The Bahamas Eliminates Travel Health Visa Requirement

Beginning June 19, 2022, travelers entering The Bahamas will no longer need to apply for a Bahamas Travel Health Visa to enter the country, though testing requirements do still apply for all travelers regardless of vaccination status.

Travelers entering The Bahamas are now only required to provide a recent negative COVID-19 test.

Vaccinated travelers and children from two to eleven must present a negative RT-PCR test or a Rapid Antigen test at most 72 hours prior to arrival. Unvaccinated travelers 12 and up must submit only a negative RT-PCR test in the same time frame.

In addition to the change, The Bahamas reminds travelers that they should still be aware of the islands’ mask wearing and social distancing guidelines and follow them while on the islands.

“The discontinuation of the Travel Health Visa is yet another signal to the international community that we are open for business,” said the Honourable I. Chester Cooper, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments & Aviation. “Throughout the pandemic, we have remained committed to evaluating protocols and adjusting requirements to reflect the current environment. We acknowledge that the Travel Health Visa was a burden for travelers, and we are pleased to be able to eliminate it.”

The last change to The Bahamas’ entry requirements came earlier this year in March, when it announced it would end the post-arrival testing requirement for unvaccinated travelers. Since then, the CDC changed its risk level to Level 3: High due to rising cases of COVID-19, though the U.S. State Department categorizes it as a Level 2 risk, not due to the virus.