Exception for Pre-Flight COVID-19 testing Requirement

Last updated:   02/01/22

*** Effective 12:01 a.m. EST [6:01 CET (GMT +01:00)] on December 6, 2021, all air passengers two years of age or older are required to show a negative pre-departure COVID-19 viral test result taken within one (1) day of travel to the United States prior to boarding, or documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 in the past 90 days before they board their flight.  This applies to all travelers, regardless of nationality or vaccination status – U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (LPRs), and foreign nationals.  Additional information may be found on the CDC’s website.

Exemptions may be granted on an extremely limited basis when emergency travel (like an emergency medical evacuation) must occur to preserve someone’s life, health against a serious danger, or physical safety and testing cannot be completed before travel.

CDC may grant a humanitarian exemption in very limited circumstances only when an individual must travel to the United States to preserve health (e.g., emergency medical evacuations) or safety (e.g., violence) and is unable to access or complete the testing requirement before travel.

Individuals who fit the exemption criteria described in CDC’s Order may contact the U.S. embassy in North Macedonia at ConsularSkopje@state.gov.  The embassy will then transmit this information to the CDC for consideration.

All information needs to be completed in full and in English for the request to be sent to CDC.

• Name (family name/surname, given name)
• Age
• U.S. Citizen, U.S. National, Lawful Permanent Resident?
  • If no:
    • Nationality
    • Indicate Visa Type or if passenger has Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA)
  • Cell phone number (including country code) of passenger or head of household if family unit
  • Email address of passenger or head of household if family unit
  • US destination address
    • Is US destination home address?
  • Flight itinerary, including any connecting flights
    • Airline
    • Flight #
    • Departure airport and date of departure
    • Arrival airport and date of arrival
  • Vaccination Status
    • If fully vaccinated, must provide
      • Name of vaccine product (or products if a combination)
      • Date of first dose
      • Date of second dose (if a two-dose series)
      • PDF or photograph of vaccination record
    • NOT Fully Vaccinated
  • Purpose of travel to the US and a brief explanation of why urgent travel is needed
  • Justification for humanitarian exemption for testing requirement(e.g., no testing available where passenger is located)
  • Documentation to support justification (e.g., medical records, orders for emergency evacuation)
  • Information regarding any other solutions that were sought prior to application (e.g., flight changes, testing en route, assistance in obtaining testing/vaccination, etc.)

For more information about testing options and more information about the COVID-19 situation in North Macedonia, please see Embassy Skopje’s COVID-19 Information Page.