The Ministry of Transport (MOT) announced earlier today (Oct 8) that people vaccinated against Covid-19 will be allowed to travel for leisure between Singapore and South Korea via vaccinated travel lanes (VTL) from Nov 15. This also means that these fully vaccinated travellers will not be required to serve quarantine or a stay-home notice.
Even with the growing number of Covid-19 cases in Singapore, the country is slowly opening up as part of the government’s plans for the nation to live with Covid-19, dealing with it as an endemic. Apart from Germany and Brunei, Singapore residents can choose to travel to South Korea from Changi Airport to Incheon International Airport via VTL from Nov 15. They will only be required to go for Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. There will be no restrictions on the purpose of travel or requirements for a controlled itinerary or sponsorship.
Both countries have discussed and come to an agreement regarding Covid-19 vaccination certificates issued in either country, this will enable fully vaccinated travellers to be recognized In Singapore and South Korea, adhering to vaccination-differentiated safe management measures accordingly. More information on the VTLs will be announced at a later date.
During today’s video conference between Singapore’s Minister for Transport S Iswaran and the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea, Noh Hyeong Ouk, Mr Iswaran said, “Singapore and the Republic of Korea enjoy excellent bilateral relations, with strong people-to-people ties. I am pleased that both countries have agreed to jointly launch Vaccinated Travel Lanes that will re-open general travel between our two countries, which has been disrupted for the past 20 months,”.
“The jointly launched VTLs will be the first of its kind between two major aviation hubs in Asia and build on these longstanding relations to safely revive cross-border air travel and people-to-people flows,” said MOT.
Although it’s the first of its kind, it does not come as a surprise that South Korea and Singapore are launching VTLs considering they were among each other’s top travel destinations pre-Covid days.
On Thursday, Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong announced that Singapore is working on establishing a VTL with the United States of America soon – prior to the year end.
