Flying to India from abroad? New travel rules for international arrivals from today
PremiumThe new travel guidelines for international arrivals in India will come into force from today and will remain effective till further government orders
All travellers coming from abroad to India will undergo mandatory home isolation for a week from today, the Union Health Ministry had said last week. The seven-day home quarantine will be followed by an RT-PCR test on the eighth day.
The guidelines will come into force from today, January 11 and will remain effective till further government orders.
As per the existing rules, which have been retained in the revised guidelines, travellers coming from countries specified as "at-risk" have to submit samples for Covid testing on arrival and then are required to wait for the results at the airport before leaving or taking a connecting flight.
Those who test positive will be sent to an isolation facility.
If they test negative, they need to undergo home quarantine for seven days and then get the RT-PCR test done on the 8th day. If again negative, they have to further self-monitor their health for the next seven days.
They are also required to upload the results of the RT-PCR test conducted on the 8th day on the Air Suvidha portal (to be monitored by the respective states/UTs).
Children under 5 are exempted from both pre-and post-arrival testing. However, if found symptomatic for COVID-19 on arrival or during the home quarantine period, they shall undergo testing and be treated according to the laid down protocol.
Prior to undertaking the journey, all travellers will have to upload a negative RT-PCR report of the test conducted within 72 hours of the beginning of the journey.
Each passenger shall also submit a declaration with respect to the authenticity of the report and will be liable for a criminal prosecution, if found otherwise, according to the guidelines.
Guidelines for international flyers coming to India from not-at-risk countries
- Mandatory seven-day home quarantine and follow all other protocols followed by passengers from at-risk countries.
- However, airlines coming from not-at-risk countries will randomly select 2 per cent of travellers who will have to undergo RT-PCR tests at airports on arrival.
- Those found positive will be sent to an isolation facility and those found negative will follow the seven-day quarantine procedure.
- For not-at-risk countries, the 2 per cent passengers to be tested at the airports will preferably be those coming from a third country who would have taken a connecting flight in the not-at-risk country, according to the revised guidelines.
List of at-risk nations
All countries in Europe including the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Ghana, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Hong Kong, Israel, Congo, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nigeria, Tunisia and Zambia.
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