Malaysia and Singapore will soon be opening borders fully so that vaccinated persons can travel freely between both countries.
Currently, fully vaccinated persons can only travel from Malaysia to Singapore by purchasing VTL (Vaccinated Travel Lane) bus or flight tickets. There is a limited quota on these tickets. Air travel initially began with flights between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, while the Singapore-Penang VTL was implemented last week.
What you should know about full border reopening between Malaysia and Singapore
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said that Malaysia and Singapore are preparing to work immediately towards resuming full air and land travel for fully vaccinated persons as the Covid-19 situation has stabilised. The announcement came as his counterpart in Singapore Ong Ye Kung is on a three-day working visit to Malaysia.
Under the current VTL, fully vaccinated travellers from one country can enter the other country without needing to quarantine on arrival, subject to Covid-19 testing and further requirements. It is currently not known if travellers from Singapore need to undergo Covid-19 testing upon arrival once the borders are fully open.
It is expected that more announcements will be coming soon as Malaysia prepares to open up its borders fully to all international travellers on April 1 to revitalise the country’s economy and tourism industry which was both hit hard by the pandemic. Once this is implemented, international travellers will not need to undergo quarantine on arrival as long as they’re fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, Thailand is also eager to resume land travel with Malaysia. It was reported by the Malay Mail that the relevant departments in Thailand are working closely with authorities to reopen all land border entry points with Malaysia by May 1.
A number of other countries are making similar announcements about opening up borders after two years of closure due to the pandemic.
No more testing when travelling to Singapore by land from April 1
Separately, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob declared that from April 1, fully vaccinated travellers entering Singapore via land routes will no longer be subject to Covid testing, including pre-departure and on-arrival tests.
The Star reported that this ruling also applies to fully vaccinated travellers entering Malaysia from Singapore across all modes of transport via the land border. This also applies to unvaccinated children aged 12 and below, according to CNA.
To enter Singapore, you are required to present passports and Vehicle Entry Permits. You must submit digital vaccination certificates to the Vaccination Check Portal on the SafeTravel website, as well as complete the SG Arrival Card within three days of arriving at checkpoints.
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Main image credit: Photo by Mike Enerio on Unsplash. The story first appeared on Prestige Malaysia and has been edited with extra information by Lifestyle Asia KL
The post No more testing when travelling by land to Singapore from April 1 appeared first on Lifestyle Asia Kuala Lumpur.
