Opening Remarks by Minister for Transport S Iswaran on Expansion of Vaccinated Travel Lanes on 26 October 2021

1.     Two weeks ago, I announced the extension of the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme to nine more countries. 

a.     We have commenced VTL flights with eight of these countries, including Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, the US and the UK. 

b.     Travellers from the Republic of Korea will arrive from 15 November. 

2.     Countries around the world have started reopening, or are making plans to reopen, their borders to international visitors. 

a.     The US has announced that it would reopen to vaccinated travellers from 8 November.  

b.     In our region, several ASEAN countries have announced plans to either reduce quarantine for fully vaccinated persons or remove the quarantine requirement for those from low-risk places. 

3.     It is important that we persevere with efforts to reopen our borders, with essential public health safeguards in place, to remain an international aviation and business hub with global connectivity.  The VTLs are one means of doing so.  

a.     Since the start of the VTL scheme on 8 September, more than 5,100 Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP) holders have arrived, and there have been 5 confirmed imported cases.  

4.     Let me now outline our plans to expand the VTL to two more countries, Australia and Switzerland. 

Australia

5.     When our two Prime Ministers met earlier this year, they emphasised the importance of open borders to the post-pandemic recovery and committed to resuming two-way cross-border travel when the public health situation in both countries permits. 

6.     Last Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Australia was in the final stages of concluding an arrangement for Australia to open up to more classes of visa holders from Singapore. 

7.     Our Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has welcomed the announcement and the resumption of close connectivity between our countries.   

a.     Since 20 March 2020, Australia’s international borders have been closed to non-citizens and non-residents.  It had also imposed a ban on its own citizens and residents from travelling overseas.   

b.     Thus far, the only country Australia has reopened to is New Zealand. 

c.     Hence, the announcement to open its borders to visa class holders such as students and business travellers from Singapore is significant. 

8.     To enable the restoration of two-way quarantine-free travel, I am happy to announce that Singapore will launch a VTL with Australia. 

a.     Singapore and Australia are longstanding partners with strong people-to-people, economic and defence relations.  

b.     Before COVID-19, many Singaporeans travelled to Australia for business, education and leisure, and vice versa.

i.     Pre-COVID, Australia was among our top ten markets for annual passenger arrivals at Changi Airport, accounting for about 4% of our total arrivals in 2019. 

ii.    In 2019, Australia was also among our top five markets for international visitor arrivals. 

c.     The VTL will allow the more than 50,000 Singaporeans living in Australia, and the Australian community in Singapore of more than 25,000, to reconnect with their loved ones after nearly 2 years of physical separation.    

9.     We look forward to working with Australia to progressively rebuild travel between our two countries. 

Switzerland

10.    Let me now turn to Switzerland. We will also launch a VTL with Switzerland. 

a.     Switzerland is among our top ten partners in trade in services as well as foreign direct investment, and Singapore is Switzerland’s most important export destination in the ASEAN region. 

b.     Our bilateral economic ties are broad and deep with over 1,000 Swiss companies in Singapore.  This is the largest concentration of Swiss businesses in a single location in Asia, many serving as regional headquarters to reach Southeast Asian and North Asian markets. They provide good jobs for Singaporeans in a range of sectors, including financial services, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, engineering, consumer products and logistics. 

c.     As Switzerland is already open to travellers from Singapore, our VTL will help restore two-way quarantine-free travel, and reinforce our position as a hub for Swiss companies.   

d.     This move will also widen our VTL network in Europe, and provide greater flexibility for those travelling to and from the region. 

11.    Applications for the Vaccinated Travel Lanes with Australia and Switzerland will open on 1 November, and approved VTL travellers can enter Singapore from 8 November.

12.    With the commencement of the Vaccinated Travel Lanes with Australia and Switzerland, up to 4,000 travellers may enter Singapore daily through the various VTLs. This is 1000 more than what we have allowed up till now. 

a.     We will monitor the progress of the scheme closely before deciding on any further expansion.

13.    Let me reiterate that we will be cautious and calibrated in reopening our borders, informed by the latest public health assessments.   

a.     In the case of Australia and Switzerland, both countries are in Category II of MOH’s risk categorisation framework.  

b.     We are reopening to them with a key set of safeguards, including proof of vaccination and testing.

The Road Ahead

14.    With the addition of Australia and Switzerland, we would have established a total of 13 VTLs. This is still a fraction of the countries that Changi Airport was connected to pre-COVID. 

15.    To rebuild our aviation hub, we will need to steadily restore safe two-way quarantine-free travel with more countries/regions.  We are in discussions with other partners, including our regional neighbours, to reopen safely to each other, and restore our close connectivity. We hope to conclude more of these discussions soon. 

16.    Thank you.

CAAS Press Release:

Singapore Extends Vaccinated Travel Lanes to Australia and Switzerland