Singapore opening to vaccinated travellers from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and India

Singapore is planning to allow quarantine-free travel for fully-vaccinated passengers from five countries including UAE, India, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia it said Monday as it looks to safely move past the pandemic that has kept its 5.5 million residents home for more than a year.

Vaccinated visitors from Indonesia and India will be able to enter Singapore from November 29, while those from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar will be welcomed from December 6, the Ministry of Health said in a statement Monday, reports Reuters.

Unvaccinated children age 12 and under can accompany eligible adults.

Singapore hopes to “reclaim and rebuild” its status as an international aviation hub with global connectivity, according to media reports on Monday.

Currently, there are 13 countries, including Canada, Australia and Germany under the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) programme, Channel News Asia (CNA) reported.

Travellers under the VTLs are not subject to stay-home notice on arrival. Instead, they will be required to produce a negative pre-departure test taken within two days prior to departure and undergo an on-arrival PCR test, it said.

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Applications for short-term visitors and long-term pass holders will start on November 22 for travellers from India and Indonesia, while travellers from the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia will be able to apply from November 29.

Returning Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents who are fully vaccinated will not need to apply if they are travelling via the VTL, reports PTI.

In a press release, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said the step-by-step extension of the VTL allows it to “revive air travel safely without compromising public health” and will also help to “reclaim and rebuild” Singapore’s status as an international aviation hub with global connectivity.

Addressing a Covid-19 multi-ministry task force press conference on Monday, Transport Minister S. Iswaran said Singapore and India have been discussing the mutual recognition of vaccination certificates.

“We are in discussions on the resumption of scheduled commercial passenger services (with India). As today the only flights from Singapore allowed to carry passengers to India are government charter relief flights under the Vande Bharat mission,” Iswaran said.

• Asia