Singapore adding Thailand, Cambodia, Fiji, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Turkey to VTL in December

Singapore will further expand its Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme in December by adding Cambodia, Fiji, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Turkey. 

Thailand will join the scheme from 14 December 2021, with the rest of the countries joining from 16 December 2021. This brings to 27 the total number of VTL countries, which accounted for ~60% of the total daily arrivals at Changi prior to COVID-19. 

Fully vaccinated travellers from the above countries may enter Singapore without quarantine, provided they satisfy the following conditions:

Of the newly-added countries, Cambodia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, and Fiji (from 1 December 2021) do not impose restrictions on travellers from Singapore. 

If you’re living in one of the newly-added VTL countries, do note that VTP applications will open from:

• 7 December 2021, 1000 hours (GMT+8) for Thailand
• 9 December 2021, 1000 hours (GMT+8) for Cambodia, Fiji, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Turkey

Designated VTL flights

In order to enter Singapore without quarantine, travellers must take a designated VTL flight. The full list of VTL flights can be found here; for ease of reference I’ve compiled the list of Singapore Airlines and Scoot options below. 

From Cambodia

Singapore Airlines

From Maldives

Singapore Airlines

From Sri Lanka

Singapore Airlines

From Thailand

Singapore Airlines

[Note: Per an update from Singapore Airlines, VTL services from Phuket will not be operated at the moment]

Scoot

[Note: Per an update from Singapore Airlines, VTL services from Chiang Mai will not be operated at the moment]

From Turkey

Singapore Airlines

Travel requirements to Thailand

Among all the additional VTL countries, I imagine it’s Thailand that will be the most exciting for Singaporeans. 

Fully-vaccinated Singaporeans can already enter Thailand without quarantine, as I wrote about last month. They will need to meet the following conditions:

1. Have a 21-day travel history only featuring Singapore and/or other eligible countries
2. Be fully vaccinated with a recognised vaccine
3. Purchase medical insurance with min. coverage of US$50K
4. Present a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of flight to Thailand
5. Make a reservation for 1 night in an SHA+ or AQ hotel
6. Undergo a COVID-19 PCR test on arrival in Thailand and self-isolate at SHA+ or AQ hotel until result is released

The list of eligible countries mentioned in (1) can be found here, and contains other VTL countries like Canada, Germany, South Korea and the USA. 

It appears that Thailand will soon be easing these requirements, however. According to this source, from 16 December, travellers arriving under the Test & Go scheme (i.e. Singaporeans) will only need to do a rapid test on arrival, with no SHA+ or AQ booking required. This will further reduce the cost of travelling to Thailand. 

Book those Turkish Airlines Business Class fares

Turkish Airlines is currently offering some excellent Business Class fares between Singapore and Europe, with destinations like Rome, Berlin, Barcelona, Zurich and Milan all available for less than S$2,500 round-trip. You can browse these on Google Flights using the “explore” feature. 

The catch was that travellers would need to serve a 7-day SHN at home upon return to Singapore, but with Turkey’s addition to the VTL, this is no longer an issue (provided their flight to Singapore is designated a VTL service, which seems likely). 

That’s a great reason to take a closer look at these deals (and perhaps book them with OCBC Travel$ and VOYAGE Miles!).

Tightened restrictions for 6 European countries

Singapore will downgrade Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Liechtenstein and Slovakia from Category II to Category III from 2 December 2021 onwards, due to the worsening COVID-19 situation. 

Travellers from Category III countries will need to serve a 10-day SHN at their place of accommodation. 

Conclusion

The latest batch of VTL countries offers some prime candidates for year-end travel, and I expect Bangkok tickets to sell like hotcakes. It’s also great to see two-way quarantine-free travel restored to the Maldives, which always struck me as the perfect candidate (since you’re basically on an island and isolated from the local populace). 

Which country are you most looking forward to visiting?