Singapore Reopening to Canadian Travellers: What You Need to Know

In late 2021, Singapore opened its Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) program, in which fully vaccinated travellers who take the appropriate COVID-19 tests and travel to Singapore via dedicated VTL flights are able to land quarantine-free.

As of April 1, 2022, Singapore has scrapped its VTL program and all travellers can enter Singapore on any flight.

Singapore Travel Restrictions

As long as travellers abide by all pre-entry rules, they can enter Singapore.

How Can Canadians Enter Singapore?

All of the following rules and requirements apply as of April 26, 2022.

Travellers are allowed to enter Singapore by air via Singapore Changi Airport. As of October 2021, when departing Canada by air, travellers are required to present proof of vaccination.

Travellers coming from Canada must present proof of vaccination via the Smart Health Card. Your Canadian COVID-19 proof of vaccination will suffice.

There is no longer a requirement to present a negative COVID-19 test prior to arrival. You do have to fill out the SG Arrival Card, which includes the health declaration.

You can also check out the Singapore Travel Checklist for fully vaccinated and recovered travellers for the full list of requirements.

If a Canadian traveller has been in Europe and received any iteration of the EU Digital COVID Certificates, that would also suffice as proof of vaccination. 

Full entry and flight details are available on the Singapore Travel website.

Testing & Quarantine Upon Arrival

As of April 1, 2022, there will no longer be testing requirements on arrival.

Testing & Quarantine Upon Return

As of April 1, 2022, a negative test is no longer required prior to travelling back to Canada.

If you need to find a test in Singapore, it’s very easy to do so.

Look for Quick Test Centres (QTCs), where tests cost S$15 ($14) for an antigen test – it’s easy to search for the closest one to you from the Singapore Ministry of Health website.

Alternatively, consider purchasing a Switch Health RT-LAMP or antigen test kit for an easy remote testing option via telehealth video link.

Current Health Requirements in Singapore

Health requirements in Singapore are stringent, with proof of vaccination being a requirement for just about anything including dining, attending live performances, seeing a movie, and visiting the gym.

Unvaccinated individuals must have a pre-event test (PET) taken within the past 24 hours in order to participate in the above activities.

There is no longer any limit to the number of people at social gatherings.

Museums and other attractions have no capacity restrictions, and shopping centres have also removed the physical distancing requirements, effectively removing all capacity limits.

General masking requirements are in effect, and exceptions are made for two per group in outdoor activities and at gyms. Further exceptions apply at personal care services such as hair salons and massage parlours, if the customer is vaccinated.

Full details on COVID-19 restrictions are available via the Singapore Ministry of Health website.

Short-term travellers to Singapore can have their overseas vaccinations record recognized. To get started, either upload your digitally-verifiable certificate in your SG Arrival Card or present the certificate to the ICA officer at immigration.

You can then register with your passport number on the TraceTogether app to use your vaccination status at various establishments in Singapore.

How to Get to Singapore

Even though VTLs are no longer a thing, Canada’s new flight on Singapore Airlines from Vancouver on Singapore remains. This will be the most direct flight to Singapore for Canadians.

The flight will be SQ29, a reinstated flight from Seattle to Singapore with a stopover in Vancouver. This flight will operate four times weekly; however, the flights that are not VTL-approved will be operating as SQ27.

With the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program, award availability at the Saver level is actually quite abundant for the next few months, before becoming very rare starting in the summer.

If you can find Saver award space, it costs substantially lower at 95,000 KrisFlyer miles compared to 125,000 miles at the Advantage level.

Otherwise, within South East Asia, Aeroplan is usually the first program we look to, as it offers a fantastic sweet spot of 85,000 points one-way in business class as long as the overall routing falls under 11,000 miles in distance flown.

EVA Air is always a solid option, offering flights from Toronto, Vancouver, New York, Chicago, Houston, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. 

From the East Coast, a routing through Europe or the Middle East would cost the same amount of 85,000 points.

A First Class routing will cost 130,000 points one-way; viable options include ANAconnecting in Tokyo as well as Etihad Airways connecting Abu Dhabi.

Those on the West Coast will want to stick to transpacific routings to keep the price at 85,000 points. 

With Alaska Mileage Plan, you can fly Cathay Pacific business class for 50,000 miles one-way, or 70,000 miles one-way in First Class, should you find availability.

You can also fly on Japan Airlines for 65,000 miles in business class and 75,000 miles in First Class.

Conclusion

Singapore was the first South East Asian country to reopen borders to Canadian travellers without any quarantine requirements, although quite a few have opened since.

As of April 1, 2022, entry requirements have lessened significantly and being able to fly any flight into Singapore makes it much more feasible to visit, especially for those of us who hunt down scarce award space.

Life on the ground is also slowly returning to normal, as mask requirements have recently been dropped for outdoors. The vast majority of tourist attractions are open for enjoyment, as are restaurants and shopping malls.

As always, you can refer to our Travel During COVID-19 Resource for Canadians for the most up-to-date information on travelling in the pandemic era.