From 8 October, Singapore will lift border restrictions to visitors from Australia and Vietnam and allow them to apply for an Air Travel Pass – which gives the green light for leisure travel – subject of course, to being allowed to leave Australia first.
From next Thursday, 8 October, Singapore will lift border restrictions to visitors from Australia – excluding Victoria – and Vietnam.
Australia and Vietnam join New Zealand and Brunei as the four countries that Singapore has opened its borders to, in an effort to rebuild and revive tourism.
According to Singapore’s Straits Times, The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said on Wednesday that Australia and Vietnam are two countries that have comprehensive public health surveillance systems and have successfully controlled the spread of COVID-19.
The authority said that “the risk of importation from these countries is low,” and, aside from Victoria, Australia has a low incidence rate of 0.02 cases per 100,000 people.
So, what’s the deal?
If you need to travel to Singapore, you will be able to apply for an Air Travel Pass, for entry on or after next Thursday.
IMPORTANT NOTE: As Australia currently has an overseas travel ban still in place, Australian Citizens will need to also apply to be able to leave the country for essential travel reasons only.
The Singapore Air Travel Pass gives the green light for all forms of short-term travel, including leisure travel. This is different from the reciprocal green lane arrangements, made predominantly for essential business and official travel.
What happens when I get to Singapore?
Once approved to leave Australia and enter Singapore, all travellers will have to take a swab test upon arrival into Singapore and are able to go about their trip once the test results have come back negative.
Visitors will also have to download and use the ‘TraceTogether’ app throughout their stay, wear masks where required, use QR code scanners upon entry and exit of buildings and abide by any other COVID-safe conditions the country puts into place.
The good news so far:
- Since border restrictions to visitors from New Zealand and Brunei were lifted on 8 September, The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore has approved 331 applications from travellers from the two countries.
- As of 5pm on Wednesday, 136 visitors have arrived in Singapore so far. None of them tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival.
We recommend anybody thinking about travelling to check all exit and entry requirements and take the necessary health & safety precautions.
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