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COVID-19 international travel advisories

If you plan to visit the U.S., you do not need to be tested or vaccinated for COVID-19. U.S. citizens going abroad, check with the Department of State for travel advisories.

COVID-19 testing and vaccine rules for entering the U.S.

• As of May 12, 2023, noncitizen nonimmigrant visitors to the U.S.  arriving by air  or  arriving by land or sea  no longer need to show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 
• As of June 12, 2022,  people entering the U.S. no longer need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test . 

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Find country-specific COVID-19 travel rules from the Department of State.

See the  CDC's COVID-19 guidance for safer international travel.

LAST UPDATED: December 6, 2023

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Updated International Air Travel COVID-19 Policy

⚠   The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency expired as of May 11, 2023. This site will no longer be updated and will remain online for historical purposes only.

For current COVID-19 guidance, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) .

International travel is critical to connecting families and friends, to fueling small and large businesses, and to promoting the open exchange of ideas and culture. The international air travel policy follows the science and both enhances the safety of Americans here at home and the safety of international air travel.

Testing Requirement

On March 10, 2023, CDC  removed  the requirement for air passengers from China, Hong Kong or Macau to show a negative COVID-19 test or documentation of recovery before boarding a flight to the United States.

Vaccination Requirement

As of 12:01am EDT on May 12, 2023, noncitizen nonimmigrant air passengers will no longer need to show proof of being fully vaccinated with an accepted COVID-19 vaccine to board a flight to the United States. See  here  for more information.

While masks are no longer required on flights, The CDC still recommends wearing them. 

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DHS Statement on the Lifting of Title 19 Requirements

Beginning May 12, 2023, DHS will no longer require non-U.S. travelers entering the United States via land ports of entry and ferry terminals to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide related proof of vaccination upon request. DHS intends to rescind these Title 19 travel restrictions in alignment with the end of the Public Health Emergency and the termination of the Presidential Proclamation on air travel.

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Travel Restrictions to Prevent the Spread of Disease

Credit: David Snyder

Disease is just a flight away. To protect America’s health, CDC partners with the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the spread of serious contagious diseases during travel. CDC uses a Do Not Board list to prevent travelers from boarding commercial airplanes if they are known or suspected to have a contagious disease that poses a threat to the public’s health. Sick travelers are also placed on a Lookout list so they will be detected if they attempt to enter the United States by land or sea. These tools can be used for anyone who poses a threat to the public’s health.

Local and state public health officials can request CDC’s assistance if a person who poses a public health threat intends to travel. CDC helps ensure these people do not travel while contagious.

Placing people on the lists

The criteria for adding people to the Do Not Board and Lookout lists are

• not  aware of diagnosis or not  following public health recommendations, or
• Likely to travel on a commercial flight involving the United States or travel internationally by any means; or
• Need to issue travel restriction to respond to a public health outbreak or to help enforce a public health order.

Criteria number one plus one of the three subsets must be met for a person to be placed on the Do Not Board and Lookout lists.

Credit: David Heaberlin

Once a person is placed on these lists, airlines will not issue a boarding pass to the person for any commercial flight within, arriving to, or departing from the United States.

The Do Not Board and Lookout lists have been used for people with suspected or confirmed infectious tuberculosis (TB), including multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), and measles. During 2020-2022, CDC used these authorities to restrict travel of people with COVID-19 and close contacts who were recommended to quarantine. These authorities were also used for mpox during 2022. Travel restrictions can also be used for other suspected or confirmed contagious diseases that could pose a public health threat during travel, including viral hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola.

Preventing people with contagious diseases from traveling also helps to make sure they get or continue medical treatment, such as for infectious tuberculosis.

Taking people off the lists

Once public health authorities confirm a person is no longer contagious, the person is removed from the lists (typically within 24 hours). Also, CDC reviews the records of all persons on the lists every two weeks to determine whether they are eligible for removal.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Travel Restrictions to Prevent the Spread of Disease

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What You Need to Know About Proof of Vaccination for Travel in 2023

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International travelers to the US will be able to skip proof of COVID vaccine, WH says

The Biden administration will lift the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for inbound international air travelers on Friday.

"As we continue to monitor the evolving state of COVID-19 and the emergence of virus variants, we have the tools to detect and respond to the potential emergence of a variant of high consequence," President Joe Biden said in a proclamation Tuesday. "Considering the progress that we have made, and based on the latest guidance from our public health experts, I have determined that we no longer need the international air travel restrictions that I imposed in October 2021."

Biden announced the change last week , along with the end of vaccine requirements for federal employees and contractors, foreign nationals at the land border and others. The requirement for air travelers will lift at midnight Thursday as the coronavirus public health emergency ends. Biden previously  signed a bill ending the COVID national emergency  in April.

So, what does that mean for travelers? Here's what we know.

Summer travel is expensive: Here's why flight prices heat up when the weather does

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Why are travel refunds taking so long? Here are some tips to get your money back

Is there still a vaccine requirement for international travelers coming to the US?

Not as of later this week.

Currently, all "non-U.S. citizen, non-U.S. immigrants traveling to the United States by air" must show proof of vaccination with limited exceptions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's  website .

Industry group the U.S. Travel Association, which had called on the Biden administration to  end the vaccine requirement  for inbound international visitors and argued the rule was an impediment to tourism, applauded the change when it was announced last week.

“Today’s action to lift the vaccine requirement eases a significant entry barrier for many global travelers, moving our industry and country forward," Geoff Freeman, the organization's President and CEO, said in a statement last week. He also called on the federal government to "ensure U.S. airports and other ports of entry are appropriately staffed with Customs and Border Protection officers to meet the growing demand for entry."

The U.S.  lifted a requirement  that air travelers coming from China show proof of a negative COVID test in March. The policy took effect in January amid a surge of cases in China.

The U.S.  dropped its COVID testing rule  for international flyers in June.

Do travelers need a vaccine to cross the Mexico or Canada borders to the US?

The Department of Homeland Security also said in a news release that it will no longer require non-U.S. travelers coming into the country by land or at ferry terminals to be fully vaccinated or show proof of their vaccination status.

Do US travelers need to be vaccinated against COVID to travel internationally?

That depends. Many destinations have dropped their vaccination and testing requirements for travel, though some still have rules in place. The Philippines, for example, still requires travelers to be fully vaccinated or show proof of a negative COVID test in order to visit, according to the  U.S. Embassy in the Philippines .

AI, self-service are taking over travel: Will everything become a DIY experience?

The CDC also recommends travelers be up to date on their COVID vaccinations before leaving the country. The agency defines up to date as having one updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine for people age 6 and up, which "protect against both the original virus that causes COVID-19 and the Omicron variant BA.4 and BA.5," according to its  website .

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected].

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Top COVID FAQs of 2023: Staying safe at home, flying tips, shot combos, new variant

Marc Silver

This is the year that the COVID-19 pandemic was declared to be no longer a global health emergency.

But even though case counts are down in 2023, it's not as if everything is back to normal. There is, for example, a new omicron variant that was first detected in late summer and has spread significantly in recent weeks. It's called JN.1, and health officials have now classified it as a variant of interest. And a frequently asked question is:

How worried should we be about JN.1?

Health officials are not sounding the alarm. The World Health Organization says the overall risk is low.

Based on the limited evidence, JN.1 seems comparable to other circulating omicron variants and doesn't appear to cause more severe disease.

COVID vaccines, including the updated booster, continue to provide protection against severe illness and death. In the U.S., hospital admissions for COVID-19 have been climbing since early November.

The big questions, answered

There have been other pressing COVID questions in 2023. Here are some of the topics we tackled, starting with a quandary about this new phase of the pandemic:

'Emergency' over! Do we unmask and grin? Or adjust our worries?

Is it OK to get a COVID shot and a flu shot and even an RSV shot at the same time?

How do I avoid catching COVID while flying in 2023?

Why do some people get a COVID infection yet show no symptoms?

A few posts from years past drew a lot of readers in 2023 as well:

Can you test positive for COVID from getting a vaccine/booster?

Does a faint line on a self-test mean I'm barely contagious?

Is paxlovid the best treatment?

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2023 Travel Trends: COVID Concerns Are Declining

Cost and inflation have replaced covid-19 concerns as top barriers to travel..

by Vicki Levy, AARP Research , March 2023

Read the Detailed Findings

• 2023 Travel Trends (PDF)
• Travel Is Heating Up Among Women 50+ (Fact Sheet, PDF)
• Travelers 50-Plus: Annotated Questionnaire (PDF)
• Nontravelers 50-Plus: Annotated Questionnaire (PDF)

Get more travel tips, tools, and resources at AARP Travel

While most Americans say they are comfortable traveling again, many feel they can’t afford to because of rising inflation and high costs. 

A new AARP survey shows 81% of adults 50-plus who plan to travel in 2023 believe it’s safe to travel now (up from 77% in 2021). And just one in four say COVID-19 is a barrier to travel, compared to about a half who felt that way last year.

However, pandemic worry is being replaced with money concerns.

Inflation’s Impact

Cost is the main reason people are curbing traveling today, according to 52% of American travelers ages 50-plus in a late 2022 national poll. And 27% say financial concerns due to inflation are making them hesitant to vacation. Half of those who expected to travel more last year say it was money woes that altered their plans.

Notably altering their travel habits are those age 70 and older, who anticipate spending over 40% less on 2023 trips than they planned to for 2022. They also remain the most cautious age group concerning COVID-19.

On average, American adults intended to spend $8,369 on travel in 2022, but now plan to spend just $6,688 in 2023, the AARP research finds.

Still, a majority of adults (62%) age 50-plus will take at least one leisure trip in 2023 — and most will take between three and four trips.

Travel is one of the most popular ways to spend discretionary income: 85% of travelers surveyed rank travel among their top three priorities. This year, though, many Americans will vacation closer to home to save money. Domestic travel will be focused on family trips and weekend getaways, with fewer people planning solo trips in 2023.

AARP reports 61% of respondents say they are only taking trips within the United States, and most will drive to their destination — often hitting the road in the spring and summer. At this point in the previous year, 51% said they were limiting themselves to domestic travel. 

Destination Abroad

Some are venturing abroad, but the numbers are down. About four in ten travelers 50-plus expressed an intent to travel internationally, compared to about half who wanted to in 2022. 

Comparison of results from last year’s Travel Trends reveals a dip in interest in international cruises, from 27% to 18%. However, the survey shows that among age 50-plus travelers who are taking a cruise in 2023, the average number of cruises they’ve ever taken is 14. Most are taking ocean cruises (89%), and they are motivated by value and the chance to visit multiple locations.

Europe remains the most popular international destination, followed by Latin America, and the Caribbean.

The pandemic upended travel patterns for many, and the impact continues. Overall, women are more cautious than men in their travel plans.

2024 Surge?

The AARP survey reflects an uncertainty among nontravelers about traveling this year: 58% say it’s because of finances, and 20% are hesitant because of COVID-19. Still, about half intend to return to leisure travel in 2024, while fewer are interested in staycations than in the past.

Money that might have been spent on trips is largely being redirected to paying bills and reducing debt. And one-third are stashing away savings for future travel, although that’s down from 42% in 2022.

Among those who do travel, the trend is to take slightly fewer trips than in the past, but many are spending more locking in flexible travel options or staying longer than they usually would at a destination, AARP discovered. 

The majority (63%) of American travelers age 50-plus still embrace the idea of taking a “bucket list trip” — for many (39%) even more so than prior to the pandemic. The most common reasons keeping them from booking that dream vacation are the increase in travel costs (21%), health issues (16%), and less available discretionary income (12%). Travel restrictions, global unrest, and weather concerns were lesser factors.

Methodology

AARP gathered this data through a 15-minute online survey of 2,000 Americans age 18 and older conducted in November and December 2022. Respondents sampled had taken at least one trip within the past two years 50 miles or more away from home, with at least a two-night stay. They also were required to have used an online travel site within the past two years and intended to travel for leisure in 2023. For the nontraveler findings, a 10-minute online survey was administered to 500 Americans age 18 and over who do not plan to travel in 2023, but historically have traveled for leisure purposes.

For more information, please contact Vicki Levy at [email protected] . For media inquiries, contact External Relations at [email protected] .

Suggested citation:

Levy, Vicki. 2023 Travel Trends . Washington, DC: AARP Research, March 2023.  https://doi.org/10.26419/res.00592.001

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2022 Travel Trends

After curtailing vacations during the pandemic, a 2022 AARP survey finds Americans are beginning to feel more comfortable about traveling. 

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