Singapore expands Vaccinated Travel Lanes to 11 countries including US, UK

Vaccinated Singaporeans can look forward to visiting Europe and America soon without quarantine upon return, as the Republic is launching Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs) to eight more countries, as it opens up in a calibrated manner since the pandemic hit early last year.

France, Denmark, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain, the United States and Canada are the latest additions to a growing list of countries for which Singapore is implementing VTLs. These countries had already unilaterally re-opened to vaccinated travellers from Singapore prior to this.

The countries in the list are also among Singapore's top trading partners, with strong business presence and communities here.

Come Oct 19 when the VTLs for these eight European and American countries are in place, fully vaccinated travellers from Singapore and these countries would be able to enjoy quarantine-free travel both ways.

Singapore had announced its first bilateral VTL with South Korea on Friday (Oct 8), but the lane will only take off on Nov 15 as the North Asian country is said to require some time to get its system in place.

These came following Singapore's inaugural VTLs for Brunei and Germany on Sep 8.

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National carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA), as one of those operating designated VTL flights, announced that it has expanded its VTL network to 14 cities, with additional points expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

The carrier will operate VTL services from Amsterdam, Barcelona, Copenhagen, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Paris, and Rome starting Oct 19, while similar services from Seoul will begin on Nov 16.

The carrier's sister airline, Scoot, will offer VTL flights from Berlin from Oct 20.

More countries for the VTLs aside, the quarantine-free arrangement has also made it less hassle and costly for travellers, as only pre-departure and on-arrival Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests are required. Previously, such tests on Day 3 and Day 7 are required.

The fewer PCR tests requirement also will apply to travellers from Brunei and Germany from Oct 19 onwards, and refunds will be made to those who have pre-paid for the tests on Day 3 and Day 7.

The condition that travellers must have remained in one or more of the VTL countries in the last 14 consecutive days prior to departure to Singapore still applies. For clarity, if the traveller has been in Singapore within those last 14 days, that stay in Singapore can be counted towards fulfilling the 14-day travel history requirement.

Short-term visitors and long-term pass holders from the eight European and North American countries and South Korea will need to apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP) between seven and 30 days prior to entering Singapore under the VTL. The pass is not required for fully vaccinated Singapore citizens and permanent residents to enter Singapore under the VTL.

"We will start with a total of up to 2,500 daily arrivals across the nine VTL countries I have just announced," said Transport Minister S Iswaran at the multi-ministry taskforce briefing on Saturday (Oct 9). "Together with the two current VTLs, this means up to 3000 travellers may enter Singapore daily through the VTLs."

Collectively, these countries accounted for about 10 per cent of Singapore's pre-Covid annual passenger arrivals at Changi Airport.

"They rank among our top 20 trading partners," added Iswaran. "They have significant investments, a strong business presence, and sizeable communities in Singapore."

The passes will be open for application from Oct 12 for travellers from these eight countries, whereas those from South Korea can start applying from Nov 8.

Also, it is incumbent on the travellers to present their proof of vaccination issued in any VTL country or Singapore, and only vaccination certificates that can be digitally verified will be accepted.

Travellers under the VTL must travel into Singapore on designated VTL flights, although they may transit via another VTL country to take a designated VTL flight into Singapore.

There, however, will be no restrictions on the purpose of travel under the VTL arrangement and no requirement for a controlled itinerary or sponsor.

Short-term visitors who require a visa for travel to Singapore must separately obtain a visa and they are advised to do so after receiving their VTP approval and before departing for Singapore.

They must also purchase travel insurance pre-departure, with a minimum coverage of S$30,000 for Covid-19-related medical treatment and hospitalisation costs, as well as use the TraceTogether app to facilitate contact tracing.

The city-state has issued to over 4,600 travellers from Brunei and Germany the VTPs for travel here between Sep 8 and Nov 12. And 1,926 VTP holders have entered Singapore as at Oct 8, with only two of them being imported Covid-19 cases detected at the point of arrival. No cases were detected in the tests performed on Day 3 and Day 7 post arrival.

READ MORE: 

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• Singapore tightens rules for unvaccinated; simplifies testing protocols
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