Travelling to US- covid test questions

Hi All,

I posted some time ago about our upcoming trip from the U.K. to US. A bit has changed since then with regards to required paperwork so just wanted to ask the forum a few questions if that’s okay!

- In acknowledgement of the US travel ban being lifted for U.K. residents, we no longer need to bring our marriage certificate with us from 8 Nov, right?

- We are most likely going to go with Qured’ a rapid antigen test. British Airways has shuffled our flight departure and arrival around 3 times now (!!!) so I’m wondering- can we order our test now (1 Nov) and if anything changes with our departure flight date, do we have to let Qured know? Just conscious we have to take the test within 3 days of departure.

- I read a comment on my old post about booking additional tests via Qured that we would take before we fly out of the US and would cover the US—>U.K. leg of our trip. Has that worked well/easy for you guys? I guess it would mean we wouldn’t have to book a covid test while in America because we would already have pre-ordered this whilst still in the U.K. and packed in our luggage?

- I’ve been doing some research into what the covid “negative” test result letter from Qured (or equivalent) needs to say and am getting conflicting bits of information. If we’re taking a home test, does the test need to be “supervised” by someone at Qured (via video conferencing I would imagine?)?

- Similar to the question above, does the covid “negative” test result letter also need to explicitly say the test was supervised?

And finally….. we are being very careful before our departure to not risk being exposed to covid. Equally so we want to remain this way whilst in America. Can anyone recommend some comfortable, but highly effective masks we can use while flying? I don’t care if they’re ugly looking, just going for practical and ultra safe now!!!

Thanks all.


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Also- sorry, one last question. I read that the name on the vaccination letters/certificate has to match the name and DOB on my passport. My name on my passport is my maiden name, but my name stored on the NHS system is my married name. Is this going to be an issue for us? Thank you guys.


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Hi All,

I posted some time ago about our upcoming trip from the U.K. to US. A bit has changed since then with regards to required paperwork so just wanted to ask the forum a few questions if that’s okay!

- In acknowledgement of the US travel ban being lifted for U.K. residents, we no longer need to bring our marriage certificate with us from 8 Nov, right?


You shouldn't need it, but if it were me I'd take it anyway.  If there was an issue with the UKC's COVID paperwork, then they might be able to enter the US as the spouse of a US citizen.


- We are most likely going to go with Qured’ a rapid antigen test. British Airways has shuffled our flight departure and arrival around 3 times now (!!!) so I’m wondering- can we order our test now (1 Nov) and if anything changes with our departure flight date, do we have to let Qured know? Just conscious we have to take the test within 3 days of departure.


I don't think it's an issue, but you could email Qured to be sure.  I've emailed them previously and they responded within 24 hours.



- I read a comment on my old post about booking additional tests via Qured that we would take before we fly out of the US and would cover the US—>U.K. leg of our trip. Has that worked well/easy for you guys? I guess it would mean we wouldn’t have to book a covid test while in America because we would already have pre-ordered this whilst still in the U.K. and packed in our luggage?


It worked for me, but you no longer need to take a COVID test for travel to the UK if you are fully vaccinated.  You need to take a Day 2 test once you arrive in the UK.  You need to order it before you leave the US because you need the order # to put on your Passenger Locator Form.



- I’ve been doing some research into what the covid “negative” test result letter from Qured (or equivalent) needs to say and am getting conflicting bits of information. If we’re taking a home test, does the test need to be “supervised” by someone at Qured (via video conferencing I would imagine?)?


A self test needs to be supervised.  I found this on this page on the CDC website, under "Test and Vaccination Documentation Requirements" and the question "Does a self-test meet the conditions of the Order?

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html



- Similar to the question above, does the covid “negative” test result letter also need to explicitly say the test was supervised?


I'm not sure.  I would check the CDC website on November 8 or later, once the old rules are deleted and the new rules are the only ones listed on the website. 


Thanks all.


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- Similar to the question above, does the covid “negative” test result letter also need to explicitly say the test was supervised?


The CDC website using the same link I put in my prior response lists the items that must be included in the test results:

a.  Type of test
b.  Entity issuing the result
c.  Sample collection date
d.  Information that identifies the person
e.  Test result

There's nothing that says the report must explicitly state that it was supervised.

Here's the link:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html

I recommend checking the CDC website again after November 8 when the new rules are posted.

I travelled in June and although mine was supervised it didn't specifically say that on the certificate. I got through fine.

This was June. I have no idea if anything has changed but I'd be surprised if anything has.

Thanks guys, all very helpful responses! I think we’re going to go with Qured for the rapid antigen (departure) and 2 day (arrival back in U.K.). Fingers crossed both with be negative!

And good shout about taking our marriage certificate just in case.

Regarding changing my surname on my proof of vaccine letter from NHS Inform (to match what’s on my passport) - I am trying to phone my GP to get them to change my married name to my maiden name on their NHS systems to align to my passport hopefully if it’s not changed in time, it wont impact anything??!

Gotta say, feels weird travelling again.


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To add about the masks, KN95 (FFP2) are probably the best masks you can buy. Ensure you get certified ones, however. There are a lot of fakes out there. They filter 95% of particulates. If you have the opportunity to buy N95 masks (not KN95) buy them instead. KN95 are regulated by Chinese standards and N95 are regulated by US. This is the reason it's unlikely to get N95 masks due to US usage.

I use KN95 masks and you can tell the difference. You can't breathe as easily as the paper rubbish which shows it's working. I've been around people indoors with chest infections and colds with these masks and not caught anything (yet).

If you really wanted to go for the golden standard you can go one up and get a FFP3 mask. These are technically classed as respirators. These filter (minimum) 99% of particulates. It's what people wear when working with asbestos etc. However, these can become uncomfortable but if you can put up with that then no problem.

Obviously buy a few as with any filter they get clogged.

We used Breathe Assured for our pre travel test.  The rapid antigen test was monitored by a nurse (based in S. Africa actually) using MS Teams.  It worked very well and they issued a certificate immediately.  The certificate had a statement on it  saying

"Tests used by Breathe Assured are UK government, MHRA and EU approved and CE0123 marked. Full required sensitivity
(>97%) and specificity (>99%). Full MHRA and CDC requirements for fully supervised testing from sampling to result and
certification. Online supervised testing by UK based, government-accredited Covid testing provider"

This was accepted with no problem - we used the Verifly app to upload it and got it approved before we traveled. 

Hey thanks guys!

Highly effective masks, covid tests and vaccine certification all arrived - the vaccine certification is a PDF download which was printed via the NHS Scotland website. Is that acceptable, or does British airways need a posted version of the vaccine certification?

For reference they’re identical! Exactly the same information on both…

Thank you!


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