As Omicron became a foremost concern in December 2021, Singapore decided to postpone its upcoming VTLs with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, while also temporarily pausing the expansion of the VTL scheme. New VTL ticket sales were suspended, and VTL capacity was cut by 50%.
But Omicron has since shown itself to be milder and more manageable, giving the authorities the confidence to resume border reopening.
Today comes the news that Singapore will proceed with VTLs with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and, wait for it, Hong Kong (remember them?) from 25 February 2022. Israel and the Philippines will follow on 4 March 2022.
VTL quotas will also be restored with immediate effect, and progressively increased from 5,000 to 15,000 by 4 March 2022.
New VTL countries
From 25 February 2022, Hong Kong, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will join the VTL scheme, followed by Israel and the Philippines on 4 March 2022. This brings the total number of VTL agreements to 30.
| 🌎 VTL Agreements | ||
| Current VTLs |
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| From 25 Feb 2022 |
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| From 4 March 2022 |
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| *Brunei, Hong Kong and Indonesia do not currently allow Singapore residents to enter without quarantine. Italy does not admit leisure travellers from Singapore. | ||
Vaccinated Travel Pass applications will open at:
- 10 a.m on 22 February 2022, for Hong Kong, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE
- 10 a.m on 1 March 2022, for Israel and the Philippines
Here’s the process for VTL travel to Singapore, which applies until 21 February 2022.
| ✔️ VTL Eligibility Criteria [Until 21 Feb 2022] | |
| All |
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| Long-term pass & short-term visitors |
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| Short-term visitors |
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| *Children aged 2 or under in the current calendar year are exempt ^Exception for children aged 12 and below, if they are accompanied by vaccinated traveller | |
From 22 February 2022:
- VTL (and Category I) travellers will do a supervised ART within 24 hours of arrival, instead of a PCR test at Changi Airport
- No more Day 2-7 self-swab ARTs are required
- The relevant travel history period will be shortened from 14 days to 7 days
- Long-term passholders will no longer need to apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP)
I’ve covered the changes in more detail in this post.
| ✔️ VTL Eligibility Criteria [From 22 Feb 2022] | |
| All |
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| Short-term visitors & Work permit holders |
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VTL flights
Singapore Airlines will be operating the following VTL services to support the new VTLs. There is currently no non-stop flight from Israel to Singapore, and Qatar Airways is the only carrier connecting Qatar and Singapore.
Cebu
Scoot currently operates four-times weekly services between Singapore and Cebu. From 4
March, TR385 will operate as the designated VTL flight from Cebu to Singapore with an
increase to five-times weekly services from 8 March.
These services will be operated on the Airbus A321neo aircraft.
Clark
Scoot currently operates daily services between Singapore and Clark. From 4 March,
TR387 will be designated as a VTL flight from Clark to Singapore.
These services will be operated on the Airbus A320 aircraft.
Davao
Scoot currently operates thrice-weekly services between Singapore and Davao. From 4
March, TR361 will be designated as a VTL flight from Davao to Singapore.
These services will be operated on the Airbus A321neo aircraft.
Dubai
SIA currently operates daily services between Singapore and Dubai. From 24 February, SQ495 will operate as the designated VTL flight from Dubai to Singapore.
These services will be operated on the Airbus A350-900 medium haul aircraft.
Hong Kong
SIA currently operates twice-daily services between Singapore and Hong Kong. From 25
February, SQ883 and SQ895 will operate as designated VTL flights from Hong Kong to
Singapore.
SIA services will be operated on the Airbus A350-900 or the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, depending on flight schedule.
Scoot currently operates daily flights between Singapore and Hong Kong. From 25
February, TR981 will be designated as a VTL flight from Hong Kong to Singapore.
Scoot services will be operated on the Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
Jeddah
Scoot currently operates thrice-weekly services between Singapore and Jeddah. From 24 February, TR9597 be designated as a VTL flight from Jeddah to Singapore.
These services will be operated on the Boeing 787-8 aircraft
Manila
SIA currently operates 24-time weekly services between Singapore and Manila. From 4
March, all flights SQ915, SQ917, SQ919 and SQ921 – from Manila to Singapore will be
designated as VTL flights.
From 27 March, this service will increase to 28 times weekly between the two cities.
All services will be operated on the Airbus A350-900 medium haul aircraft.
Pre-departure testing
Here’s a summary of the pre-departure testing (PDT) requirements for the four countries joining the VTL.
| ⚕️ PDT for Singapore Residents | ||
| Vax. | Unvax. Child Under 12 | |
| 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | PCR (48h) | PCR (48h) |
| 🇮🇱 Israel | ART (24h) PCR (72h) | ART (24h) PCR (72h) |
| 🇶🇦 Qatar | PCR (48h) | N/A |
| 🇵🇭 Philippines | PCR (48h) | PCR (48h) Under 4 exempt |
| 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | ART/ PCR (48h) | ART/ PCR (48h) Under 8 exempt |
| 🇦🇪 UAE | PCR (72h) | PCR (72h) Under 12 exempt |
Since Hong Kong is effectively (or perhaps, ineffectively) pursuing a COVID zero strategy, the arrangement will be one-way for now. Travellers from Singapore will still be required to do a 14 day quarantine in Hong Kong.
The Philippines reopened to international tourists from 157 countries (including Singapore) on 10 February 2021, requiring fully vaccinated travellers to take a PCR test within 48 hours of departure and purchase travel insurance with at least US$35,000 of coverage for COVID-19 medical expenses. No on-arrival testing is required
For a detailed overview of pre-departure testing, including discounts, home swabbing and express options, refer to the article below.
Cheapest pre-departure COVID-19 ART and PCR tests in Singapore
Conclusion
Singapore will be adding six new VTL partners to the mix, which means that fully vaccinated travellers from 30 different countries can enter Singapore without quarantine (the reverse applies to most, but not all countries!).
Other big announcements today include the removal of on-arrival PCR tests for certain passengers in favor of supervised ARTs within 24 hours of arrival. I’ll covered those in the article below, so do have a read.
Major VTL changes: Supervised ARTs to replace PCR tests; VTP not required for long-term passholders
What’s the difference in the testing/documentation regime between a category 1 and VTL country?
Am I missing something? What’s the point of having HK on a VTL, when they are already a Cat I territory to which we have opened our border completely and HK travellers can already enter sans quarantine?
They aren’t Cat 1 anymore.
Oops, thanks. I must have missed seeing the memo about HK’s downgrade from Cat 1…
Under Cat I, anyone can come. Under VTL, only vaccinated travelers can.
Any chance of VTL with Japan and NZ within 2nd half of 2022?
Better hope its a reciprocating one, whats the point of a one way non-mutually beneficial one.
You’ll have to ask Japan and NZ. Right now they’re doing a hermit crab impression.
Amy idea if Emirates is planning for a VTL flight from Dubai too?
almost certainly. details TBD.
Qatar requires a PDT conducted within 72 hours of arrival into Qatar. The scheduled flight time to Doha on QR945 is 8 hours 5 minutes.
https://covid19.moph.gov.qa/EN/travel-and-return-policy/Pages/default.aspx
Singapore is a green list country, so we are exempt
Only Qatari citizens and residents entering from a Green List country are exempted from PDT. My SC friend just landed in Doha QR945 today for work.
ah yes, i see you’re correct. thank you for that, have updated!
https://covid19.moph.gov.qa/EN/travel-and-return-policy/Pages/default.aspx
With effect from 7pm, Feb 28, 2022, Qatari time:
“Must submit a negative pre-travel PCR lab result with validity of 48 hours from departure time at the country of origin.”
UAE (DXB/AUH) has also scrapped PDT with effect from today (26 Feb 2022).
thanks alan. have updated to reflect the 48h requirement
Obviously super excited. Considering doing a weekend in Phuket. I’m seeing different things when it comes to hotels. Do we need to stay fthe 3 night in the first SHA+ hotel? Or only the first and then we’re free to stay wherever we want?
(Apologies if that has been covered already)
read this: https://milelion.com/2022/02/02/walkthrough-thailand-pass-application-for-test-go/
Thanks!
Anyone planning to go to PH? Is it a good time to go in March/April?
By recognizing Israel as a VTL country without having direct VTL flights to Singapore – Does it mean I can fly to another VTL country on a non VTL flight (for example, TLV-FRA) and then fly on a VTL flight from Frankfurt to Singapore?
yup.
The one-way VTL with HK is ludicrous. Stick to the Air Travel Pass (ATP), especially when Macao, Mainland China, and Taiwan are given ATPs. Stop singling out HK and treating it differently, when it is part of China. Unless you give China a VTL, that is.