FROM Dec 20, citizens from both Singapore and Malaysia will be allowed to travel between the two countries via the land Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Tuesday (Dec 14).

This means Singapore citizens will be allowed to enter Malaysia, and vice-versa, Malaysian citizens will be able to enter Singapore as well.

Currently, fully-vaccinated travellers under the Singapore-Malaysia land VTL scheme must be citizens, permanent residents or long-term pass holders of the country that they are entering.

For now, those making use of the scheme will have to travel on designated VTL buses via the Causeway, although there are ongoing discussions to explore other modes of transport such as trains.

The land VTL between Singapore and Malaysia first began on Nov 29 with a daily cap of 2,880 travellers allowed to cross the Causeway on VTL buses.

MTI said in a statement that there will be no changes to the current Covid-19 testing protocols in Singapore and Malaysia.

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All travellers entering Singapore will have to abide by the prevailing testing protocols and safe management measures, including complying with the post-arrival 7-day antigen rapid test regime.

"We are not opening up in a free-for-all," said Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong, one of the co-chairs of the government's multi-ministry task force on Covid-19.

"Even with the VTLs, (travellers) are still subject to a very vigorous testing regime. So we make sure there are checks and balances in place, to allow us to open in a safe way," he said.

Travellers can find more information on the land VTL on ICA's SafeTravel website.

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