International travel absolutely applies to permanent residents of the United States and also visa holders who might be wanting to leave the country soon to visit loved ones, or for a much needed vacation. In any case, Covid-19 travel restrictions affect green card holders and U.S. citizens the same. Today, the question has become whether or not you need a “vaccine passport” in order to travel internationally. In this blog, we will address some of these issues and discuss two new smartphone Apps that global citizens are using in order to make international travel a hassle free process.
Technically speaking, there really isn’t a vaccine passport that is in effect currently except for the EU’s newly administered Covid certificate. The key features of this certificate is that it provides citizens of EU member states with a QR code and digital signature that verifies their vaccination. This is not a smartphone App (we will cover those below), but is rather an email based system where citizens will receive secure links to access their own certificate. More information on this can be found here: https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/coronavirus-response/safe-covid-19-vaccines-europeans/eu-digital-covid-certificate_en.
Besides this innovation, the next best thing you can do if you need to leave the U.S. and don’t have a smartphone or are not savvy with using Apps is to have your paper copy of your CDC card to show to the airline before you leave the country. However, you might also be wondering if just having this card will suffice for your international trip. It might, but just to be sure you should also print out the following documentation just to be safe:
1. A copy of the address/location where you received both shots (i.e. Walgreens location)
2. The administering health official/nurse/practitioner that gave you the vaccine. This will be listed on your confirmation email.
3. The confirmation (email) that you received both doses.
Going Digital
While the above is one layer of proof that should work for most international travel, new Apps have been coming up and it is important to stay up to date with these Apps and their effectiveness. Simply put, if you are not asked to upload any information onto a digital platform, then you probably don’t need to. However every country situation will be different but generally speaking if you are flying on an airline that asks you for an upload, you should do this before departure.
For example, American Airlines, British Airways, and Iberia are now using an app called VeriFLY. VeriFLY is a free app that can help simplify the international travel experience. VeriFLY works with select airlines to help verify travel credentials for select destinations, in order to make the check-in experience more seamless.[1] For more information on this App, please see the following link: https://go.daon.com/veriflyapp
Common Pass
There is also another App called Common Pass that collects a user’s Covid-19 status and verifies their identity. The app is a current leader in the international travel world and produces a QR code that airlines and countries can rely on to ensure that a traveller does not have the virus. Common Pass is an example of an App that allows users to access lab results, for example. Currently, the App is being used for passengers on direct flights from the U.S. to Germany, Aruba, and Hawaii. Interestingly the App is only available through destination invitation codes.
