Missing the Lion City? Travel to Singapore may be possible without PCR tests and quarantine for fully vaccinated Filipinos starting March 4. Application starts on March 1.
FULLY vaccinated Filipinos will soon be able to enter Singapore according to an announcement, launching new vaccinated travel lanes (VTL) to more countries and easing test requirements.
In hopes to reemerge as one of Asia’s major travel hubs, the city-state is restoring VTLs after plans of reopening were halted due to the rise of Omicron cases.
“Now that we have greater certainty over the nature of Omicron and the associated public health risks, it is important that we pivot our travel posture ... to resume the safe reopening of our borders and reclaim our position as a global business and aviation hub,” said SG Transport Minister Iswaran.
Previously deferred VTLs with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will open applications at 10 am on February 22 while the first flights will start from Feb 25.
As for the Philippines and Israel, two-way quarantine-free travel will be opened for applications this coming March 1 while entry to Singapore starts on March 4.
However, the current VTL with Hong Kong will be temporarily tightened as the region is currently experiencing a covid outbreak. For now, fully vaccinated travelers may still enter without quarantine but with limited quota.
In a separate briefing, Singapore’s Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that the country is prepared to reopen further after the omicron wave.
Travel lanes from low-risk countries will no longer need to submit polymerase chain reaction tests on arrival. Instead, they’ll take a supervised rapid test.
Starting Feb 22, the requirement for travelers to self-administer tests for seven days will be scrapped. The agency also promises to simplify the risk-classification system for countries.
The prevailing VTL requirements can be accessed at https://safetravel.ica.gov.sg.
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