US Lifts Ban For Fully Vaccinated Travellers From UK And Europe

The White House announced plans to lift the US travel Covid ban and allow fully vaccinated arrivals from the UK and Europe to enter the country from early November.

Other countries including Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland and South Africa will also be included in the new policy.

Passengers will not need to quarantine upon arrival but will need to prove they were vaccinated before boarding a flight and provide a negative Covid test which was taken within the last three days.

Those involved in clinical trials for vaccines that are not yet approved in the UK will be allowed to enter the US too, according to widespread reports.

The ban caused great controversy as President Joe Biden kept the doors to the US firmly closed to Brits and Europeans for more than 18 months – even as rest of the world began accepting US tourists earlier this year.

Only American citizens, their immediate families, green card holders and those granted a National Interest Exemption could enter the US if they had been in the UK or the European Union over the last 14 days.

Families were separated as sick relatives could not necessarily leave their homes in the US, and international businesses felt the strain.

This landmark diplomatic decision will overturn the ban first introduced by Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump via a Presidential Proclamation back in March 2020.

It’s believed Biden has kept the ban in place as Covid infections, hospitalisations and deaths continued to rise across the country after his inauguration.

The potential policy change comes the day after prime minister Boris Johnson touched down in New York, at the start of the UN General Assembly.

It’s thought Johnson was already planning to ask his American counterpart to lift the ban, especially as US tourists are now permitted into the UK.

The BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg described the news as a “happy surprise” for Downing Street.

Meanwhile White House confirms travel ban on UK lifted – double vaxxed travellers allowed in from November – happy surprise for govt – on plane on the way over the PM told us, ‘i dont think this is necessarily going to be fixed this week…I wouldnt necessarily hold my breath’

— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) September 20, 2021

The Financial Times claimed this change was part of a wider framework organised by the Biden administration, to cover all international travel through one consistent policy.

The White House also confirmed US citizens who are not vaccinated against Covid will face stricter testing requirements.

They will need to be tested within a day before returning to the States and then once again once arriving at home.

It’s unclear which vaccines will be deemed acceptable under the US system.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention will also ask for airlines to collect contact information for contact tracing.

White House coordinator Jeff Zients confirmed the policy and said: “This is based on individuals rather than a country based approach so it’s a stronger system.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.