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Vaccinated travellers from Australia will be able to enter Singapore without spending time in quarantine from 8 November as part of the city state's Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme.
Travellers will be required to take two COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests - a pre-departure test within 48 hours before departing to Singapore with a negative result, and an on-arrival test at Changi Airport.
People entering the country under the scheme will also need to self-isolate until their result in Singapore is confirmed to be negative. Children aged two years and younger in the calendar year are not required to undergo these tests.
Unvaccinated children aged under 12 years will be allowed to enter as well, so long as they are accompanied by a traveller who meets all VTL requirements.
The country's Government made the announcement as part of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore’s (CAAS) "cautious and step-by-step effort to revive air travel and reclaim and rebuild Singapore’s status as an international aviation hub with global connectivity".
The authority highlights the longstanding "people-to-people, economic and defence" ties between the two countries.
"Pre-COVID, Australia was amongst our top ten markets for annual passenger arrivals at Changi Airport, accounting for about 4 per cent of total arrivals in 2019," the CAAS said.
"Many Singaporeans travelled to Australia for business, leisure and education, and vice versa. More than 50,000 Singaporeans live in Australia and over 25,000 Australians live in Singapore.
"The VTL will enable them to reconnect with their loved ones back home, whom they have been physically separated from for more than a year."
Updated at 12:35pm AEDT on 27 October 2021.
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