British Virgin Eases Entry Requirements For Vaccinated Travelers

November 29, 2021 Warsaw

Planning a trip to the Caribbean this winter? The British Virgin Islands have simplified some of their entry requirements recently, and fully vaccinated visitors can now bypass the required Covid testing upon arrival.

Those fully vaccinated passengers are also no longer required to fill out the online form to pre-register and be approved for travel via the BVI’s Travel Gateway Portal.

woman with yellow sarong a deserted tropical beach, Sandy Cay, British Virgin Islands

According to the BVI’s official government website, travelers must show proof of vaccination with one of the WHO-approved vaccines, either through a card or in digital format in order to be considered a fully vaccinated traveler.

Please note that these entry requirements do not apply for persons 17 and under who are traveling with their fully vaccinated parent or guardian.

Buildings in the village of Road Town in the British Virgin Islands

Tests And Travel Insurance Still Required Pre-Departure

All travellers will still be asked to show proof of a negative test result, taken 3 to 5 days prior to arrival to the British Virgin Islands.

For fully vaccinated passengers, the test can either be a RT-PCR or a rapid antigen test for travel. Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated travelers will need to show a RT-PCR negative test result in order to be cleared for travel to the BVIs.

Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated travelers who wish to visit the British Virgin Islands must also register and fill out the form at the BVI Gateway Travel Application Portal. Travel clearance for the BVI will be issued once all the relevant information is submitted. Travel will not be allowed until the official travel authorization is issued.

Bikini Woman standing in the cave at the Baths, Virgin Gorda

All travelers to the British Virgin Islands must also be covered by a travel medical insurance plan which includes minimum approved coverage for things such as:

Medical, hospitalization and prescription costs in the case of infection
Medical repatriation
Costs of quarantine accommodation

Dock in Great Harbor on Jost Van Dyke in the BVIs

Travel Delays Might Require Additional Testing

For entry into the BVIs without additional on-arrival testing or quarantine, it’s important that travelers have a Covid test that isn’t older than 48 hours prior to arrival.

In the case of any travel delays or overnight layovers that will make the test expire, travelers will then have to fill out the Hummingbird portal and take an on-arrival test (rapid antigen will be provided).

Registration For Arrivals To The BVIs

If you’re traveling to the British Virgin Islands and have to register via the portal, the online form you fill out depends on your port of entry.

At this time, there are 3 main ports of entry that are open in the BVIs.
The ports of entry are:

West End Ferry Terminal – https://westend.bvi.care/
Road Town Ferry Terminal – https://rtferry.bvi.care/
Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport – https://airport.bvi.care/

You can read the full entry requirements and travel protocols for the British Virgin Islands, including details on quarantine for partially and unvaccinated travelers here.

Couple toasting with Margarita cocktail in a teak lounge chairs on a tropical beach in the Caribbean, White Bay, Jost Van Dyke

BVIs Director of Tourism Says Travel Bookings ‘Reminiscent of pre-pandemic numbers’

Clive McCoy, the British Virgin Islands’ Director of Tourism, commented on the updated entry requirements. “We are very encouraged with the response from travelers to the phased relaxation of our protocols, as our tourism partners have reported strong bookings for the 2021/2022 tourism season, reminiscent of pre-pandemic numbers.”

“However, we still caution guests and the local population to strictly adhere to all the existing protocols that will ensure our safety, including, social distancing, mask wearing and observing hygiene and sanitization best practices,” he continued.