Vaccinated Travel Lane Extended to Six More Countries

            The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) will extend the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) to six more countries, as part of its continuous effort to revive air travel in a safe and step-by-step manner. The six countries include Cambodia, Fiji, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Turkey. This latest move will increase the total number of VTL countries from 21 to 27. Pre-COVID, these 27 countries contributed to about 60% of the total daily arrivals at Changi. This latest extension will further broaden Changi’s network and help reclaim and rebuild Singapore’s status as an international aviation hub with global connectivity.

2          Travellers from Thailand may enter Singapore under the VTL from 14 December 2021. Travellers from Cambodia, Fiji, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Turkey may enter Singapore under the VTL from 16 December 2021.

3          Under the VTL, fully vaccinated travellers from VTL countries may enter Singapore without quarantine and just need to undergo COVID-19 testing. Children aged 12 years and below in the calendar year who are not vaccinated will be allowed to travel under the VTL into Singapore if they are accompanied by a VTL traveller who meets all VTL requirements. The VTL is for entry into Singapore. Travellers are advised to check the entry requirements imposed by the respective VTL countries, which may vary across countries and may change as the COVID-19 situation evolves.

Extension of the VTL
4          The successful implementation of the VTL without compromising public health has given CAAS the confidence to extend the scheme to more countries. The countries announced today are in Category II of MOH’s Country/Region Classification for Border Measures; they have similar or lower COVID-19 incidence rates than Singapore and the other VTL countries. We are opening to them with safeguards, including proof of vaccination and testing. We will also manage the numbers through the VTL quota. With this latest extension, the VTL quota will be increased from 10,000 to 15,000 travellers daily.

5          The expansion of the VTL scheme to these countries will continue to restore two-way quarantine-free travel between Singapore and VTL countries whose borders are now open to us.

• Cambodia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Thailand - Pre-COVID, these were popular tourist destinations for Singaporeans. These countries have opened their borders to quarantine-free general travel for vaccinated travellers. Most recently, Thailand reopened its borders to vaccinated travellers from over 60 countries/ regions including Singapore from 1 November 2021. Similarly, Cambodia also reopened its borders to all vaccinated travellers from 15 November 2021.

• Turkey – Turkey is already open to quarantine-free vaccinated travel from Singapore. The extension of VTL to Turkey will enable us to connect with another major aviation hub.

• Fiji - Fiji will be reopening its borders to vaccinated travellers from 40 partner countries from 1 December 2021, including Singapore. By restoring two-way quarantine-free travel with Fiji, the VTL with Fiji will allow fully vaccinated travellers from other VTL countries which Fiji has opened to, such as Australia, Canada, France, the Republic of Korea, the UK and the USA, to extend their trip to Singapore without quarantine.

Enhancing the Criteria on Proof of Vaccination
6          Vaccination is a key safeguard of the VTL for safe quarantine-free travel without compromising public health. We require a digital proof of vaccination that can be recognised by the Singapore authorities, to authenticate that the certificate is issued by a trusted issuer and belongs to the VTL traveller.

7          On 24 November 2021, the European Commission announced its decision to recognise the Singapore HealthCerts as equivalent to the European Union (EU) Digital COVID Certificate (DCC), connecting Singapore to the EU DCC trust framework. Following this, CAAS will accept vaccination certificates issued in the EU DCC format by the EU Member States and by non-EU Member States that have joined the EU DCC system[1], as a valid proof of vaccination for travel under the VTL. This will apply to travellers entering Singapore on or after 7 December 2021. With this, a traveller departing from a VTL country may now present their vaccination certificate in the EU DCC format issued by any country in the EU DCC system, even if it is a non-VTL country, for travel under the VTL. Such travellers will still need to meet the other VTL conditions.

8          All other conditions for entry into Singapore under the VTL are the same for all VTL countries. All travellers entering Singapore under the VTL must comply with the prevailing VTL requirements listed below.

(i)             Travel History

VTL travellers must have remained only in (including any transit stops) one or more of the VTL countries, or a country/region in Category I of MOH’s Country/Region Classification for Border Measures[2] in the last 14 consecutive days prior to departure to Singapore. If the traveller has been in Singapore within those last 14 days, his/her stay in Singapore can be counted towards fulfilling this 14-day travel history requirement.

(ii)           Testing

All VTL travellers must take two COVID-19 tests:

• A pre-departure test, which must be a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test or a professionally-administered Antigen Rapid Test (ART)[3], within two days[4] before departing for Singapore and obtain a negative test result.

• An on-arrival PCR test at Changi Airport and remain self-isolated until their test result is confirmed to be negative.

Children aged 2 years and below in the calendar year[5] are not required to undergo these tests.

(iii)          Vaccination

All VTL travellers must have been fully vaccinated[6]. The following proofs of vaccination[7] are accepted for travel under the VTL:

• Vaccination certificates issued in the EU DCC format by the EU Member States or by non-EU Member States that have joined the EU DCC system; or

• A digital proof of vaccination issued in any VTL country or Singapore, that can be recognised by the Singapore authorities.

This is necessary to guard against forgery and verify that the certificate is issued by a trusted issuer and belongs to the VTL traveller.

Children aged 12 years and below in the calendar year[8] are not required to present a proof of vaccination to enter Singapore under the VTL if they are accompanied by a VTL traveller who meets all VTL requirements for entry into Singapore.

To facilitate a smooth arrival process in Singapore, all VTL travellers are strongly encouraged to submit their health declaration via the SG Arrival Card e-service[9] prior to departure for Singapore.

• Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents who are not vaccinated in Singapore are strongly encouraged to also submit their overseas vaccination certificate in their health declaration as part of the SG Arrival Card submission.

• Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents who are vaccinated in Singapore are not required to submit their vaccination certificates as their vaccination records are already captured in the Singapore MOH database.

• Short-term visitors and long-term pass holders, who are required to apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP), are also not required to upload their vaccination certificates as part of the SG Arrival Card submission, as their vaccination certificates will be verified as part of the VTP application.

(iv)          Designated VTL Flights

Travellers who are travelling to Singapore under the VTL must travel into Singapore on designated VTL flights. They may transit via another VTL country to take a designated VTL flight into Singapore[10], subject to the prevailing transfer/transit requirements of that VTL country.

Additional Requirements for Short-Term Visitors and Long-Term Pass Holders
9          Short-term visitors and long-term pass holders will need to apply for a VTP to enter Singapore under the VTL. Fully vaccinated Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents and children aged 12 years and below in the calendar year do not need to apply for a VTP to enter Singapore under the VTL. There will be no restrictions on the purpose of travel under the VTL arrangement and no requirement for a controlled itinerary or sponsor.

10       Application for the VTPs will open on the following dates/time for fully vaccinated travellers from:

11       Short-term visitors who require a visa for travel to Singapore must separately obtain a visa. They are advised to do so after receiving their VTP approval and before departing for Singapore. They must also purchase travel insurance, with a minimum coverage of S$30,000 for COVID-19-related medical treatment and hospitalisation costs, prior to travel to Singapore. These visitors must also use the TraceTogether app in Singapore to facilitate contact tracing.

12       More details on the VTL requirements into Singapore can be found in Annex A and at https://safetravel.ica.gov.sg. Applicants who need assistance with the VTP applications can write to the Safe Travel Office through its enquiry form at https://safetravel.ica.gov.sg/contact-us or call the SafeTravel Enquiries helpline at +65 6812 5555 for assistance.

Update on the VTL
13       As at 25 November 2021, 2359 hours, CAAS has issued 79,335 VTPs for travellers from Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA) for entry into Singapore between 8 September 2021 and 27 January 2022 (see Annex B for breakdown). Fully vaccinated Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents and children aged 12 years and below in the calendar year do not need to apply for a VTP to enter Singapore under the VTL scheme. As at 25 November 2021, 2359 hours, 37,001 VTL travellers have entered Singapore. These VTL travellers comprise a) 20,510 VTP holders who are short-term visitors or long-term pass holders; b) 14,788 Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents; and c) 1,703 children aged 12 years and below. 

Safeguarding Public Health
14       To safeguard public health in Singapore, all travellers entering Singapore must comply with the prevailing health and safe distancing measures in Singapore.

15       As the global COVID-19 situation evolves, we will continue to monitor the public health situation closely and stand ready to adjust our border measures with the appropriate safeguards quickly to ensure public health and safety. This will enable us to transition safely and confidently towards a COVID-19 resilient nation.

Annex A: Summary of Vaccinated Travel Lane Requirements ↗ (opens in new tab)

Annex B: Number of Vaccinated Travel Passes (VTPs) Issued by Country ↗ (opens in new tab)

[1] As of 25 Nov, all 27 EU Member States are issuing vaccination certificates in the EU DCC format. Another 24 non-EU Member States have joined the EU DCC system and are also issuing vaccination certificates in the EU DCC format. For the full list of non-EU countries/regions that have joined the EU DCC system, please refer to: https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/coronavirus-response/safe-covid-19-vaccines-europeans/eu-digital-covid-certificate_en#recognition-of-covid-certificates-from-third-non-eu-countries ↗ (opens in new tab)

[2] As at 26 November 2021, the countries/regions under Category 1 are Hong Kong, Macao, Mainland China and Taiwan. Please refer to https://safetravel.ica.gov.sg/shn-and-swab-summary for the latest country/region classification. Please refer to https://safetravel.ica.gov.sg/vtl/requirements-and-process for the latest list of VTL countries/regions.

[3] The ART must be performed by trained professionals such as medical professionals and Government-recognised trained professionals.  

[4] To illustrate, if the pre-departure test is taken on 12 December 2021, it will be valid for boarding up to 14 December 2021, 2359 hours.

[5] To illustrate, children born in or after 2019 entering Singapore under the VTL in 2021 are not required to undergo the pre-departure or on-arrival COVID-19 PCR tests.

[6] An individual is considered fully vaccinated 14 days after he or she has received the full regimen of any World Health Organisation Emergency Use Listing vaccines. More details can be found at https://safetravel.ica.gov.sg/health/vtsg.

[7] These must contain the necessary information about the travellers’ full vaccination regimen, as specified on the Safe Travel Office website. For the full list of acceptable proofs of vaccination for travel under the VTL, please refer to https://safetravel.ica.gov.sg/vtl/requirements-and-process. 

[8] To illustrate, children born in or after 2009 entering Singapore under the VTL in 2021 are not required to present any proof of vaccination. The child must be accompanied by a VTL traveller who meets all VTL requirements for entry into Singapore.

[9] https://eservices.ica.gov.sg/sgarrivalcard ↗ (opens in new tab)

[10] For example, a traveller from the USA may transit via Germany to take a designated VTL flight from Germany to Singapore.