Are There Still Travel Restrictions In July 2022?

Relatively few countries currently have travel restrictions and pre-travel requirements for international travel. A few places have been more accessible to travel to since the beginning of the month. Here are the latest Covid-19 travel protocol changes to know about for July 2022.

United States Travel Restrictions

There are currently no travel restrictions for domestic trips between states and U.S. territories. For example, U.S. citizens no longer need to present a negative Covid-19 test result to visit the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Mask Mandate

The United States currently doesn’t enforce its previous federal mask mandate during commercial travel and in public transportation hubs. This policy is now under appeal in the court system and may return in the future.

However, individual carriers and transportation terminals can require wearing a mask indoors. At the moment, New York’s JFK, La Guardia and Stewart airports still require a mask. Newark International Airport in nearby New Jersey doesn’t have a mandatory masking policy.

Covid-19 Testing

The United States also ditched its mandatory travel testing requirement for passengers arriving from another country. This requirement applied to returning citizens and visiting foreigners. However, international visitors at least 18 years old must be fully vaccinated to enter the country for tourism.

Canada

Americans must be fully vaccinated to visit Canada by air, land or sea. The country also has a mask mandate for commercial travel and while in transportation hubs.

Latin America

Most of Latin America is open without restrictions to fully vaccinated travelers for the first time since the pandemic’s inception. Countries may still require purchasing Covid-19 travel insurance, which may be part of the entry visa process.

Many countries still have travel restrictions for the non-vaccinated and partially vaccinated.

Several countries require the unvaccinated to have a negative pre-arrival test, including Belize, Colombia, Ecuador and Panama.

Mexico and Costa Rica are two popular vacation destinations with virtually zero travel restrictions.

Caribbean

The Dominican Republic and Jamaica are the most accessible Caribbean islands to reach for vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers as you don’t need a negative pre-arrival test.

Pre-arrival testing requirements are still relatively standard for many tiny islands seeking to protect their local citizens. But, the Bahamas no longer requires a pre-arrival test if you’re fully vaccinated. Additionally, a health visa is no longer required.

The Turks and Caicos also dropped its testing requirements for vaccinated travelers. However, any adult must be fully vaccinated to visit.

Europe

Most of Western Europe is restriction-free and doesn’t require proof of vaccination or pre-arrival testing to enter.

Portugal is one of the most recent nations to drop most of its entry protocols.

Unvaccinated travelers can also go to most countries without restrictions. However, Spain and France do require non-vaccinated visitors to have a negative pre-arrival test.

Also, local restrictions and masking requirements may apply.

The ongoing Ukrainian conflict continues to impact travel to Central and Eastern Europe.

Australia

Australia opens to unvaccinated travelers beginning on July 6, 2022. This is a remarkable change as the Asian and Oceania regions continue to have the most stringent travel guidelines.

Additionally, passengers no longer need to complete the Digital Passenger Declaration. Other countries have been removing this paperwork requirement too.

New Zealand

New Zealand currently intends to open for tourism at 11:59 pm on July 31, 2022. Visitors must be fully vaccinated and have two post-arrival tests. The first one will be on day 0 or 1 and the second on day 5 or 6.

Until the end of July, the country is only issuing work and student visas for non-citizens.

Summary

International travel is finally on the rebound, and the reduction of travel restrictions is a contributing factor. The Americas and Europe are the easiest to reach because of proximity and policy flexibility. However, there are glimmers of hope in other world pockets too.

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