Singapore: According to the Ministry of Health on Monday (November 15), Singapore will expand its vaccination travel lane (VTL) program to more countries from November 29.
The country intends to launch VTL with India and Indonesia from November 29 and Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from December 6.
Transport Minister S Iswaran said at a press conference of the COVID-19 multi-ministerial working group on Monday that Singapore and India have been discussing the issue of mutual recognition of vaccination certificates.
Since November 12, India has begun to recognize vaccination certificates issued by Singapore.
“This means that fully vaccinated travelers entering India from Singapore will no longer need to undergo home isolation testing after arrival. They only need to conduct self-monitoring for 14 days after arrival,” Mr Iswaran said.
Mr. Iswaran added that the Ministry of Health has also updated its public health assessment and will upgrade India to category 2 from November 19.
“We are discussing the resumption of regular commercial passenger services (with India). Because today, the only flight from Singapore that is allowed to carry passengers to India is the government’s chartered rescue flight under the van der Bharat mission.”
He added: “Our discussions with India are progressing smoothly. Our goal is to resume two daily VTL flights to Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai by November 29. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) will finalize the decision. Provide more details.”
Applications for short-term tourists and long-term pass holders from India and Indonesia will start on November 22, while tourists from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will start applications on November 29.
If traveling through VTL, returning Singapore citizens and permanent residents who have been fully vaccinated do not need to apply.
The Ministry of Health said in a press release on Monday: “It is recommended that travelers planning to travel to these countries/regions from Singapore check the current entry requirements for their destinations.”
So far, Singapore has launched 13 VTLs including Australia, Canada and Germany. The country previously announced that it will launch VTL with Malaysia, Finland and Sweden from November 29.
Passengers using VTL do not need to receive home notification upon arrival. Instead, they will be required to undergo a negative pre-departure test two days before departure and a PCR test upon arrival.
In another press release, CAAS stated that the gradual expansion of the VTL allows it to “safely resume air travel without compromising public health.”
It added that it will also help “restore and rebuild” Singapore’s status as an international aviation hub with global connectivity.
