Singapore has expanded its Vaccinated Travel Lane scheme to include more cities in Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Vietnam and Greece for travelers without having to serve quarantine.
These travellers will have to test negative in a Covid-19 test before departure for Singapore, and take another test within 24 hours of their arrival.
From March 16, the VTL for Malaysia will be extended to Penang, starting with four daily flights each way between Singapore and Penang. There is currently a VTL with Kuala Lumpur. For entry into Penang under Malaysia’s VTL scheme, short-term visitors do not need to apply for a pass, unlike Singapore’s VTL scheme. But they will have to fulfill other requirements like taking a pre-departure PCR test and getting travel insurance with a minimum coverage of RM100,000 ($32,500).
Also on March 16, the VTL for Indonesia will be extended beyond Jakarta to include Denpasar in Bali, starting with two daily flights from Denpasar to Singapore.
As Indonesia plans to launch a trial to allow vaccinated travellers to enter Bali from mid-March, this will facilitate two-way quarantine-free travel between Singapore and Bali. Under Bali’s reopening trial, fully vaccinated travellers will have to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on arrival, and have to stay inside their pre-booked accommodation while waiting for the test result. The trial is set to start on March 14, but could be brought forward.
The VTL for India will extend beyond Chennai, Delhi, and Mumbai to include all Indian cities. Budget carrier Scoot said on Friday that it will progressively operate VTL flights from the other cities from March 15.
Meanwhile, vaccinated travellers from Greece and Vietnam who are looking to enter Singapore under the VTL can do so from March 16. Greece is already open to vaccinated travellers from Singapore, while Vietnam has announced plans to reopen its borders to international tourists from March 15.
From March 16, travellers who have been in any country in the European Economic Area within the last seven days prior to departure for Singapore will be allowed to enter under the VTL. As the European Economic Area allows free movement of people among its countries, this essentially opens up quarantine-free travel to the 30 states in the area. For example, a Singaporean can now travel to Iceland via London and return without having to quarantine.
Since Sept 8 last year, Singapore has established VTLs with 30 countries/regions. More than 450,000 VTL travellers have entered Singapore. As of Feb 28, more than 80,000 travellers from Malaysia have entered Singapore under the VTL (Air) from Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Travel history requirements will be eased as well for travellers entering Singapore from Europe under the VTL scheme. This means travellers with recent travel history to the European Economic Area – which comprises 27 European Union member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway – will be able to enter Singapore. With the addition of the VTL with Greece, Singapore has established two-way quarantine-free travel with all countries in Europe that have direct flights to Singapore.
Malaysia announces new VTLs with Thailand and Cambodia
The Malaysian transport ministry has also announced new Vaccinated Travel Lanes with Thailand and Cambodia from March 15.
For Thailand, both countries had agreed to allocate up to six flights daily on the Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok route and up to four flights per day for the Kuala Lumpur-Phuket route. Meanwhile, for Cambodia, two flights are allowed per day on the Kuala Lumpur-Phnom Penh route.
