As per the Indian government’s revised travel guidelines, international passengers coming to India can seek exemption from mandatory seven-day institutional quarantine in cases of distress including serious illness, pregnancy, death in family and parents with children below ten years of age.

These travellers, however, will need to undergo 14 days of home isolation. Those who wish to seek exemption need to submit an application 72 hours before boarding the aircraft on the online portal newdelhiairport.in. The portal can be used to register for arrival at any Indian airport as a common interface. The new protocols will come into effect from August 8, 2020.

International travellers may also skip institutional quarantine by submitting a negative RT- PCR test report on arrival. This test should be conducted within 96 hours before departure, and the report should be uploaded on the portal for consideration.

“Each passenger shall also submit a declaration with respect to the authenticity of the report and will be liable for criminal prosecution if found otherwise. The test report could also be produced upon arrival at the point of entry airport in India,” reads an official statement.

In a general scenario, all travellers need to submit self-declaration on the above-mentioned online portal at least 72 hours before the scheduled travel along with an undertaking to undergo seven days of paid institutional quarantine at their own cost, followed by seven days of home isolation with self-monitoring.

The revised notification also states that traveller who fails to fill in the declaration form before their travel can also do it on board the flight/ship, which will be given to health immigration officials upon their arrival at the destination.

Post thermal screening on arrival, the passengers who have been exempted from institutional quarantine (decision as indicated on the online portal in advance) will show the same to the respective state counters on their cell phones/other modes before being allowed home quarantine for 14 days.

States can alter the guidelines according to local requirements.

The official document on the new guidelines for international arrivals can be viewed here.