You might be asking whether you still need to conform to the COVID-19 rules if you have any forthcoming trip plans to India or for the upcoming festival season. Is a PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test required? You must complete the Air Suvidha form, right?
Here is everything you require to know.
The Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) last updated the COVID-19 recommendations on March 31. Whether they are fully immunized or not, travelers must still complete the Air Suvidha Self Declaration form, according to the regulations.
The circular does state, however, that fully vaccinated UAE travelers traveling in India will no longer be subject to a pre-departure PCR test.
Passengers who have completed their vaccinations must upload their vaccination certificate, which was given by a government agency, on the Air Suvidha travel website. Unvaccinated people will need to show proof of a negative PCR test performed no more than 72 hours before departure.
So, if you are an Indian living in the UAE and are going to spend the festival season with friends and family in India, here is a quick recap of the most recent COVID-19 travel recommendations.
1. Before you travel
According to MohFW’s recommendations, international travelers should take the following actions before booking their trip:
- Fill out the Air Suvidha Self Declaration form, which asks for information about the last 14 days of travel as well as personal and COVID-19-related health information. You may find the form here:
https://www.newdelhiairport.in/airsuvidha/apho-registration
a.) For vaccinated travelers:
It is necessary to produce a vaccination record showing that you had the COVID-19 vaccine in both doses.
b.) For non-vaccinated travelers:
Upload a negative COVID-19 PCR report; the test must be completed within 72 hours of travel.)
Passengers must also make sure that the information they provide about their health and travel history is true. They must also agree to abide by any post-arrival requirements for home or institutional quarantine or self-health monitoring made by the relevant government body.
Both pre-and post-arrival testing is waived for children under the age of five.
Also Read: Are you planning to travel through Dubai Airport? Here’s how you can access the Smart Gates
Steps for Air Suvidha Portal
Passengers are required to fill out additional information in addition to submitting their immunization record or PCR test results, such as the following:
- Full Name
- Date of Birth
- Gender
- Flight Number (Arriving in India)
- Seat Number
- PNR Number (Passenger Name Record) – Following the purchase of your ticket, you will get information regarding your flight through SMS or email. Your PNR number, also known as a booking reference, is an alphanumeric identifier with six characters that are mentioned on your e-ticket.
- Nationality
- Passport Number
- Passport copy
- Date of arrival
- Country of Departure
- If you are taking a connecting domestic flight, fill in the Domestic Connecting Flight Number.
COIVD-19 health details:
- Upload Vaccination Certificate
- Choose the location of the final vaccination dose, ex: United Arab Emirates
- Date of final dose of vaccination
For unvaccinated passengers:
- Upload RT-PCR Negative Certificate
- Date of RT-PCR Test Taken
Location Details
- City of Departure
- First Airport of Entry ex: Delhi Airport
- First Airport of Entry State/Union Territories
- Final Destination – House Number
- Final Destination Street/Village
- Final Destination Tehsil (local unit of administrative division)
- Final Destination State/Union Territories
- Final Destination District/City
- Final Destination Pincode (enter the Pincode of your residential area)
Contact details:
- India Mobile Number (this is mandatory and passengers must give a valid and working phone number in India. It is a punishable offense to provide an incorrect number).
- Alternate India Contact Number
Personal health information
- When filling out the Air Suvidha form, you must indicate whether you have a cough, fever, or respiratory illness.
- You must choose that if you have co-morbidities.
Details of the Countries visited in the last 14 days
Select any nations that you have recently traveled to in the last 14 days.
then decide how many people will be traveling.
After accepting the terms and conditions, you will receive the Self-declaration form on your registered email along with all of your personal information.
*It is necessary to keep in mind that the file size must be reduced while uploading documents to the Air Suvidha Portal, such as passport copies, PCR test results, or vaccination certificates. Users of iOS or Android devices must use a PDF compressor mobile application to accomplish this, according to Air Suvidha Portal.
2. Before boarding
You will be required to show your self-declaration form before boarding. Only passengers with the self-declaration form from the Air Suvidha webpage and a negative PCR test result or vaccination certificate submitted will be allowed to board a flight.
Airlines have been urged to guarantee that only asymptomatic patients are permitted to board and to educate passengers on the dos and don’ts linked to COVID-19 precautions.
The Aarogya Setu app should be downloaded on mobile devices by all travelers. The official COVID-19 contract-tracing tool for India is called Aarogya Setu.
On arrival
- Passengers will be thermally screened at airports, and those who exhibit symptoms will be immediately segregated and transported to a medical center in accordance with the health protocol. In the event that they test positive, their contacts will be found and handled according to protocol.
- Random post-arrival testing will be conducted on a subset of passengers (2% of the total number of passengers on the aircraft). Only after submitting the samples for their PCR tests will passengers be permitted to depart.
- If the test results are positive, they will be handled and separated in accordance with the protocol.
Each traveler will keep track of their health over the following 14 days after arrival. Travelers must promptly self-isolate and report to the nearest medical facility if they experience COVID-19 symptoms while performing self-health monitoring. They may also phone the National Helpline (1075) or the State Helpline if necessary.
