Updated: Jan,2023
Air Suvidha Extends Services for Travellers Flying from High-risk Countries w.e.f 1st January 2023
The Indian government has changed its travel policies considering the fluctuations during COVID-19. Recently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) announced the reopening of the Air Suvidha portal for international travelers from high-risk countries. This is considering the increased number of COVID-19 cases across the globe. Here is the update:
For Passengers Arriving From High-Risk Countries In India
Passengers in transit from risk countries – Passengers arriving internationally to India from high-risk countries are required to complete the self-declaration form at the Air Suvidha portal.
With the surge in COVID-19 cases reported in China, the Air Suvidha portal has been in action since 1st January 2023. This move is encouraged by the Ministry of Health and the Trade Union Ministry of Home Affairs to prevent the virus from entering the country. This is especially applicable for passengers traveling from 6 countries – China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand.
They must submit their RT-PCR test reports, which should be conducted 72 hours before travel, on the Air Suvidha Portal. This measure is in addition to the policy of conducting random post-arrival screening for 2% of international passengers.
Passengers flying from these 6 countries to India are required to fill out the self-declaration form containing details about their vaccination status, travel information for the last 14 days, their latest RT-PCR test report, passport number, and email ID. This form facilitates tracking and helps prevent the spread of the virus.
Once the self-declaration form is filled and submitted by the passengers, it is sent to the Airport Health Organization (APHO). A PDF copy of the application is sent to the passenger via email. Upon arrival in India, a physical copy of the PDF has to be presented at the APHO counter of the airport.
Passengers Arriving From Non-Risk Countries
According to the latest government recommendations, passengers from low-risk countries are not required to fill out a self-declaration form.
The Needs of Children in Dangerous Countries
Children under the age of 12 are exempt from her RT-PCR testing both pre-departure and post-arrival.
Originally published:
The Indian aviation department and Indian airlines are making its mark with some astounding growth and progress. In the center of it all, lies relentless customer service. The government of India has turned the tables, becoming responsible, using the best means to serve not just citizens, but international passengers as well. Air Suvidha is a perfect illustration of this fact.
Overview
Air Suvidha is an initiative by the Indian government to help people travel to India with ease. The service comes into the picture at a time when countries are tightening the traveling guidelines with the detection of new variants of Covid.
When you are traveling to India, you can say goodbye to complicated documentation and scrutinizing by using the Suvidha portal. International passengers can register on the website before they arrive in India using their mobiles.
By filling out a simple form on the portal, you can ensure that you are not getting some last-minute shocks or restrictions at the airport.
1. What is Air Suvidha?
It is basically an online self-declaration of a passenger’s current health. It records the health status and the recent travel details of a passenger.
When traveling to India by air, it is necessary to submit the online form. The initiative is regulated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and comes as an easier way of a contact-less rectification procedure.
2. Who should fill out the form?
The form filling is a mandate for all international travelers coming to India. The form must be completely filled out and submitted well in time before a passenger plans to board his flight.
On landing in India on an international flight, the passenger needs to have a copy of the self-declaration form. All airports in the country are directed to check for the forms at the airport.
Currently, there are no exemptions to this form unless any further notice comes from the Indian Ministry of Aviation Department.
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3. Things to expect when filling the form
The form is available on the official website of Indira Gandhi New Delhi Airport. It requires the passengers to fill out details including:
- Personal data such as name, date of birth, gender, age, passport number, etc.
- Details of the flight such as PNR number, flight name, seat, etc.
- Country of departure
- Arrival date in India
- Complete valid address of the arrival destination
- Self-declaration of the health status
- Details about the travel history of the last 14 day
4. Why it is always good to submit the Air Suvidha form before the date of travel?
When you fill out the form, you will have to upload a copy of your passport. You also need to upload the RT-PCR certificate of the test which is taken not more than 3 days before departure.
You also have to upload the vaccination certificate in case you are vaccinated. The documents should be uploaded only in PDF format. The size of the file you are uploading should not exceed 1 MB. The names of the file you are uploading should not include any special characters with a hyphen and underscore as an exemption.
As you can see, there are certain things you need to consider before filing a form. To ensure that things don’t get delayed further, it is always best to prepare the documents and information. And to do that, you will need a day or two.
Hence, it’s wiser to fill out the form before the date of departure. Filling in the form a few hours before might not be a good idea as you won’t have that buffer time in case some technical error occurs by your side or from the website’s backend.
To avoid last-minute delays and ensure a safe kick-off, do fill out the form at least one day before your departure.
5. Form submitted. What’s next?
When you fill in the details in the online form, you have to hit the ‘submit’ button as the final step. The form is then sent to the official Airport Health Organization (APHO).
Also, a PDF application is sent to your email box. The PDF should be presented to the APHO counter at the airport when you arrive in India.
6. Is there any change in procedure if submitting from your phone
Many people love the ease of filing forms while on the go using their phones. While the procedure on the Suvidha application is almost identical, you will need another mobile software that can compress the documents into a size smaller than 1 MB.
You can use PDF compressor or any other identical app that works on both Android and iOS. Also, you will need to convert the images from jpeg or png format to PDF.
For this, you can download a PDF converter application. There are tons to choose from on Google Play and iOS App Store.
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7. How your information is used?
The health form helps Indian authorities to track the spread and number of Covid-19 cases. The relevant information on the form created a point of contact between the passengers and the government.
This way, better protocols can be initiated if the passenger has been in contact with someone who tested positive for Covid. Authorities can quickly contact the advised using the detail on the Air Suvidha form.
The information also helps declare whether the person is following the mandatory regulations set by the government or not.
Since the form includes declarations and documents such as a vaccination certificate and a mandatory PCR report, officials can rest assured that the person is not a threat to the health of anyone.
Conclusion
While you can find the online form filling an intricate process, you need to remember that it is a great initiative to facilitate time-saving in Indian airports.
And trust us, the form-filling task is not that tough. With documents ready in the right format, you can fill and submit the form in less than 10 minutes. If you have done it before, you can always guide your friends and family members.
In a nutshell, the whole essence of Air Suvidha is to provide international passengers, relief from stern Covid testing, quarantine measures, and isolation protocols.
Always consider Air Suvidha form an eminent process of your travel to India which aids in a safe and happy journey forth and back.
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