Entry requirements and insurance

We'll be traveling from the U.S. to St Thomas via plane and then to Tortola via ferry at the end of the month. I think I understand the entry and insurance requirements but am a little nervous if someone could help me out.

Flight to St Thomas requests a rapid to or PCR test within 5 days (will test at pharmacy a day or two before)
Ferry to Tortola requires rapid or PCR test within 48 hours (have e med kits to take in st Thomas)
I attached my insurance which I think covers the insurance requirements?? How is this checked? Did I get the right thing?
To get back to St Thomas requires another test within 5 days. (Have a second e med)
Flight back to US may require another test (have another e med just in case)

Crazy world. Thanks for any help

Just to help clarify, it's not actually a 48 hour requirement for the BVI, it's actually 2 days. So if you are ferrying to Tortola on a Friday, you can test anytime on Wednesday and use that test for your BVI entry. I'd suggest just taking your eMed.com test 2 days before your BVI entry and using that result for the USVI portal and the BVI entry.

No test required to board your flight in STT to get home.

We plan on flying to stt and staying 1 night before continuing to the BVI but if I can find a rapid test with same day results I'll do that and just it for entry to both St Thomas and BVI. Glad we don't need another test for gone.

Any idea if my insurance is correct?

Thanks

You do need a PCR or rapid antigen test within 5 days of returning to STT from BVI by sea, submitted to USVI portal.

Just do an eMed test from home day before you leave. Results in 20 minutes.

For insurance I assume the names are somewhere…but that looks like what we had in June

As I mentioned no one even asked at Beef and we didn’t get this time…only had proof of intl coverage

You can always go to Facebook and message the 2 bvi ladies who have helped many of us…they are usually on BvI alive

Henrietta Alexander is one…Lynette Harrigan I believe is the other

Also get more emed tests than you need bunk you need…we had one inconclusive and had to use another one

I just came in on the ferry. They accepted my USA medicare card. No problem

I just came in on the ferry. They accepted my USA medicare card. No problem

I was not asked about insurance when I arrived in November.

Hey TP,

Does US Medicare cover foreign travel medical?

I did a quick search...

Medicare generally doesn’t cover health care while you’re traveling outside the U.S. Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands are considered part of the U.S. There are some exceptions, including some cases where Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) may pay for services that you get on board a ship within the territorial waters adjoining the land areas of the U.S.

Thanks for the info everyone. I think between this, my regular insurance, and what's offered by my credit card I should be fine.

I will def get some extra tests

I will be in a similar situation in Jan (fly to STT, stay one night, ferry or water taxi to Roadtown the next day).

Am I correct to understand that the 48 hour window for entering the BVI is just to avoid having to retest on arrival, and that otherwise you have a 5 day test window?

I gather that the USVI wants you to register your test results with their portal at least 24 hours before arrival there, which seems to push the edge of the 48 hour window for the BVI, even if it is really a 2 calendar day window.

Yes, you are correct. 5 days is acceptable for entry but you will take another rapid test at your port of entry. If you can test within 2 days of arrival you will skip the arrival test and go directly to immigration/customs on arrival.

At least at Beef you do go to the same holding area with everyone else even if tested less than 48 hours where they check your papers and vacc cards and if acceptable they escort you to C&I...the 2 days is a great idea because the last thing you want is a false positive on Day 1 and Emed takes 20 minutes (5 min prep and 15 minute wait to be read)

We are going down for a charter on 12/27. Our flight hopefully lands in St. Thomas at 2:20 PM and we are booked on the 5:30 PM ferry to Road Town. If we take the emed home test in the morning on 12/26 will that allow sufficient time to be cleared by the USVI portal? Thanks.

I suggest testing 12/25. Emed is staffed 24/7 365 days per year.

If you test on the 26th you can use it to skip the entry test in Road Town I believe. The USVI portal is pretty quick....like later the same day or early next.....but, I'm not sure if they review Sunday applications as promptly.

The 25th will skip the entry test as well (unless they have tightened that up??!!). When we traveled from BVI to USVI on 12/7 it took 30 hours for portal approval. I would give them more time, especially during a busy holiday period, but that is JMHO.

Thanks for the responses. It sounds like testing on 12/25 is the way to go. My understanding is the BVI will let you skip the covid test on arrival if you have a negative test that was taken no later than 48-hours before arrival.

I am 30 hours in on portal application with no clearance yet.

Does anyone know what happens if you show up at the airport in St. Thomas and the clearance has not been approved?

Some airlines will not let you board with portal approval - just FYI. I have yet (many trips through STT since this mess began) not received clearance before departure.

bvi.gov.vg/travel-protocols states that you can skip the test on arrival in the BVI if you have a negative test result "taken no later than 48-hours before arrival." I thought I read here that it was 2 days as opposed to 48 hours. Does anyone know which it is?

2 days

I am super confused and I certainly don't want to get anything wrong before traveling. The current travel plan: We are scheduled to arrive by air at STT on March 11 and then catch a ferry to either West End or Road Town that same day. We will be on a private catamaran March 12-19. We leave the BVI and go back to St. Thomas by ferry on March 19.

-Vaccination: We took the Johnson and Johnson 1-shot vaccine. Does the BVI consider that 'fully vaccinated'?

-Insurance: This is our biggest question. We have trip insurance but I am unsure what the 'minimum approved coverage' is for medical costs and repatriation. Does the BVI publish the minimum coverages so that I tell if what I already have works?

-Entry testing to the BVI: Question 1: it looks like we have to show proof of a negative test that was taken less than 5 days before arrival in the BVI. It says PCR or rapid antigen - is the eMed test accepted? Question 2: it looks like upon arrival at the ferry terminal, if the negative test result is less than 48 hours old, we don't have to take the rapid test at the ferry terminal, correct?

-Return testing to the USVI: we have to have a negative antigen or NAAT test result taken within 5 days. I was going to ask where I can get a qualifying test in the BVI but does anyone know if the eMed test result is accepted to get back into the BVI by ferry?

Thanks in advance for everyone that responds to all of these questions.

It will most likely change by then but here goes all IMHO...we just returned. INTERLACED IN CAPS



MERRY CHRISTMAS

Thank you Bailau and Merry Christmas.

One error I just noticed: on my last question about getting back into the USVI from the BVI, I accidentally said "to get back into the BVI by ferry" when I meant to say "to get back into the USVI by ferry" with the question basically being does the USVI accept the eMed test result. I don't think my error changes your answer that the USVI does accept eMed correct?

Understood error and US accepts emed proctored

We just used Emed proctored and note it is 1 day rule and not 24 hours

Also note they want pdf with CLIA seal and signature and not Navica approval

They email pdf of results and you need dob to open. You can open with chrome and use password and then print to pdf and get around password requirement

What is the "1 day rule and not 24 hours?"

Our flight to us Puerto Rico was at 12 noon Monday

We tested 6 am Sunday

Day before is good…not 24 hours

Excellent. I see that you may have printed your results. I don't know that we'll able to do that. Will they accept the PDF results on my phone?

If you only have a phone, open the PDF that included CLIA and signature and save a screenshot. USVI will accept the screenshot of the PDF. This is what we did last month.

Yes to pdf on phone…that works

No need for printed on way out

Print everything for way down…bvi does better with paper

Again I expect all to change by march 22

Will be following with interest as we are booked to start a month sailing starting on March 12th . Sure things will change by then and hopeful it’s for the better . Looking forward to the end of this wild crazy year ! Good bye 2021

Apologies in advance for continuing to beat a dead question :-)

Several people have stated that the testing window to avoid retesting on arrival is really 2 calendar days. But bvi.gov.vg/travel-protocols still says "48 hours". It seems odd that they state this in hours, but state the 5 day limit in days. Has anyone actually arrived with test results greater than 48 hours old but still within 2 calendar days?

Yes, happens all the time. I just had 15 guests come in with tests around 58 hours old.

Just a suggestion for people using the proctored tests; since you know you will have your results in about 20 minutes, consider testing the day before travel instead of 2 days before travel. With all the flight cancelations in the US, this gives you some flexibility if you get stuck overnight somewhere. In the last group of arrivals we had this week, 4 people were stuck in St Thomas and 1 was stuck in San Juan for a night. Their tests were 3 days old when they arrived and had to pay for another test at the airport and further delay their arrival.

I read about someone who was hassled because the 48 hours had elapsed, but it seems that was an exception.

Insurance is the bigger question: how will you pay for lodging if you test positive to re-enter the US?

We are getting calls for housing quarantine guest who tested positive on their US entry tests. I think finding room for everyone could be an issue.

Or suppose rooms are available, but they're $750/night, and you need to stay for a week? Plus ordering in food.

Then there is the contact tracing. Suppose you test negative, but one of your boat mates tests positive. It sounds like that's okay now, but not sure.

I'd like to get a few $750/night stay. If anyone has insurance for $750/night and needs a room, I'll leave my house!

Following your post! Sounds like you are on my vacation. Just kidding...but exact same dates and itinerary!
My plan is to have all guests test in the US on Wednesday. And bring Emeds to test for the return trip back to the states.

Can we stay with you again, RW? LOL...

I read through the threads about insurance and ultimately decided to buy a policy which for the six of us (immediate family) was just under $300. What got to me in the end was the fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) about interacting with someone in the arrival process who could delay us or stop us from entering whereby we miss our ferry etc. Further, I figured that this was PRIMARY coverage with a lot of features that could, God forbid, become necessary in the event of a family member getting sick or hurt while on this vacation. I am not an insurance expert and I did not get a clear understanding from the policy documents that I skimmed who would have paid the quarantine housing, meals, etc should any of us have been "detained" for a positive test. It was a little more clear that Covid related medical costs would be covered. I think my Anthem BCBS coverage is worldwide and would have paid a portion of my out-of-network costs should they have been incurred, but with my deductible and OON coinsurance I figured that the $300 with primary coverage and all the extras was enough to buy the policy.

The person checking us in for the ferry from USVI to BVI did mention insurance and I said we had it, but I don't think she looked at any details about it in the stack of papers I handed to her. I think I could have shown any card and it would have been accepted. So, I still don't know, thankfully, if quarantine room and board would have been covered by an insurance claim. That would be interesting to know for those of you who are considering buying an extra policy versus relying on your regular medical insurance and the addition of any credit card travel insurance benefits that many have for repatriation etc. From my perspective, the quarantine room and board would likely be the largest extra cost from an unexpected positive Covid test upon arrival or departure.

PRIMARY medical care coverage is a big deal, yes. I generally try to always book that. If it is not primary, there is a chance if you have medical costs, that you have to pay out of pocket and wait for the insurance to reimburse you. For COVID, if you're vaxxed and boosted, the medical costs might not be much. But let's say you have a heart attack or a stroke or whatever, the costs could be astronomical, especially for things like medical evac. Coverage outside the US varies greatly by carrier. Medicare has ZERO coverage out of the country. Our supplement covers 80%, but that 20% not covered could be huge.

For quarantine expenses, St. Maarten has a mandatory insurance policy that everyone must purchase. I would not recommend that the BVI implement that, as the SXM policy is pretty useless, in that it covers only $125 a day for lodging (ONLY--NO coverage for food, which it is required that all food be brought in). I generally buy all my insurance through TTOL sponsor Insure My Trip. They have ratings for which policies they consider to be the best for Covid coverage. It really takes a lot of looking at insurance policies these days, to know what they cover and what they don't. Insure My Trip allows you to compare policies side by side. Insure My Trip link