Singapore launches vaccinated travel lane with Vietnam

Singapore on Friday announced a vaccinated travel lane with Vietnam, restoring two-way quarantine-free travel, as Vietnam plans to fully reopen its border for international tourism from March 15.

Singapore's Changi Airport is widely recognised as one of the best in the world. Photo by The Investor/Kim Ngan.

Singapore on Friday announced a vaccinated travel lane with Vietnam, restoring two-way quarantine-free travel, as Vietnam plans to fully reopen its border for international tourism from March 15.

In a statement on March 4, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said vaccinated travel pass applications for travellers from Vietnam will open at 10am (Singapore time) on March 13. This is required for eligible short-term visitors and work permit holders.

“With the launch of the vaccinated travel lane from Vietnam, we will restore two-way quarantine-free travel with Vietnam, which was a popular destination for many Singaporeans pre-Covid,” the CAAS said.

Transport Minister S Iswaran said in a Facebook post: “Taken together, the vaccinated travel lanes with Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam will deepen connectivity with our ASEAN neighbours, with whom we have longstanding economic and people-to-people ties.”

Fully vaccinated Singaporeans, permanent residents and all other long-term pass holders and in-principle approval (IPA) holders, as well as children aged 12 and below in the calendar year do not need to apply for the pass.

According to vaccinated travel lane requirements, short-term visitors must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 with any vaccine in the World Health Organisation (WHO) Emergency Use List, at least 14 days prior to arrival in Singapore; provide a digitally verifiable vaccination certificate in English issued by Singapore or the vaccinated travel lane country; provide a negative result from a professionally administered Covid-19 PCR or ART test (antigen rapid test) taken within two days prior to departure to Singapore; and purchase Covid-19 medical insurance with a minimum coverage of 30,000 SGD ($22,000).

Recovered travellers do not need to show a test result within 90 days since their recovery certified by recognised medical facilities.

Singapore will also launch the vaccinated travel land with Greece this time.

With the addition of the vaccinated travel lane with Greece, Singapore has established two-way quarantine-free travel with all countries in Europe that have direct flights to Singapore.

Also from March 16, the vaccinated travel lane for Malaysia will extend beyond Kuala Lumpur to include Penang. That for Indonesia will extend beyond Jakarta to include Bali-Denpasar. The lane for India will extend beyond Chennai, Delhi, and Mumbai to include all Indian cities. 

The vaccinated travel lane has enabled Singapore to reopen borders safely while managing public health risks. Since September 8, 2021, the state island has established vaccinated travel lanes with 30 countries and territories.

Since September 8, 2021, Singapore has established vaccinated travel lanes with 30 countries and territories.

Singapore started the vaccinated travel lanes with flights from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Jakarta in Indonesia in November last year.