Jamaica Drops Travel Authorization Requirement

Jamaica is continuing its path towards normal travel.

Starting March 1, Jamaica is dropping its pre-travel authorization requirement, removing another barrier to the island’s full return to travel. Prime Minister Andrew Holness made the announcement this week explaining that while the pandemic is not over, it was time to start to remove some COVID-19-era protocols.

The authorization asked for a traveler’s personal, health, and travel information, and had to be reviewed by a Jamaica official who then also conducted a COVID-19 health risk assessment. Travelers, if approved, would then get an authorization code that they had to show to an airline agent at check-in, or when boarding their flight.

While that requirement is being removed, the pre-travel testing requirements will remain in place for the time being, Holness added. As for the future of the testing requirement, Holness said that Jamaica is “reviewing” whether it should maintain or modify it.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added Jamaica to its Level 4 list of destinations in late January (Level 4 includes countries with more than 500 new cases over the past 28 days per 100,000 population).

“Avoid travel to these destinations. If you must travel to these destinations, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel,” the CDC’s Level 4 warning reads.

Jamaica is far from alone on the list—more than 140 total destinations now fall into Level 4 including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and more.