Which covid tests are accepted for travel to the USA?

SARS-CoV2_Test

To be eligible to enter the USA you have to be tested with a viral test that checks for a current SARS-CoV-2 infection no longer than 1 day before you flight. These tests include antigen tests and nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT).

UPDATE 11 June 2022: Starting 12 June 2022 test is no longer required to travel to the USA. Read more about this.

Antigen tests

Possible antigen tests are:

  • Rapid Antigen test
  • Viral antigen test
  • Antigen Chromatographic Digital Immunoassay
  • Antigen Chemiluminescence Immunoassay
  • Antigen Lateral Flow Fluorescence

Nucleic acid amplification tests

Examples of NAAT for SARS-CoV-2 are:

  • Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)
  • Isothermal amplification:
    • Nicking endonuclease amplification reaction (NEAR)
    • Transcription mediated amplification (TMA)
    • Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP)
    • Helicase-dependent amplification (HDA)
    • Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)
    • Strand displacement amplification (SDA)

The test has to be approved for testing for SARS-CoV-2 by the authorities of the country where you take the test.

Which information is required on the test result?

A test can be documented on paper of digitally. The required information is:

  • Type of test: NAAT or antigen test
  • Provider of the result (ex. laboratory, healthcare provider, …)
  • Date of the test
    • For a negative result the test cannot be taken longer than 1 day before the flight.
    • For a positive result to prove you have recovered from COVID-19 the test cannot be taken longer than 90 days before the flight.
  • Information to identify you
  • The result of the test

You need to provide your airline with the test result before your flight. You can also be asked to show your test result when you arrive in the USA.

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