Pre-departure tests no longer needed for vaccinated travellers, unvaccinated children to enter S'pore from April 26

SINGAPORE — From midnight on April 26, all vaccinated travellers and non-fully vaccinated children aged 12 and below arriving via air or sea checkpoints will no longer need to take a pre-departure Covid-19 test before leaving for Singapore.

With this move, fully vaccinated and well travellers will no longer need to be tested for Covid-19 to enter Singapore, a Ministry of Health (MOH) statement said on Friday (April 22).

The entry requirements for travellers who are aged 13 and above and not fully vaccinated remain unchanged. This means that they still have to take a pre-departure test within two days before leaving for Singapore, undergo a seven-day stay-home order and take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test at the end of the isolation period.

Such tests are also required for vaccinated travellers for now, until the new rules take effect.

MOH also announced that from July 1, all long-term pass holders aged 13 and above travelling to Singapore will have to be fully vaccinated before entering the country, unless they are medically ineligible for vaccines.

This is a change from the present rule, which states that long-term pass holders aged between 13 and 17 can travel into Singapore if they are not fully vaccinated.

MOH said that it is now requiring vaccinations for this group "given the increased availability of vaccines globally for those aged between 13 and 17".

BORDER RULES FOR WORK PERMIT HOLDERS

For people travelling through the land checkpoints of Malaysia and Singapore, pre-departure or on-arrival Covid-19 tests are also not needed if the traveller is fully vaccinated.

From May 1, fully vaccinated non-Malaysian work permit holders who have an in-principle approval document for them to work in the construction, marine shipyard and process sectors no longer need to apply for entry approvals to enter Singapore, MOH said.

Instead, they will need to book a slot at the onboard centre of the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to undergo residential onboarding upon arrival. The centre is a one-stop venue for them to verify their vaccination, get enhanced medical examination and learn to settle into the country, among other needs.

These workers are also required to undergo a two-day Pre-Departure Preparatory Programme if it is available in their home countries — namely Bangladesh, India and Myanmar — before they can enter Singapore from May 1.

For now, non-Malaysian work permit holders with an in-principle approval document have to obtain entry approvals from MOM.