exemption certificate and they may stamp your arm to indicate your home quarantine.

My port of arrival in India was Bangalore where they asked me for the hard copies of the self-reporting form and the negative RT-PCR test. They did not stamp my hand or check the Arogya Setu app.

Once you pass the checks above, the immigration lines are well segregated but also so empty, it’s an easy walk-in and out in barely a few minutes.

Finally, you pass the routine customs check and can exit the airport or transit to the domestic terminal in case you have a connecting flight.

Note: Domestic flights in India do not require the travel documents mentioned above. They tend to be quite packed (including the middle seats)! So make sure you take the right sanitary precautions!

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International travel during the COVID-19 pandemic might seem daunting at first. However, I hope these guidelines ease the process and you find everything you need in one place! I had to research a lot and it sure was cumbersome, so here is hoping it eases someone’s travel in the future.

Precaution is better than cure, this phrase seems most apt this year with the pandemic! Just follow the checklist, take the necessary sanitary measures and have a safe flight.

In case you have any further queries pertaining to the process explained above, please drop them in the comments section and I’ll try to respond ASAP. And, please do SHARE this post with your family members and friends who can’t wait to travel back home during these tough times!

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