Testing for dummies: Dublin airport traveling to USA

Fiyatoe

Maybe this isn’t the right forum.. but I didn’t want to cross into the war zone that is the covid threads on here!

I’ve trawled the United Airlines, DFA and Dublin airport website this morning looking for straight forward answers.

my family of 8 are due to travel to Orlando from Dublin via New York on Monday December 27th.

in order for us to board the plane, we will have to provide a negative covid result plus our vaccination records (we have NHS covid cards from up north) but also have the app on our phone with QR code.

i assume US pre clearance will be in Dublin like it has been on previous trips to the states for us in the past?

mu question is : what exactly is the test/document you bring that they are looking for? Will it be the US customs officers or United’s airline staff at check in? Or at boarding gate? I see randox and RocDoc do PCR/ antigen testing at the airport,,, it’s all gobbledygook to me to be honest!

do we need to be able to show a stick thing with a negative result or does it need to be accompanied by official records on paper with our individual details ?

im thinking because of the time of year, it might be best if we do something at home on Christmas Eve 24th/ Sunday 26th, but could be easier said than done on stephens day….

think it’s upto 3 days before .. but then we’ve a cruise to board in Orlando on tues 28th that requires test no longer than 2 days before. Head melted!!

maybe it’s all electronic and test result can be paired with app on phone??!! I’ve heard of people getting their NI vaccine status onto the Irish EU one. We’re all Irish passport holders.

Caranica

The details for entry for the US haven't been released yet, they're still deciding on list of accepted vaccines. Once that is finalised expect more detailed information on testing etc to be published. Plenty of time before you travel

Thewires

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you might find it very hard to get on that cruise ship.

Firstly for the Flight out you need a pcr test completed within 72 hrs of take off with the results given on a certificate provided by the company providing the test. We got ours from robodoc but boots and others provide this service as well. Unless it’s changed we didn’t need to provide our vaccination record to aer lingus until the return part of the trip to avoid having to quarantine. Aer Lingus use the verify app to speed things up at check in. On it you create a profile for everyone flying and upload all the necessary documents and information and then you are approved to fly.

How long between take off in Ireland and getting on the cruise ship? As it can take up to and over 24hrs to get the pcr test results back it will be very unlikely you could use the Irish test for the cruise ship to satisfy their 48hr demand.

The good news is there are pcr testing companies in the states that will provide results in about 20 mins at a cost of around 150 dolllars per person.

However your biggest problem is your vaccination record. We flew to Hawaii and discovered, firstly an Astra Zeneca vaccine is not accepted as it is not FDA approved!

Also for Hawaii and events in the US only an American vaccination record is accepted, it’s more than likely the same for the cruise. So unless you were vaccinated in the states you wouldn’t be eligible to get on the ship.

American friends of ours were recently on a cruise out of Florida and they said the paperwork and screening involved is multiple times more rigorous than anything needed to fly. Probably best to contact the cruise company now and consider rescheduling for a time when/if the vaccination records are globally accepted!

Thewires

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117970002#Comment_117970002

A quick google tells me the cruise companies are accepting global vaccination records including Astra Zeneca so good news there. However check with the company if the UK card is accepted or if they need a digital record like the eu vaccination passport scheme. You are going to have to find somewhere to get a pcr test for everyone in Florida that provides results before boarding. Unfortunately you are looking at almost 300 euro per person on two pcr tests in quick succession.

SweetSand

Hi :)

It’s hard to know for sure what’s going to be happening in December after US opens up for travel in November. We flew from Dublin to JFK at the very end of August.

• the only place you need to show your negative test is at the check in. We flew Aer Lingus and used VeriFLY app which is great, you upload your test results beforehand and basically app preclears you for travel. There are 2 types of test acceptable for travel to US right now: PCR and antigen (which is really an express pcr, results within 15 minutes). We brought Abbot Home Tests with us from US and basically you do test at home yourself in front of person on the computer, who verifies your result and you get QR code after 15 minutes. Extremely convenient, we did ours 2 days before flying out. You can show result on your phone or printed out. I d say they ll be checking your vaccination status at check in as well.
• yes, immigration is still in Dublin, same as before. It was extremely slow and busy in August so def allow extra time.
• cruise is your main problem I think. Check their requirements and yes, there are loads of places to do pcr tests in US, many free but they do take up to 24h or even longer. See if cruise line accepts antigen tests, they are quick and much cheaper.

lonestargirl

Radnox at Dublin airport do antigen. I had mine within and hour (I did do it the day before because it’s close but plenty of people were doing the same day). American Airlines use VeriFLY too and I uploaded everything there (you have to do a CDC attestation too).

I can’t help you with vaccination stuff as it’s not currently required for travel to the US.

Fiyatoe

Thanks all for the contributions, some great things to check up on there.

not too worried about the cruise, been on the phone to them a few times and on their website under the updated official policies, they accept AZ vaccine etc. the rules laid out are quite clear. I’m on the forum for the cruise now and it seems fine.

Fiyatoe

anybody know where the f*ck i can get a test to take at home on Sunday 26th Dec that is approved for entry to USA?

Been searching google, any of these telehealth ones are in the USA only.

• It can't be taken yourself, it has to be "test must be supervised by a health professional, such as a doctor, pharmacy technician, public health worker, or telehealth professional. Telehealth testing at home is only accepted for vaccinated guests, and only when it is conducted under live video supervision. 
• .You must receive valid results document from your test provider that includes provider name, your name, the date the test was taken, type of test, and your negative result. This can be a printed document, email, or telehealth app notification. Handwritten doctor’s notes will not be accepted.

SweetSand

I am really not sure where can you get them in Ireland. We used Abbott Binaxnow Home test. Brought it with us from US and did it in front of computer at my in-laws house. In US you can buy them at emed.com and that’s the site you use to do supervised test. Check it out in case they ship to Ireland. I think there is another FDA approved test but don’t know anything about it.

SweetSand

I just had a quick look at randox testing site at Dublin airport. Plenty of appointments on the 26/27th. Maybe your best bet is to arrive early to Dublin airport and have it done there. Double check turnaround time for rapid antigen, should be quick. https://booking.randox.ie/covid-19-testing/

Fiyatoe

Thanks will just have to drive down to randox on the Sunday and do it. Wouldn’t chance waiting to Monday morning!!

NSAman

One thing you can be sure of, in November if the US Boarder Security can make it difficult they will.

On a side note, someone above mentioned PCR testing in the States. Currently, there is a shortage of PCR testing equipment. Up to now it was easy to get a PCR test with same day results if taken before 11am... lately, hospitals and clinics are severely short of test equipment..I know this as I had to try to get tests for two people travelling abroad during the past 4 weeks. The clinic that we usually use had no equipment and none of the local hospitals had equipment for PCR.. antigen no problem...

Just make sure when you are flying back to Ireland if the requirement still exists that you plan this part of the trip....phone multiple places and find out times and availability... we had to change a flight due to this issue.

SweetSand

It’s def true. The place we always went still does PCR tests but results now take so much longer.

Good news is if you are fully vaccinated you don’t need any test to fly back to Ireland and hopefully it will stay that way. Locator form was the only thing we had to fill.

ongarite

What's the Q time/processing time at US immigration at Dublin Airport like these days?

I'm travelling to SFO this weekend via JFK on NIE visa.

How much time should I give myself after airline check-in to get through..

SweetSand

When we traveled at the end of August - Q was very long, basically that whole area behind the glass was full. We naively thought that there ll be no line and took it easy past the security: had a look in duty free, had a pint of Guinness and etc. Our flight was at 12.45 and we got to immigration part at 11.30. We made it to the gate at 12.35. It was strange as only US passport holders/green card holders and few exceptions are allowed at the moment. So we thought surely there ll be no line. I think 7 or 8 desks were open but everything was super slow. Have a look how many flights to US are departing on your date around the time of your flight and take it from there. They tend to group few US bound flight departures around the same time - so there ll be def Q. There was small duty free and coffee shop with guinness sign past immigration but we had to run to the gate so not sure if there is anything else there right now. Check in and security were really fast.

wayne0308

I will be travelling to the USA for a work assignment in a couple of weeks. My employer is heavily recommending that we get the PCR test instead of the antigen test, in fact they didn't even mention that antigen was an option until I pointed this out on the US embassy website. Does anyone know of any reason why an antigen test wouldn't be accepted for travel to the US (assuming it was taken within 72hours of departure)?

ongarite

Antigen is accepted as valid test for entry to US.

I uploaded my test result to Verifly app last night and it was accepted after review.

Fiyatoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117980746#Comment_117980746

Doesn't seem to be anything like that here in Ireland - "at home" supervised tests via video call. Typical - even the UK have one - "Breathe Assured"

Feets

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117970002#Comment_117970002

Can I ask what did you do if your vaccination wasnt approved?

Thewires

For Hawaii, you had to have a Hawaii approved pcr test before flying and upload it to their safe travels app.

For cruises that info was wrong as they were accepting international vaccinations at the time.

I’m not sure what the rules are for either at the present though.

timtim2016

Got an antigen test done today in Pharmacy, received a print out of EU digital Covid certificate.

But it states on it that this is not a travel document.

Still suitable to travel to USA on?

Fiyatoe

Should do, know a couple did theirs in boots before they went 10 days ago, currently they’re in Florida