The US Virgin Islands, among the biggest tourism success stories of the pandemic, has announced a major updates to its entry rules: the lifting of all restrictions for American travelers. 

That means U.S. citizens traveling from the US mainland and other territories will no longer be required to complete the US Virgin Islands Travel Screening Portal to travel to the destination. 

The US Virgin Islands had been requiring testing for unvaccinated travelers; now all American travelers, regardless of vaccination status, can travel restriction-free to the destination. 

The US Virgin Islands continues to be exempt from the CDC’s inbound testing requirement. That means Americans who travel to the USVI don’t need a test to return to the mainland. 

“The health and well-being of our residents and visitors alike continue to be our biggest priority”, says Joseph Boschulte, Commissioner of Tourism. “The Department of Tourism along with Governor Bryan’s Office and the Virgin Islands Department of Health, have worked together to closely monitor the COVID cases in the territory and strategically take steps that will ensure the health and safety of our residents and visitors. Our measures have proven successful and give us the confidence to continue to ease travel and testing requirements to the territory so that we can continue to safely welcome visitors.”

Indeed, the US Virgin Islands has seen sparkling tourism numbers since it first reopened for tourism in the summer of 2020, with the Travel Screening Portal held up as an exemplar for the Caribbean. 

For international travelers 18 and over, including travelers from the British Virgin Islands, the USVI will still require proof of vaccination and a negative antigen or PCR test within 24 hours if traveling by air, or within five days if traveling by ferry. 

For more, visit USVI Update.