The United States Virgin Islands Department of Tourism has sought to dispel confusion over entry requirement for travellers from the mainland.
The body said it was on a mission to educate travellers that the territory is an American overseas territory, and as such, travel to St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas or Water Island is within the United States’ domestic jurisdiction.
Though not part of the contiguous United States, travel to the USVI does not require a passport from United States citizens arriving from Puerto Rico or the mainland.
“We, too, are American,” reminded Commissioner Joseph Boschulte as he and his team work around the clock to clarify misunderstanding of recent Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) travel requirements related Covid-19 pandemic for all air passengers arriving in the United States.
“The new requirements do not apply to persons traveling or returning directly from the United States Virgin Islands to the mainland,” he said.
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However, passengers traveling by air from St. Maarten or the British Virgin Islands, for example, are subject to the CDC’s three-day testing requirement “because they are coming from a foreign country and their first point of entry into the United States is either St. Thomas or St. Croix”.
“But if you are leaving St. Thomas or St. Croix and you are heading to or returning to the United States mainland, the US Virgin Islands does not require passengers to test,” said the commissioner.
All travellers five years of age or older must use the travel screening portal to submit the required Covid-19 test result prior to traveling to the territory.
Travellers are required to provide evidence of a negative a Covid-19 molecular or antigen test result taken within five days of commencement of travel to the territory or a positive antibody result received within four months of commencement of travel to the territory.
