The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has announced a further extension of its Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme with fully vaccinated visitors from Australia and Switzerland allowed to enter without having to quarantine from 8 November.
This latest extension takes the total number of countries on Singapore’s VTL list to 12, with arrivals from the UK, US, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Brunei already permitted to enter quarantine-free.
In a statement, the CAAS said, “The successful implementation of the VTL scheme has given CAAS the experience and confidence to extend it to more countries. Both Australia and Switzerland … have similar or lower COVID-19 incidence rates than Singapore and the other VTL countries.”
It also noted the significance of reopening to Australia, which is “amongst our top 10 markets for annual passenger arrivals at Changi Airport, accounting for about 4% of total arrivals in 2019.
“Many Singaporeans travelled to Australia for business, leisure and education, and vice versa. More than 50,000 Singaporeans live in Australia and over 25,000 Australians live in Singapore. The VTL will enable them to reconnect with their loved ones back home, whom they have been physically separated from for more than a year. The reopening of borders with Australia will also be a significant step in rebuilding the Singapore air hub and people-to-people connectivity.”
All arrivals under Singapore’s VTL scheme are required to provide proof of vaccination and undergo COVID-19 tests before departure and upon arrival.
The CAAS said the addition of Australia and Switzerland would see Singapore’s daily arrival quota increased from 3,000 per day to 4,000 per day.
Authorities in Singapore have been pushing to reopen the economy since reaching its target vaccination rate of 80% in early September.
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