Singapore to relax entry, testing requirements for VTL travellers from February 22

Singapore will from February 22, 2022, relax its entry and testing requirements for vaccinated travel lane (VTL) travellers. However, passengers departing from India and entering Singapore on VTL flights are still required to furnish a negative PCR or professionally administered ART test within two days of flight departure.

According to Singapore Airlines (SIA), fully vaccinated passengers travelling to Singapore from next Tuesday on VTL flights from Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai will have their travel history requirement reduced from 14 to 7 days. "To be eligible for VTL flights, travellers must not have any travel history (including transit) outside of VTL countries/regions, or outside of countries/regions listed as Category I (Macao, Mainland China, and Taiwan) by Singapore's ministry of health in the past 7 days.

If the traveller has been in Singapore within those last 7 days, his/her stay in Singapore can be counted towards fulfilling this 7-day travel history requirement," SIA said in a statement.

The second change will be that long-term Pass Holders will no longer have to apply for a vaccinated travel pass (VTP) to travel to Singapore on a VTL flight. However, a VTP is still required for short-term visitors and work permit holders.

The on-arrival testing requirements at Singapore will also be relaxed. "From February 22, VTL travellers need not take an on-arrival Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test at Changi Airport. Instead, they will be required to take a supervised self-swab Antigen Rapid Test (ART) at any test centre located across Singapore within 24 hours of arrival," it says.

A testing notice with a weblink to book tests will be issued to travellers upon their entry into Singapore. If the above ART is negative, no further ART/PCR tests are required throughout one's stay in Singapore.

The new changes to Singapore's VTL entry and testing requirements follow the government's announcement last month exempting VTL travellers from all testing requirements if they had recently recovered from Covid-19 (within 7 to 90 days of their last infection before departure to Singapore) and can provide appropriate documentary proof of their recovery.

SIA currently operates 52 flights to Singapore from eight cities in India, which includes daily, quarantine-free VTL services from Chennai, Delhi, and Mumbai. It operates non-VTL services from Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Kochi, and customers travelling to Singapore on these flights will need to adhere to the entry rules. Scoot, SIA's low-cost subsidiary, operates non-VTL services from Amritsar, Hyderabad, and Tiruchirappalli.