Self declaration for recently cured covid patient -Traveling from India to USA

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Accepted answer

Thanks @RedBaron for the detailed answer.

However, I ended up traveling to the US in the first week of Jan 2022 and so this information may be more up-to-date.

Answer to my original question: The self-declaration form shown in the question is not required. However, this form is required for travel from India to the US: https://c.ekstatic.net/ecl/documents/travel-requirements/us-attestation-form.pdf?h=jplhlql1izKy4XJM65YswA

The above form is from the Emirates website so if your airlines ask you to fill a different form, please use that.

Now for my travel experience (Jan 2022):

I traveled on Emirates Airlines (via Dubai) and so the requirements for me may differ from what others may have.

Emirates' website and helpline were very clear about the rules explained in detail on their website (https://www.emirates.com/us/english/help/covid-19/travel-requirements-by-destination/#81342).

They had 2 sets of requirements - 1 set for the country of transit (Dubai) and 1 set for the destination (USA)

Dubai's requirements included a negative RT-PCR within 72 hours of flying (Dubai did not accept a positive covid report + health official's letter certifying passenger has recovered. They only accept negative test reports)

The US however, required either a negative RT-PCR test within 24 hours OR a positive test within the last 90 days + a health official's letter stating I am fit to travel.

I had a negative report in the last 72 hours (but for some reason did not get tested on the day of flying so did not have one within 24 hours) and also had my old positive report along with a doctor's certificate. According to the Emirates helpline as well as their website this should have been sufficient to travel.

However, at Mumbai airport, the Emirates officials refused to accept the RT-PCR that was within 72 hours and insisted on a 24 hour report even though their website stated otherwise. Since I did not have a 24 hour test result, they asked me to take an antigen test at the airport which came out as per their satisfaction and I was allowed to travel. The antigen results came back within an hour or so.

In summary, each airline has it's own travel procedure and even after following that you are at the mercy of the airline's ground staff at your airport. However, if you do end up at the airport in a situation like me, be very clear to point out the exact rules on the website to the airlines officials. Sometimes those poor guys are also confused because of constantly changing rules and could do with some of our help.

Also make sure to reach the airlines check-in counter well in advance, especially if you are in a confused state like I was. Nowadays, most airlines have good cancellation policies and so worst case if you find out at the airport that you cannot travel, at least you can cancel your ticket and get all (or most) of your money refunded.

Disclaimer: This advice is true as of the first week of January for Emirates airlines flying from Mumbai to US via Dubai. Please check with your airlines before flying.

Upvote:5

I think the AAI helpdesk person made a mistake in recommending this form.

This is the form that was originally supposed to be filled by people who wished to take a domestic flight within India and who did not have Aarogya Setu app (India's contact tracing app) installed on their phones or did not own a smartphone. Source. The form was introduced in May 2020 when domestic flights were restarted after a gap of 2 months.

The app status/form was checked at terminal entrance by airport staff and may be by the check-in staff. At end of Jun 2020, government amended the form to reduce the timeframe of recovery to three weeks

As per earlier norms issued on May 21 passengers had to submit a declaration that they have not tested positive for Covid-19 in last two months. This clause has now been changed to three weeks. "Covid-19 recovered persons fulfilling this condition will be allowed to travel upon showing a Covid-19 recovered/discharged certificate from any institution dealing with Covid-19 subject," joint secretary Usha Padhee said in an office memorandum today

Also see this news report

Surprisingly, I cannot find the updated form anywhere.

The enforcement of this particular directive has been patchy at best. When I flew out of Mumbai (domestic) in Oct 2020 no one asked for the app/form but they checked the app in Apr 2021 (India's second wave was just starting). The check was at terminal entrance and not at bag drop desk. There were no checks in October 2021 either. Now with Omicron concerns, they may start enforcing this rule again.

In your case, I would recommend installing Aarogya Setu app just to be safe. You will be allowed access to terminal without this form in that case (If your status is green). The airlines will be more concerned if you fulfill US entry conditions. You can review US CDC website which has clear instructions on what conditions you must fulfill. They explain what is needed if you have recently recovered from Covid.

I would recommend you carry the doctor's report certifying your recovery to show it to airlines/ground staff if they ask.

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