Great news for Singapore-based travellers itching to visit Australia again after nearly 20 months, with an announcement from the G20 summit in Italy that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have finalised a deal allowing two-way travel on the recently announced Vaccinated Travel Lane between the two nations.
From 21st November 2021 Singapore residents will join the list of eligible travellers to enter Australia quarantine-free, initially limited to the states of New South Wales and Victoria.
That means many of us can look forward to trips to Sydney and Melbourne in Australia’s summer season, not to mention in time for Christmas and New Year celebrations.
“The new arrangements are for Singaporeans, not those from other countries who pass through the city state.”
“The visitors from Singapore must depart from the city state to be eligible but do not have to have spent the previous 14 days there.”
Sydney Morning Herald
Once the full details are firmed up, this will allow Singapore residents to travel quarantine-free between the Lion City and these two Aussie states in both directions, for the first time since March 2020.
The new Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) between the two countries will launch on 8th November 2021, but only permits Australian citizens and permanent residents to travel to Australia in the first two weeks, while Singapore will open its border quarantine-free to all Australian residents as soon as the scheme goes into effect.
Singapore
Vaccinated Travel Lanes
Key Features
- Must have stayed in a VTL country/region and/or Singapore for 14 days
- Travel to Singapore on designated ‘VTL flights’
- No restrictions on travel purpose or itineraries
- Must be fully vaccinated in Singapore or any VTL country, with an accepted digital proof of vaccination
- Unvaccinated children aged 12 or under can accompany their parents
- Visitors and Singapore pass holders must apply for a VTP 7-60 days in advance
- Two COVID-19 PCR tests replace quarantine / Stay-Home Notice in Singapore
Australia will join two-way Vaccinated Travel Lane arrangements Singapore has launched with 11 other countries by late November.
Singapore Vaccinated Travel Lanes
| Already Running | 🇧🇳 Brunei (one-way) 🇩🇪 Germany 🇨🇦 Canada 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇷 France 🇮🇹 Italy 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇪🇸 Spain 🇬🇧 UK 🇺🇸 USA |
| From 8 Nov | 🇦🇺 Australia (one-way) 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
| From 15 Nov | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
| From 21 Nov | 🇦🇺 Australia (two-way) |
Australia’s vaccination requirements
The following requirements will apply in terms of your vaccination status when travelling from Singapore to Australia:
- Being fully vaccinated with a TGA approved or recognised vaccine, such as Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Janssen-Cilag, Moderna, Coronavac, or Covishield, at least 7 days prior to arrival in Australia.
- Children under the age of 12 and those who cannot be vaccinated due to a medical condition are exempted from this requirement.
- Note that unvaccinated 12 year olds are not eligible to enter Australia quarantine-free.
- The vaccination certificate must be in English, i.e. either the Australian Government issued International COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate (ICVC), or a paper or digital vaccination certification issued by a national or state/provincial level authority or accredited vaccination provider (e.g. via Singapore’s HealthHub / Notarise).
Passengers also currently must complete the Australia Travel Declaration at least 72 hours before their flight departure, which is likely to remain a requirement for the foreseeable future.
All travellers flying to Melbourne will also need to download the Service Victoria app.
COVID-19 testing
Singapore residents travelling to Sydney or Melbourne will require a pre-departure PCR test, taken within 72 hours of departure from Singapore, in addition to the ‘standard’ two VTL tests on the journey back to Singapore.
VTL
|
| Test | Cost |
| Singapore pre-departure* | S$125 – S$200 |
| Australia pre-departure* | ~S$150 |
| Singapore arrival | S$125^ |
| Total | ~S$400 – S$475 |
* Prices vary between providers and locations.
^ Reduced from S$160, effective for arrivals from 18th November 2021
As you can see that means an approximate S$400 – S$475 per head testing cost, for a round-trip.
Additional arrival testing in Australia may also be required, however we are awaiting full confirmation on the final arrangements.
Designated VTL flights
Singapore residents are likely to be able to take any direct flight from Singapore to Sydney or Melbourne as part of this arrangement and be eligible for a quarantine-free arrival, in the same way travel to other VTL countries works.
In order for Singapore residents to fly back home from Sydney or Melbourne quarantine-free, however, they will also have to depart on one of Scoot or SIA’s designated VTL flights.
These include selected services operated by the airline’s Airbus A380s from December.
Melbourne – Singapore
VTL Flights
8th November 2021 – 26th March 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
 |
SQ218 A350 Regional |
||||||||
| MEL 00:35 |
SIN 05:15 |
||||||||
|
SQ228 A350 Regional |
||||||||
| MEL 16:40 |
SIN 21:20 |
||||||||
 |
TR19 787-9 |
||||||||
| MEL 19:40 |
SIN 00:45* |
||||||||
* Next day
Sydney – Singapore
VTL Flights
8th November 2021 – 30th November 2021
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ212 A350 Regional |
||||||||
| SYD 09:05 |
SIN 14:15 |
||||||||
|
SQ222 777-300ER |
||||||||
| SYD 16:10 |
SIN 21:20 |
||||||||
|
TR13 787-9 |
||||||||
| SYD 21:45 |
SIN 03:10* |
||||||||
* Next day
1st December 2021 – 26th March 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ212 777-300ER^ |
||||||||
| SYD 09:05 |
SIN 14:15 |
||||||||
|
SQ222 A380 |
||||||||
| SYD 16:10 |
SIN 21:20 |
||||||||
|
TR13 787-9 |
||||||||
| SYD 21:45 |
SIN 03:10* |
||||||||
^ A350 Regional on 1 December
* Next day
Earlier this week Singapore Airlines confirmed it was reopening its Sydney and Melbourne SilverKris lounges from 1st November 2021. That makes them only the second and third overseas SKLs to pull down the shutters, after the London lounge reopened on 1st September.
We expect Qantas to announce designated VTL flights on these route in due course. The Australian carrier is restarting its Melbourne – Singapore and Sydney – Singapore flights on 22nd November and 23rd November respectively, while low-cost arm Jetstar will fly from Melbourne to Singapore from 16th December.
KrisFlyer redemptions
These are the one-way KrisFlyer miles redemption rates for flights between Singapore and either Sydney or Melbourne on SIA flights.
| KrisFlyer Saver Redemption Rates 🇦🇺 (to/from Singapore) |
|
| Melbourne Sydney (one-way) |
|
| Economy | 28,000 |
| Premium Economy | 47,000 |
| Business | 62,000 |
| First | 85,000 |
Summary
It’s fantastic to see two-way quarantine-free leisure travel opening up between Singapore and Australia, just a few days after a one-way arrangement was announced.
It means that from 21st November 2021 fully vaccinated Singapore residents will be free to take discretionary trips to and from these two popular Australian states, then return on one of Scoot or SIA’s Vaccinated Travel Lane flights for a quarantine-free experience in both directions.
Testing is not cheap and applies both ways on these journeys, including a pre-departure PCR test before leaving Singapore, plus the exact testing regime has yet to be announced, but nonetheless we’re certainly excited about this new travel prospect.
For one thing it will help Singapore residents make the most of the Australian summer, while the country’s existing quarantine-free arrangements are with regions fast heading into colder weather over the coming months!
(Cover Photo: Shutterstock)
I believe a PCR test is required on arrival as well (into NSW at least) so that’s four tests on a return trip in total.
Anyone know if Singapore PR’s will be included?
Supposedly not, talk about being classist.
Average cost of testing $460 per pax. That’s $1840 for a family of 4 before any other cost.
No thanks , not worth it