Singapore to Open Border for Vaccinated Indonesian, Abolish Quarantine

TheIndonesia.id - The Singapore government plans to reopen its borders for Indonesian travelers through the Vaccinated Persons Travel (VTL) route, which will take effect on 29 November 2021. Singapore abolished the mandatory quarantine starting from that day.

The arrangement of safe travel through VTL was discussed by Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan at a meeting in Singapore on Tuesday, 16 November 2021. Both parties agreed to continue discussions on VTL arrangements bilaterally.

The two foreign ministers also discussed the implementation of the unilateral VTL granted by Singapore to travelers from Indonesia for direct travel from one place to another, namely from Jakarta to Singapore.

"The Singapore Foreign Minister conveyed that Singapore's unilateral VTL implementation was based on, trust in the system, the continued improvement in the COVID-19 situation in Indonesia, and the higher vaccination rate," said Retno Marsudi after the meeting, as stated in a written statement quoted by Antara news agency.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno also stated that the implementation of unilateral VTL Singapore will use certain flights (assigned flights). With VTL, travelers from Indonesia who have been vaccinated can enter Singapore by showing a negative PCR swab test result and then take a COVID-19 test upon arrival, without the need to undergo quarantine.

The quota for VTL is 10,000 people per day for entrants from all countries receiving VTL. Travelers must still ask for an entry permit from the Singapore government before visiting the country. Indonesian citizens can start submitting applications for entry permits to Singapore on November 22, 2021.

The Indonesian and Singaporean governments also continue to discuss the creation of a safe travel corridor (bubble), especially for the Bintan destination (from Singapore) by ferry. Singapore's Minister of Transport said that Indonesia and Singapore are close neighbors who have good economic and people-to-people relations.

The Singapore Ministry of Health had previously updated Indonesia's health status to Category II since 12 November 2021. During the meeting, the two foreign ministers also discussed plans for a leaders' retreat between Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The Indonesian and Singaporean Foreign Ministers agreed to prepare concrete and beneficial meeting outcomes for the two countries.