Complete Guide: Singapore – Malaysia land travel from 1 April

Planning to cross the causeway? Here's all you need to know about the Singapore-Malaysia land border reopening, from 1 April 2022.

Singapore and Malaysia will reopen their land border from 1 April 2022, allowing fully vaccinated travellers to cross with no testing, quarantine or travel insurance requirement. This covers all modes of travel, including private cars, motorcycles and walking. 

Expect massive jams when the causeway reopens

Prior to the pandemic, more than 415,000 people crossed the Woodlands Causeway and Tuas Second Link daily, with short trips making up the bulk of movements. 

If you’re planning to join that number, here’s all you need to know about crossing the land border. For those planning to travel by air, refer to the article below instead. 

Complete Guide: Singapore – Malaysia quarantine-free air travel from 1 April

Land travel to Malaysia

โœ”๏ธ Quarantine-Free Travel to Malaysia
(From 1 April 2022)
Applies to travellers arriving f
rom Singapore only
  • Fully vaccinated with any vaccine on the WHO EUL, or a vaccine approved by regulatory agencies in other countries*
  • Download MySejahtera app (Android | iOS), complete in-app pre-departure form and verify COVID vaccination
  • Pay RM20 road charge (from 8 April 2022) via Touch ‘n Go card
  • Pay tolls (from 8 April 2022) via Touch ‘n Go card
  • No travel insurance, pre-departure or on-arrival testing required
*Children aged 17 and under are exempt

Fully vaccinated

All travellers to Malaysia must be fully vaccinated, as defined by the following table:

Vaccine Doses 18-59 y.o โ‰ฅ60 y.o
Sinovac
Sinopharm
2 Partially Vax.
3 Fully Vax.
Pfizer
Moderna
Astra Zeneca
Covaxin
Covishield
Novavax
Sputnik V
2 Fully Vax. Partially Vax.
3 Fully Vax. Fully Vax.
CanSino
Johnson & Johnson
Sputnik Light
1 Fully Vax. Partially Vax.
2 Fully Vax. Fully Vax.

For example, someone with 2 doses of Pfizer would be considered fully vaccinated if he/she is aged 18-59 years old, but partially vaccinated if he/she is 60 years or older.

Children aged 17 and below are considered to meet the vaccination requirement, regardless of actual vaccination status. 

MySejahtera app

Travellers to Malaysia must:

โ“ Already Verified?
If you have previously verified your digital vaccination on the MySejahtera app (e.g. when you travelled on the VTL), you do not need to do it again

Most of the steps are pretty self-explanatory, except perhaps the last one. Anyone who was vaccinated outside of Malaysia needs to upload and verify their digital vaccination certificate before departure.

This can be done via the MySafeTravel portal, and involves uploading the QR code of your vaccination certificate.

Singapore travellers are only required to upload a single QR code; the instructions say to choose the last EUDCC one on your cert (i.e. Dose 2 for double dosed travellers, Dose 3 for triple dosed travellers). In my case, my “offline QR verification (EU DCC-compatible)” code wasn’t accepted, so in the end I used the one labelled “online QR verification” and it went through just fine.

Take note that every comma, every hyphen must be included! If the name on your vaccination certificate is:

Tan Ah-Kow, John

be sure to enter it exactly that way on MySafeTravel, or verification will fail. 

Once approved, it takes about two days for your MySejahtera app to be updated. 

Those who were vaccinated in other countries can refer to this guide for the steps required. 

Road Charge

Singapore-registered cars must pay a Road Charge of RM20 (~S$6.45) on entry, but this will be waived until 7 April 2022. From 8 April 2022 onwards, the Road Charge is payable.

This concession is meant to give Singaporeans the opportunity to top up their Touch ‘n Go cards, which may have become inactive during the two years the land border was closed. 

Vehicle Entry Permit

The much-discussed Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) is theoretically required for all non-Malaysian registered vehicles entering Malaysia, but enforcement has been delayed until further notice. The Malaysian government is urging motorists with Singapore-registered vehicles to register ASAP via this portal.

Registered vehicles will receive an RFID tag (cost: RM10, excluding delivery and service charges), tied to an Touch ‘n Go e-wallet. This allows them to pay Road Charges seamlessly.

VEP registration is valid for five years starting from the day the VEP RFID tag is activated. 

How is this different from VTL travel?

If you’ve travelled to Malaysia under the VTL-Land previously, here’s the key differences of the new arrangement.

  VTL-Land
(Until 31 Mar)
New Scheme
(From 1 Apr)
Travel History Last 14 days in SG or MY only No restriction
Travel Mode Bus only All modes
Vaccine Exemption <12 y.o โ‰ค17 y.o
C-19 Travel Insurance RM100K N/A
Pre-Departure Test Professional ART within 2 days N/A
On-Arrival Test Supervised ART N/A

It’s a much simpler process, now that all modes of transport are valid, the travel insurance requirement has been scrapped, and there’s no more pre-departure or on-arrival testing.

Land travel to Singapore

โœ”๏ธ Quarantine-Free Travel to Singapore
(From 1 April 2022)
  • Fully vaccinated with any vaccine on the WHO EUL*
  • Install and activate TraceTogether (Android | iOS)
  • Complete SG Arrival Card
  • Apply for Autopass card and LTA approval (foreign-registered vehicles only)
  • Pay entry tolls with EZ-Link or Autopass card
*Children aged 12 and under exempt

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.
Vaccine Doses Required Min. Interval between Doses
Pfizer/ BioNTech 2 17 days
Moderna 2 24 days
Astrazeneca 2 24 days
Covishield 2 24 days
Janssen 1 N/A
Sinopharm 2 17 days
Sinovac 2 13 days
Covaxin 2 24 days
Novavax 2 17 days
Any of the above WHO EUL vaccines (mixed) 2 17 days

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 in Malaysia may upload their digital certificate for COVID-19 vaccination on the MySejahtera app during the SG Arrival Card submission (see below). 

TraceTogether

All travellers to Singapore must download and register for TraceTogether (Android | iOS). This is required for checking into venues and displaying your vaccination status, which is necessary to access shopping malls, restaurants and other vaccinated-only venues. 

Travellers who were vaccinated outside Singapore will be granted temporary vaccinated status lasting about 30 days if they successfully uploaded their digital vaccination certificates as part of their SG Arrival Card (see below) or manually presented their vaccination certificates and the manual immigration counters.

Do note that if you’ve taken 2x Sinovac/Sinopharm doses outside of Singapore, you will still be granted temporary vaccinated status for 30 days, notwithstanding the domestic requirement for vaccination recognition is 3x doses. 

SG Arrival Card

SG Arrival Card

All travellers to Singapore (regardless of nationality) 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! 

Vehicle Entry Permit

Drivers of foreign-registered vehicles require a valid Autopass card and LTA’s approval email to enter into Singapore, as well as valid road tax and a certificate of insurance for the vehicle. 

Applications can be made via the OneMotoring website. 

Autopass cards can be collected at LTAโ€™s Johor Bahru Service Centre before entering Singapore, and serve as an electronic VEP to record entry, and pay all tolls. Each Autopass card  is tied to a single vehicle, and costs S$10 (with a pre-loaded value of S$4 and a non-refundable cost of S$6). 

VEPs have a validity period of 14 days, starting from the date of entry into Singapore. To extend the stay of the vehicle in Singapore, renewal is required. 

Entry Tolls

The following toll fees are charged for entering and exiting Singapore, and apply to both Singapore and overseas registered vehicles. 

Cars

  Woodlands Tuas
  All Day Peak Hours* Off-Peak Hours*
Entry Tolls   S$2.10 S$1.10
Exit Tolls S$0.80
VEP Fees

Waived for first 10 days per calendar year, then S$35 per day thereafter. VEP fees do not apply:

  • On Saturdays, Sundays and Singapore public holidays
  • If you enter Singapore from 5.00 pm and exit by 2.00 am the next day
  • During Singapore’s June and December school holidays, if you enter Singapore from 12 noon and exit by 2.00 am the next day
Reciprocal Road Charge S$6.40 per entry
ERP Charges^ S$5 per day
*Peak hours: 5am to 10am, 3pm to 11 pm. Off-peak hours are all other timings
^If you opt to pay a fixed ERP fee

Motorbikes

  Woodlands or Tuas
VEP Fees

Waived for first 10 days per calendar year, then S$4 per day thereafter. VEP fees do not apply:

  • On Saturdays, Sundays and Singapore public holidays
  • If you enter Singapore from 5.00 pm and exit by 2.00 am the next day
  • During Singapore’s June and December school holidays, if you enter Singapore from 12 noon and exit by 2.00 am the next day

How is this different from VTL travel?

If you’ve travelled to Singapore under the VTL-Land previously, here’s the key differences of the new arrangement.

  VTL-Land
(Until 31 Mar)
New Scheme
(From 1 Apr)
Travel History Last 7 days in VTL, Cat. I or EEA countries only No restriction
Travel Mode Bus only All modes
Vaccine Exemption โ‰ค12 y.o
C-19 Travel Insurance S$30K N/A
Pre-Departure Test Supervised ART within 2 days N/A
On-Arrival Test Supervised ART N/A

Conclusion

Singapore and Malaysia will be reopening their land border from 1 April 2022, with no testing, quarantine or travel insurance required. Travellers may cross the causeway whichever way they wish- even walking!

This should make mattress runs much easier, if nothing else. 

Aaron Wong
Aaron Wong
Aaron founded The Milelion to help people travel better for less and impress chiobu. He was 50% successful.

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TS77

Hi Aaron, thanks for this – how many days did it take for your covid certificate to be verified, i’m currently seeing upto 5 working days…

Ben

There’s also toll to be paid upon entering, separate from road charge. Though it is also waived for the first week.

TS77

Is the toll fee only for cars when entering Malaysia or bikes also?

Andy

What address should one be inputting if it’s crossing the Causeway for a day trip in JB? Any DP?

bent

Once approved, it takes about two days for your MySejahtera app to be updated

I think it has been 5-6 days and counting for me…friend told me to keep spamming the submission every 2 days or so. sigh.

Dann

Hi , Aaron
After entering from Singapore to Johor Bahru via land ( 1April ) , what if i wanna fly to KL from Johor airport?
Any PCR test requirements?
Any Quratine?

Please advise

Amin

not required for domestic travels within Malaysia.

Lee

Pre covid need to do ART before entering my?I saw this in the question.

Amanda Koh

Hi Aaron. I understd 2 doses of Sinovac considerred only as partially vaccinated in Msia. Any idea with a recovery memo (<60days) will it be considered as fully vac? In SG those tested C+ aft 2 doses considered FV. Tks

Ang

Great article, thank you! We are foreigners traveling to Singapore then traveling to Malaysia by bus. Does the no pre-test apply to us?

thanks

Chloe

Would like to check if short trip like 4 days 3 nights in Singapore what is the requirements

Damian

Hi Everyone
Iโ€™m a UAE resident taking a flight to Singapore thereafter will travel by land to Johor Bahru. Any restrictions
Iโ€™m fully vaccinated
Appreciate an early response

J Hong

Planning to drive to JB but can’t seem to get past the travel insurance requirement on https://www.mysafetravel.gov.my.

Anybody else facing this issue or am I missing something?

Chai

For anyone facing this issue, I have called the hotline and they advised me to change traveler type to Malaysian even though I am Singaporean. There will be no problem.

J Hong

Thank you!

J Hong

Thanks for the tip!