EU accepts Singapore's Covid-19 vaccination certificates

VACCINATED Singaporeans can now travel to Denmark without quarantine, with the European Commission announcing on Wednesday (Nov 24) that it would accept Covid-19 vaccination certificates issued by Singapore from Thursday.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the Danish embassy in Singapore wrote: "GOOD NEWS!! Singapore and EU have agreed on recognising their respective vaccine certificates as equal.

"If you are travelling to Denmark, that means that you can use your Singaporean certificate to prove your vaccination status and avoid quarantine. It also means that you can use your EU certificate to prove your vaccination status in Singapore."

Singapore is first Asian country connected to the EU Digital Covid Certificate.

Prior to this, travellers from Singapore would have had to be quarantined for at least four days in Denmark, as Singapore's vaccination certificates were not recognised. Travellers also had to be tested for Covid-19 upon arrival and self-isolate for 10 days. They could break isolation on Day 4 with a negative PCR test.

Denmark was recently added to Singapore's Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTLs) scheme, which allows for quarantine-free travel for those flying into Singapore on designated flights.

The other countries in the EU under Singapore's VTL scheme, such as Germany, Italy, France and the Netherlands, already allowed vaccinated Singaporeans to travel quarantine-free prior to this.

In a statement on the European Commission's website, Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders said there are currently 51 countries and territories across 5 continents now connected to the EU's certificate system. Togo, in Africa, was also on Thursday added to the list of non-EU countries whose vaccination certificates would be recognised by the EU's system.

"With the end of the year holidays approaching, I want to reaffirm to travellers the importance of this tool to underpin the confidence to travel inside and outside the EU," Reynders said.

READ MORE:

• Denmark imposes quarantine for travellers from Singapore