Turks and Caicos Will Soon Require All Visitors To Be Vaccinated

The paradisiacal Caribbean islands of Turks and Caicos—revealed in a recent study to be one of the most sought-after destinations among American travelers right now—will be changing its entry requirements as the summer comes to a close.

With the Delta variant fueling a fresh infection surge in the U.S. and elsewhere, Turks and Caicos will add a new rule into its existing set of entry restrictions by mandating that all visitors ages 16 and over be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The order goes into effect on September 1, and the British Overseas Territory’s approved vaccines are the Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, or Johnson and Johnson/Janssen varieties. “Fully vaccinated” is defined as having received the final dose of an approved vaccine series at least 14 days prior to arrival in Turks and Caicos.

Proof of vaccination will be accepted in only two formats:

—A vaccination letter signed by a doctor, along with his/her registration or license number.

—Certificates printed or captured from an electronic vaccination database.

Note that handwritten vaccination cards, such as the vaccination reminder cards being issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), won’t be accepted as proof of vaccination.

All those visiting the islands will still need to fulfill existing entry requirements, including supplying a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of arrival (although children under the age of 10 are exempt from this requirement).

Whereas, prior to July 28, the testing window was five days and only PCR tests were accepted, the window has narrowed to three days and admissible test types now include PCR, NAA, RNA and antigen tests from any accredited lab.

Turks and Caicos continues to require all foreign visitors to purchase a travel insurance policy that specifically covers COVID-related incidents, should they contract the virus during their trip. Coverage must include the costs of medical care, doctor visits, prescriptions, full hospitalization and air ambulance transport, if needed.

They’ll also need to obtain a pre-travel authorization through the TCI Assured portal in order to board their flight. There, they’ll need to register with their personal information and passport number, upload their negative test results and certificate of insurance that includes COVID-19 coverage, and answer a health screening questionnaire.

For more information, visit visitci.com.