Singapore will officially be extending its quarantine-free Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme to Australia and Switzerland from November 8 this year. 

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However, for Australia, two-way travel applies only to fully vaccinated Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) on October 26.

“Singapore’s VTL for Australia will allow fully vaccinated travellers from Australia to enter Singapore without quarantine, for all purposes of travel,” said CAAS. 

Vaccinated travellers must simply have remained in one or more of the VTL countries in the last 14 days before they can depart to Singapore. 

They must also take two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. One should be done before departure and the second should be done on arrival in Singapore. 

Children 12 and under who are unvaccinated will be allowed to travel under this scheme as long as they are accompanied by a traveller who meets all the requirements and who is also vaccinated. 

“We also expect student and business pass holders from Singapore to be able to enter Australia after Australia has finalised the arrangement for their entry. Other travellers from Singapore would not be able to travel to Australia until a later stage,” CAAS continued.

This news comes shortly after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Singapore and Australia were in the final stages of talks to set up a travel lane between the countries. 

Singapore has currently announced vaccinated travel lanes with 13 countries including Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Britain, the United States and South Korea. 

Germany and Brunei were the first two countries to get a VTL earlier this year and it was thankfully successful enough to give CAAS the “experience and confidence” to extend it to more countries. 

“We will continue to do so in a cautious and step-by-step manner without compromising public health,” CAAS said. 

As of October 25, over 15,000 travellers have been issued passes under the VTL scheme with about 5,000 of them having entered Singapore already. 

The quota for those entering Singapore under the VTL scheme will also be increased from 3,000 to 4,000 travellers daily, according to CAAS.

This news is certainly welcome considering that over 50,000 Singaporeans live in Australia while about 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,” said CAAS.

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