EHAS to give an immediate automated pre approval for vaccinated travelers as of August 1st

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** EHAS to give an immediate automated pre approval for vaccinated travelers as of August 1st **

As of August 1st 2022, the intention is to make EHAS more convenient by allowing vaccinated persons to receive an immediate pre approval, once the form is filled out in it’s entirety.

The entry requirements will not change for the country, but by allowing an automated immediate response, many cancellations can be avoided. It is important to note that the checks on arrival will still take place at the airport, and persons may be required to test locally if their documents are not valid.

Despite claims that EHAS is detouring tourist from visiting the country, statistics show that this is far from the truth. In the high season of 2021-2022, Sint Maarten was at approximately 120% of its 2019 pre-COVID arrival numbers and to date we are at 90% of the 2019 arrivals.

We often look at other countries without realizing the full measures being taken there. For instance, while Aruba may not require any testing to enter the country, they do require that an ED form be filled out prior to traveling and they still have a night life closure time of 1 AM during the week.

Even though America has finally eased their entry requirements, noncitizens are required to be vaccinated to enter their country. This shows that everyone is trying to find a balance that would also protect their population, while still attracting visitors.

Sint Maarten is no exception, the intention is for EHAS to transition into our Port Health Authority, which is mandatory for all the countries within the kingdom. An international health regulation (IHR) meeting was held last month in Aruba and is scheduled to be a yearly event. The IHR requires each country to be able to detect, asses, report, respond and stop outbreaks of infectious diseases before they spread internationally. This means that Sint Maarten must have a Port Health Authority at all points of entry, to meet our obligations as international ports.

"I am not someone that likes to remove regulations and then have to replace them later”. Said Ottley. The Minister is working on transitioning the EHAS to a more effective system that fosters safety without negatively affecting our visiting numbers. The plan is to allow this automated approval to be accessible for all visitors regardless of their vaccination status by October 15th 2022.

Interesting. August 1 is the day I will be applying for my trip down on August 4. It's almost like they did this especially for me. Now I feel special.

Thats good.

What about people who end their cruises in SXM and then stay in SXM for a few days?

You can send them an email and ask.

Sorry for the repost; I looked, but somehow missed the previous one.

No problem, just don't need two posts about it.

BTW, does it seem to anyone else other than me, that the ONLY reason to even have pre-approval at all, is so they can charge for their worthless insurance??

I'm sorry, Carol. If you had to stay over an additional length of time due to testing positive, would you really think receiving $125/night against your additional hotel charge is worthless???

I always have my own insurance anyway. Their medical evac coverage is pitiful and in no way could come anywhere near covering the cost if one has to have an evac. Their medical coverage is similarly pitiful, with very small limits. I have heard also that it takes an extremely long time for them to even respond to a claim, let alone pay anything.

Have you been able to submit a claim based on your situation, since you weren't scheduled to go home while you were under quarantine?

Exactly...

I don't intend to submit a claim since my quarantine occurred during a scheduled time on island. A fellow traveler who stays at Horny Toad was in a similar situation recently (quarantining during a scheduled visit) and has submitted a claim. He also went to meet with the insurance rep while on island this last time. I told him I didn't think he should be reimbursed for that, and he agreed. He's still waiting to hear if his claim will be reimbursed or denied.

I also have annual travel policies but wouldn't hesitate to submit a claim to EHAS if I had to extend my stay.

For real. We are mid 40's and healthy but have elderly moms with some issues and we travel with our kids. We always carry good insurance with pre-existings covered and CFAR to cover the non-refundable.

OK, it is an interesting question, whether they would pay in that circumstance or not, but probably not.

Time to retire ehas and the testing and/or vaccination requirements. Zero measurable value added. Time to blend covid into the many other illnesses one can get during world travel and or which one needs travel Insurance, medical and medical evacuation insurance. Just a non value -added drag on the economy and stressful hoop.


Liliana

Lilliana, well said! I totally agree with your statement. It has been way past time!

Giddy up! Get on with life.

Correct....

I agree!!

So frustrating. As I type this, our friends just landed in Aruba and filled ED.

So I just happened to check ehas And saw it was last updated April 22.

I’m a 40-year-old optometrist and worked throughout the pandemic 8 inches from peoples faces and still haven’t gotten sick. I got vaccinated and boosted only to get into Saint martin without any hassles. But enough is enough.

Since yesterday my kid has been sick with Covid. Her second time and she’s not vaccinated. My older kid is vaccinated. My point, pushing the vaccines for these age groups is unnecessary and doesn’t stop the spread of anything in any goddamn country. It’s a bad cold for most and it’s now ENDEMIC.

I thought this was interesting from the original post (not that I care one way or the other - it’s a sovereign country and they can do what they want):

“Despite claims that EHAS is detouring tourist from visiting the country, statistics show that this is far from the truth. In the high season of 2021-2022, Sint Maarten was at approximately 120% of its 2019 pre-COVID arrival numbers and to date we are at 90% of the 2019 arrivals.”

..or "deterring"...

I didn’t write it. Just copied it. 😂

Yes, I know, I just saw it and had to say, "come on guys, was this auto-correct??"

I'm too lazy to look this up...but does this mean that vaxxed travelers don't have to test to get IN to SXM now?

Correct.

Thank you, Carol. Great to know that there is no more last-minute running around and added stress before a trip! No testing in either direction now...YOO HOO

How far in advance of the trip can I fill out the EHAS online?

72 hours or 3 days prior to last flight to PJIA.

And of course I'm coming down on the 30th. UGH. lol. But this is good news, my bad timing not withstanding!

Just submitted our applications and........no automatic approval. Got the standard reply stating they are under review and we should recieve a response within 12 hours. So it is not up and running just yet.

Imagine that. Something else to add confusion to the cash cow of the island, compliments of EHAS.

That looks to have been before 9 AM, so PERHAPS it was supposed to be 9 AM today. If you haven't been approved yet, I might try to apply again and see what happens, whether it is automatic this time.

Or, just on island time, like everything else!!

It is listed that SXM gets about 1.8 million passengers per year, although probably not accurate but guessing fairly close to that number. But at 1.6 million at $15 per that is $2 million dollars per month that they are bringing in. Take that amount and subtract the cost to operate that system and hotels and I would guess they are netting in the $1.5 Million per month range pretty easily. That is a tough number to give up for that government. Sure would be interesting to know how many people actually were able to successfully make a claim.

I sure would feel better if I had confidence in where that profit really went. Oh well, $15 is not going to make a difference in my decision and I am sure they know that.

Todd--I'm with you on this, they definitely are making serious money off the system for the insurance. That's why I doubt it will be gone anytime soon.

FWIW.....wife got approval in about an hour and a half......two and a half hours for me.

That's been the average timing as before the "immediate approval " was supposed to be. Not much difference.

CaribLee--OK, all's well that ends well in your case, I guess. Enjoy your trip!

I’m leaving Saturday direct flight from ewr. Can I apply for the EHAS starting today?

My wife and I just applied in preparation for our Saturday 8/6 11:10 am departure. We are both vaccinated and boosted, and we each received "authorization pre-approved" within three(!) minutes. The new system seems to be working now.

Great! Glad to hear it is working.

Mchucho--there's your answer.

yes

Also arriving Saturday. Got response in about 30 seconds.

Thank you everyone! Just applied online, paid the $15 and got immediate approval!

Glad it's working now.