Last Updated on April 20, 2022 by Tina
On March 4, 2022, Singapore started allowing tourists from the Philippines to travel to the “Lion City” through the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL). With the VTL, eligible vaccinated travelers can travel to Singapore quarantine-free if they meet all VTL requirements. On March 31, 2022 at 11:59 PM (Singapore time), Singapore transitioned to a new Vaccinated Travel Framework. It reopened its borders to all fully vaccinated travelers, not just those coming from VTL countries. Finally, we can now visit the most Instagrammable place in the world again as long as we are fully vaccinated. Planning to travel to Singapore from the Philippines soon? Read on to know all the Singapore travel requirements for tourists.
Who Can Travel to Singapore from the Philippines?
- Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents (“SC and PRs”)
- Holders of a Singapore-issued Long-Term Pass (“LTPHs”) – holders of Work Pass issued by the Ministry of Manpower, Student’s Pass issued by the Ministry of Education, or Long-Term Visit Pass issued by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
- Short-term visitors (“STVs”) – travelers who are not SC, PRs or LTPHs
What are the Singapore Travel Requirements for Short Term Visitors or Tourists?
Singapore Travel Requirements Starting April 1, 2022
Disclaimer: Travel requirements to Singapore change every few weeks. While I will try to update this post regularly to ensure that the information here is as up-to-date as it can be, I cannot be held responsible for any errors. I advise that you check the Safe Travel website for the most up-to-date information.
Starting April 1, 2022, short-term visitors and work permit holders are no longer required to apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP). VTL flights are also no longer required. You can book any flight to Singapore. And even if you spent the last seven days in countries/regions classified under the Singapore Ministry of Health’s (MOH) General Travel Category, you can enter Singapore quarantine free and won’t be required to serve Stay-Home Notice. In addition, tourists are no longer required to undergo Covid 19 testing upon arrival in Singapore.
The following are the new entry requirements to Singapore starting April 1, 2022:
- Vaccination- Travellers must be fully vaccinated. Regardless of the country of issuance and whether digitally verifiable or not, all vaccination certificates will be accepted as proof of vaccination. Exempted from the vaccination requirement are children aged 12 years and below.
- Determine if eligible for the Vaccinated-Recovered Traveller Protocol if you tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 90 days by using the self-checker tool.
- Pre-departure Test- a negative pre-departure test taken within 48 hours before departure to Singapore is still required. The test can be a Polymerase Chain Reaction test, a professional-administered Antigen Rapid Test (ART), or a self-administered ART that is remotely supervised by an ART provider in Singapore that provides such services. The pre-departure test report must be in English. Make sure that it contains your date of birth or passport number.
- SG Arrival Card (SGAC)– this must be submitted within 3 days before arriving in Singapore. It is encouraged to submit your SGAC before departure for smooth check-in and arrival process in Singapore. It will minimize the manual document checks required.
- Contact Tracing App- travelers are still required to download the TraceTogether mobile application on their mobile phone and register their profile for contact tracing. You can obtain TraceTogether tokens at S$13 per token from designated locations if unable to use a mobile device or unable to download/register for the TraceTogether app. They won’t check the app at the immigration in Singapore. However, you need to register after passing the immigration because you need it to enter establishments such as malls and hotels. You need a mobile number where a one-time password (OTP) will be sent when you register. If your number is on roaming, you can use it to register as long as you are able to receive the OTP. (You won’t receive the OTP if you’re not yet in Singapore and you register.) Otherwise, you can buy a tourist sim card at the airport.
- Visa- if required. Visa is not required for Filipinos to enter Singapore as long as they don’t exceed 30 days stay in the city-state.
- Travel Insurance- Singapore no longer requires tourists to purchase travel insurance when visiting the country. However, this is an IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) requirement. Filipino travelers are required to purchase travel insurance before flying out of the country.
For more information about the Vaccinated Travel Framework, click here.
COVID-19 has made traveling very difficult, but I’m glad that countries started opening their borders again. Hopefully, there won’t be new variants anymore, and that this pandemic will end soon. I don’t mind going through all these hassles as long as I could travel again, but it would be nicer if we could travel spontaneously again, just like the old times.
