With the end of the travel ban, finally, you can now plan your travel abroad. Also, it would help if you were fully vaccinated to visit other nations. And if you have taken both the vaccine shots, you must have your vaccination certificate in your CoWIN profile. And while planning your travel abroad, along with a good travel insurance plan in place, you must also link your passport with your Covid vaccine certificate. How to do that? We’ll find it out in this article.
Steps to Link your Vaccine Certificate With Your Passport
It is quite simple to link your Covid vaccine certificate with your passport before travelling abroad. However, similar to the steps involved in opting for the right travel medical insurance, you need to be extra careful while doing this. So without much ado, let’s get straight into the details:
- Firstly, you will have to log in to your CoWIN account.
- Next, you will have to select ‘Raise an Issue’ on the tab of ‘Account Detail’.
- Now, you will be redirected to a page where you will have to select the person’s name whose passport you wish to link to the vaccine certificate.
- Finally, you will need to type in the beneficiary’s passport details correctly and click on the dialogue box before hitting the ‘Submit’ button.
Once it’s done, you will receive a confirmation message from CoWIN on your registered mobile number. After that, you will again receive a message confirming that your request has been taken care of successfully. Also, all of this will happen within minutes, and hence, you should worry about spending hours updating your passport with your Covid vaccine certificate.
If you haven’t taken the vaccination shots yet, you should immediately do so. And before doing so, you should register yourself on CoWIN. You can also choose your passport as your photo ID proof for registering on the website.
Benefits of Linking Your Covid Vaccine Certificate with Your Passport
The airport authorities will ask for your vaccination status when you travel abroad. So, apart from travel insurance with medical, you should also have a passport that’s linked with your Covid vaccine certificate. The Government of India has also mandated that every individual travelling abroad for a job, education, or tourist should have their passport linked with their vaccine certificate. So, when you link your passport with your vaccine certificates, it will show the details of your dosage, the batch number, etc.
Additionally, the Airport Authorities will scan your Covid vaccine certificate at every airport. And the airport authority will scan the QR codes to find out the Covishield, Covaxin, Sputnik V vaccination records of the travellers from India. So, when you link your passport with your vaccine certificates, you can have safe travel and become a responsible traveller in the eyes of the airport authorities of India and abroad.
Why You Should Also Have a Valid Medical Travel Insurance Before the Trip
So, now that you know that you need to link your passport with your Covid vaccine certificate before your departure, you should also opt for travel insurance with medical. Here are a few reasons why you must have travel insurance before booking your tickets for an overseas destination-
- Medical assistance: First and foremost, the virus is still out there. Hence, even if you are fully vaccinated, it doesn’t mean that you cannot get affected by the virus during your travel abroad. Some medical travel insurance plans have COVID-19 covers for the policyholders. Hence, it’s better to be extra safe with travel insurance before travelling overseas. And in any case, the coverage of travel insurance policies will keep you financially shielded against any accidents or sudden medical emergencies during the trip.
- Loss of baggage and passport: You may end up losing your baggage or passport or other valuable during your trip abroad. So, when you have a valid travel insurance policy in place, you can claim a travel insurance plan to get financial backup from the insurer. The insurer will provide you with the emergency cash to replace your passport or arrange to compensate a certain amount against your lost baggage.
- Flight delay or cancellation: The travel insurance plan you purchase will also cover the delay or cancellation of your flights. International travel is expensive. Hence, if something urgent comes up and you need to cancel your tickets, it may cost you a lot! Hence, you can get financial coverage from your insurer in such cases with valid travel insurance.
Conclusion
So, if you are planning a trip abroad anytime soon, keep in mind the above-listed pointers to link your vaccine certificate with your passport. Also, if you do not yet have a travel insurance plan handy, make sure to opt for one before you step out of the country. Happy and safe travelling!
