Indians Travelling To or From Oman Can Be Exempt From Quarantine

Indian citizens flying to or from Oman can avoid the mandatory 14-day quarantine if they test negative for COVID-19

Posted on

9 August 2020

| Last updated on 10 August 2020

Indians Travelling To or From Oman Can Be Exempt From Quarantine

All Indian nationals who are travelling must submit a self-declaration form online

Indian citizens who are flying home from Oman or are traveling to other countries from Oman can avoid the mandatory 14-day quarantine, provided that they test negative for COVID-19 and show these test results to authorities upon landing.

The new guidelines are in effect starting Saturday, 8th August, and were issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India.

"All travellers should submit self-declaration form on the online portal at least 72 hours before the scheduled travel,” the ministry stated.

"Travellers may also seek exemption from institutional quarantine by submitting a negative RTPCR test report on arrival. This test should have been conducted within 96 hours prior to undertaking the journey."

"The test report should be uploaded on the portal for consideration," the guidelines continued.

"Each passenger shall also submit a declaration with respect to 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."

According to current quarantine regulations for Indian nationals returning to home from overseas, they are required to spend seven days of quarantine in a hospital (bear own expenses) and followed by another seven days of self-quarantine at home.

Exemptions to mandatory hospital quarantine

These are the groups of people who can avoid mandatory hospital quarantine:

Pregnant women
Those who are seriously ill
Have suffered a death in the family
Parents with kids below 10 years old

If you fall under any of these categories, you can instead self-quarantine at home for 14 days

"If they wish to seek such exemption, they shall apply to the online portal at least 72 hours before boarding," said the ministry.

"The decision taken by the government as communicated on the online portal will be final."

Travellers who do not submit their self-declaration form on the online portal shall fill the same in duplicate on board the flight. A copy of the same form will be given to airport health and immigration officials upon arrival.

However, thermal screening is still in place. If an Indian national has been found with high body temperature upon landing, they will immediately be taken to a health isolation facility, regardless of whether or not they submitted a negative COVID-19 test result beforehand.