Singapore opens borders to unvaccinated travellers from 29 August

Singapore has announced a further easing of its border measures for unvaccinated travellers, which take effect from Monday, 29 August 2022. 

Unvaccinated Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents, long-term pass holders and short-term visitors entering Singapore from this date will no longer need to serve a 7-day SHN (quarantine), nor apply for entry approval (which was a requirement for long-term pass holders and short-term visitors). 

Pre-departure testing and travel insurance (for short-term visitors) requirements will still be maintained, but this otherwise marks a return to pre-COVID conditions for all visitors. 

Singapore lifts vaccination requirement

Fully vaccinated travellers from any country (and unvaccinated travellers aged 12 and below) have already been able to enter Singapore without testing or quarantine, ever since the Vaccinated Travel Framework (VTF) began on 1 April 2022. 

However, unvaccinated travellers aged 13 and above are generally not allowed to enter Singapore, with exceptions for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents, long-term passholders medically ineligible for vaccines, and short-term visitors with grounds like compassionate reasons.

All unvaccinated travellers admitted into Singapore must take a pre-departure COVID-19 ART or PCR test within 2 days of departure, and serve a 7-day SHN at their place of residence or a hotel. A further PCR test is required at the end of the SHN period. 

From 29 August 2022, the rules for unvaccinated travellers will change as follows.

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. However, there is no longer any requirement for:

• Entry approval for long-term passholders and short-term visitors (Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents have never had to apply for entry approval, regardless of vaccination status)
• a 7-day SHN and exit PCR test

As a reminder, Singapore defines a fully vaccinated traveller as one who has taken at least the minimum dosage of the WHO EUL vaccinations listed below at least 2 weeks before arrival in Singapore:

1. One dose of CanSinoBIO/Convidecia or Janssen/J&J vaccine; OR
2. Two doses of AstraZeneca, Covaxin, Moderna/Spikevax, or Covishield vaccine administered at least 24 days apart; OR
3. Two doses of Novavax/Covovax/Nuvaxovid, Pfizer/BioNTech/COMIRNATY, or Sinopharm vaccine, administered at least 17 days apart; OR
4. Two doses of Sinovac vaccine, administered 13 days apart; OR
5. Mixture of any two doses of vaccines listed in points 1-4, administered at least 17 days apart; OR
6. Any of the vaccination combinations listed in points 1-5 and subsequently recovered from COVID-19; OR
7. At least one dose of any WHO EUL approved vaccines listed in points 1-4, taken at least 28 days after a COVID-19 positive diagnosis 

There is currently no booster requirement to be considered fully vaccinated. 

What about vaccinated travellers?

SG Arrival Card

The only requirement for fully vaccinated travellers is to complete the SG Arrival Card, which can be done in less than a minute if you’re a Singapore Citizen, Permanent Resident or Long Term Passholder (whose vaccination records are already in the system).

Do yourself a favour and get it done before you board your flight, or at the very least when walking from the aircraft to the arrival hall. If you fail to complete the card, you’ll get rejected at the automated immigration gates, holding up the line for everyone.

Conclusion

From 29 August 2022, Singapore will take the next step in reopening by ending the SHN and entry approval requirements for unvaccinated travellers. Safeguards like pre-departure testing and travel insurance will still remain in place, but this is certainly preferable to a 7-day quarantine. 

Singapore will also be easing its rules on mask wearing in airports and on airplanes, which I’ll cover in a separate post.