United States to allow fully vaccinated foreign travellers including UK visitors in from November 8

The United States is set to lift restrictions on foreign travellers within weeks, as the White House says fully vaccinated arrivals will be allowed in from November 8.

The move marks the end of more than a year of Covid travel restrictions that had shut borders to all non-essential travel and most non-US citizens.

The White House confirmed today the change applied to both air and land travel.

The rules will ease in time for Thanksgiving, allowing friends and families separated by borders to reunite after more than a year of restrictions.

The current rules bar entry to most non-US citizens who have been in the UK or many European countries, China, India, South Africa, Brazil, within the last 14 days.

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Spokesman Kevin Munoz confirmed the measures were due to ease via a Twitter post on Friday.

He wrote: "The US’ new travel policy that requires vaccination for foreign national travellers to the United States will begin on Nov 8.

"This announcement and date applies to both international air travel and land travel. This policy is guided by public health, stringent, and consistent."

It comes after months of frustration over travel restrictions, as many other countries moved comparatively faster to ease restrictions for jabbed visitors including US citizens.

Today's announcement was hailed by air travel operators eager to restart international flights.

"Yeeha," Virgin Atlantic posted on its Instagram account as the company urged travellers to start booking US trips.

Curbs were first imposed in the States in March 2020 as travellers arriving from China were blocked from entry.

Dozens more countries were later added to US travel ban lists.

The Biden administration announced last month that the US would lift restrictions on air travel from 33 countries and bring in vaccine proof requirements for flight passengers.

Officials have not yet released an update laying out full details of the November 8 rules.

The White House said earlier that fully vaccinated travellers arriving from Canada and Mexico would be able to make land border and ferry crossings from early November.

Non-US air travellers would need to show proof of vaccination before boarding flights, along with evidence of a recent negative Covid test, it advised.

Foreign visitors crossing into the US via a land border would not need to get a Covid test, the White House advised earlier.