Singapore: Quarantine-Free Visits For Travellers Of 11 Countries, India Remains Excluded For Now

Those travelling under the VTL scheme have to fly on a VTL designated flight mainly operated by Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa at the moment.

A passenger on Singapore Airlines flight SQ325 -- the first flight to arrive under the new Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) -- is pictured in the baggage hall at Changi Airport in Singapore on September 8, 2021, as travellers vaccinated against the Covid-19 coronavirus arrive from Frankfurt, Germany and are able enter Singapore without quarantine. | AFP

New Delhi: With countries opening up its border for tourism, Singapore allowed visitors from nine more countries to travel without the need for quarantine. Since September 8 travellers from Brunei and Germany, who were on a trial of the Singapore Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL), were the only ones who managed quarantine-free entry to Singapore.

Going ahead, vaccinated travellers from another six European countries — Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, the US and Canada will join visitors from Germany and Brunei on the Singapore VTL scheme, according to news agency ANI. Also, those from South Korea will be able to enter.

Singapore is quarantine-free for travellers from the aforementioned countries, however, India is excluded from this list as of now.

What are the requirements under the VTL scheme?

Those visitors coming under the arrangement of VTL need to stay in the countries for 14 consecutive days before taking the trip. They are allowed to be in multiple VTL countries or transit through these countries during this time.

In fact, those travelling under the VTL scheme have to fly on a VTL designated flight mainly operated by Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa (from Germany) at the moment. Other carriers will be added in due course. 

Moreover, passengers will have to show proof of being fully vaccinated against Covid-19 with vaccines that are on the WHO (World Health Organisation) Emergency Use List.

Residents of Singapore or the EU who were previously unvaccinated and had recovered from a past Covid-19 infection are considered fully vaccinated if they have received at least one dose of an approved vaccine.

After arriving in Singapore, one has to undergo a pre-departure PCR (polymerase chain reaction) Covid-19 test within 48 hours of flight departure and take another test on arrival at Changi Airport.

Non-residents of Singapore must also apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass (VRP) online between seven and 30 days prior to the intended entry into Singapore.

Furthermore, short-term visitors must purchase travel insurance, with a minimum coverage of SGD 30,000 (USD 22,000) for COVID-19-related medical treatment and hospitalisation costs, prior to travel to Singapore.

During the VTL pilot which lasted about a month, out of the 1,926 people who visited Singapore from Germany and Brunei, only two tested positive, according to the agency.