Union Health Ministry Announces New Rules For International Travellers Flying To India
Learn all about the new travel rules that are applicable to international travellers arriving in India.
On February 10, 2023, the Indian Government’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued some guidelines for international travellers arriving in India. These guidelines are valid w.e.f. February 13, 2023, 11:00 am IST, till further orders. These newly introduced guidelines were in supersession of the previous guidelines issued on the subject on December 29, 2022. Let’s take a look at these new, revised guidelines in detail.
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the entire world, every country has been issuing travel guidelines for the safety of the travellers as well as the residents of the country. Similarly in India, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare also known as the Union Health Ministry has issued various guidelines for international travellers.
With respect to the changing situations in context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry has been updating the guidelines from time to time. The latest guidelines have been revised in light of the declining trajectory of COVID-19 cases globally. These guidelines have come to effect from February 13, 2023.
New Rules For International Travellers Flying To India
The department of health and family welfare has announced the latest rules or guidelines for international travellers by categorizing them into three different stages of travel - while planning for travel, during travel, and on arrival. Let’s take a look at these in detail.
New Rules To Follow While Planning To Travel To India
All travellers planning to fly to India in the near future should preferably be fully vaccinated as per the approved primary schedule of vaccination against COVID-19 in their Country.
New Rules To Follow While Travelling To India
During travelling, passengers onboarding international flights to India must follow in-flight announcements about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic including precautionary measures such as wearing masks and physical distancing, wherever necessary. Any passenger showing symptoms of COVID-19 during travel should follow the standard protocol i.e. wear a mask, stay isolated and segregated from other passengers during travel and get shifted to an isolation facility subsequently for follow up treatment.
New Rules To Follow On Arrival In India
Once the flight lands in India, all passengers should ensure physical distancing while de-boarding the flight. All passengers will have to undergo thermal screening by health officials at entry points. If anyone is found to be symptomatic during screening, they’ll be immediately isolated while being taken to a designated medical facility.
Changes In The New Rules For International Travellers
In the previously issued guidelines for international travellers flying to India, visitors coming from or via high-risk countries such as China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand had to submit a negative RT-PCR report from a pre-departure test for COVID-19.
Travellers from these five countries also had to submit complete and factual information in a self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha portal before the scheduled travel, including the last 14 days’ travel details. They also had to submit an undertaking and a declaration with respect to the authenticity of the report.
However, with the new guidelines in place, all these rules with respect to the five high-risk countries have now been revoked. Meanwhile, the 2% random testing on arrival in India policy that was started on December 24, 2022, shall continue as usual.
These rules have already come into effect starting from 11:00 am on Monday, February 13, 2023, and these rules will remain in place unless replaced by a new circular issued by the Union Health Ministry.