Complete Guide: Singapore’s quarantine-free Vaccinated Travel Framework (VTF)

Singapore has reopened its borders to the world under the Vaccinated Travel Framework (VTF), which allows all fully vaccinated travellers (including unvaccinated children aged 12 and under) to enter without quarantine.

This marks the end of the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme and the need to take special VTL flights to Singapore. Travellers may now enter on any flight, from any country, with no need for a Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP- we in Singapore sure love our acronyms!) or on-arrival testing.

This post will walk you through everything you need to know about the VTF. 

How is the VTF different from the VTL?

For those who have travelled to Singapore previously under the VTL, here’s a summary of how the VTF differs. 

tl;dr: the VTF is better in every way.

• Travellers may enter Singapore on any flight, from any country, via any routing
• Travellers do not need to apply for a VTP, nor purchase travel insurance
• Travellers do not need on-arrival testing; they have complete freedom of movement once they land

There is also effectively no restriction on travel history, since Singapore has not designated any countries as “restricted” at the moment.

VTF: Fully Vaccinated Travellers

Fully vaccinated

Travellers are considered fully vaccinated if they meet the following conditions at least 2 weeks before arrival in Singapore:

1. Received the full regimen of WHO EUL Vaccines (see below) and met the minimum dose interval period; or
2. Travellers who contracted COVID-19 before being vaccinated must have received at least one dose of any WHO EUL Vaccines (below) at least 28 days from their first diagnosis of a COVID-19 infection. Travellers must produce acceptable proof of their first positive COVID-19 diagnosis.

Children aged 12 and under in the current calendar year (i.e. those born in 2010 and later, for arrivals in 2022) are treated as fully vaccinated regardless of their actual status. 

A booster dose is currently not required to be considered fully vaccinated.

Travellers vaccinated outside of Singapore will need to prove their vaccination status on boarding and at Singapore immigration. The ICA has provided a list of acceptable proof below:

• Digitally-Verifiable Vaccination Certificates
• Non-Digitally Verifiable Vaccination Certificates

SG Arrival Card

SG Arrival Card

All travellers to Singapore must complete an SG Arrival Card within three days before arrival in Singapore. 

The SG Arrival Card has been simplified, and now features only three sections: 

• Personal particulars
• Submission of vaccination proof (not required for those vaccinated in Singapore)
• Health declaration

Completing the SG Arrival Card is free of charge, if you do it via the official website. Beware of lookalikes out there which charge a fee! 

Pre-departure test

Effective 26 April 2022, a pre-departure test is no longer required for travel to Singapore for fully vaccinated travellers. 

VTF: Unvaccinated Travellers

From 29 August 2022, unvaccinated travellers will be permitted to enter Singapore without quarantine or entry approval. 

Unvaccinated travellers will still be required to take a pre-departure COVID-19 ART or PCR test within 2 days of departure, and short-term visitors in particular must still purchase travel insurance.

VTF: Arriving from a restricted country

Singapore does not currently place any countries on the restricted list, so you can skip this section, or read it just for idle curiosity. 

If a country is added to the restricted list in the future, travellers will be required to take a pre-departure PCR test instead of an ART, an on-arrival PCR test, and serve a 7 day SHN in a hotel with a further PCR test at the end. 

A 7-day SHN in a hotel currently costs S$1,015. 

Transit passengers through Singapore

If you are only intending to transit in Singapore, there is no need to take a COVID-19 test unless your airline or final destination requires it. 

Singapore removed the test requirement from 22 February 2022, along with the dreaded “transit holding area”, hermetically sealed off from the rest of the airport. 

Singapore scraps COVID-19 test requirement for transit passengers through Changi Airport

This means that all transit passengers can once again make full use of the facilities at Changi, including shops, restaurants and airline lounges. 

What if you test positive in Singapore?

While there is no on-arrival test for travellers by default, any traveller displaying symptoms on arrival may be directed to take a COVID-19 test, at their own expense.

Each ART will cost S$30, while each PCR will cost S$138 (the airport authorities will decide what test you take), and travellers awaiting results may only commute to their accommodation via private transport (e.g. car, taxi or private-hire car). 

If this test result comes back positive (or if you test positive during your pre-departure test when returning to your home country), you will be required to self-isolate for 72 hours at home or in a hotel, assuming you’re asymptomatic or only encountering mild symptoms. This is referred to as Protocol 2 in Singapore.

At the end of this 72 hour period, patients can take a self-administered ART, and leave isolation if the test is negative. Fully vaccinated individuals and children below 12 can automatically exit self-isolation on Day 7, without taking further tests. 

The Singapore government will pay for COVID-19 medical bills for all Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents and Long Term Passholders. However, short-term visitors will be responsible for the cost of their own medical treatment, which is why it may be a good idea to buy insurance, even if no longer mandated. 

VTF: Government to pay for COVID-19 treatment for returning Singaporeans, PRs and LTPHs

For more information on the procedure after testing positive in Singapore, refer to this website.

Conclusion

More than two years after closing its borders to the world, Singapore has fully reopened them with the Vaccinated Travel Framework. 

Under the VTF, travel to Singapore for fully vaccinated individuals is practically similar to pre-COVID days. There’s no more pre-departure testing, no requirement to book VTL flights, calculate your travel history, buy travel insurance or test on arrival, which will save a whole lot of headache.

Welcome back to Singapore!