Children aged 12 and below can travel into Singapore under VTL: CAAS

SINGAPORE — Children aged 12 years and below who are not vaccinated will be allowed to travel under the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) from VTL countries into Singapore from next Tuesday (19 October).

They must be accompanied by a traveller who meets all VTL requirements for entry into Singapore, and will not need to serve quarantine, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) on Monday.

They will only need to undergo pre-departure and on-arrival Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests, except those aged 2 years and below.

On Saturday, the Singapore government announced that a VTL will be opened for fully-vaccinated travellers from eight more countries to Singapore from next Tuesday: Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. South Korea will also be included in the list from 15 November.

The VTL scheme allows individuals to travel to designated countries without serving a quarantine.

CAAS Director-General Han Kok Juan said the move to allow children to travel had been taken in response to feedback from parents. "There is some public health risk, but it can be mitigated with the other safeguards. We urge parents to exercise extra care and caution when travelling with their unvaccinated child," he said.

Other conditions must be met

The age of the child will be based on the calendar year. For example, a child born in or after 2009 will be allowed to enter Singapore under the VTL in 2021. The child does not need to apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP) to travel to Singapore under the VTL.

The child must also adhere to all other VTL requirements. For example, he or she must fly on a designated VTL flight, and must have remained in one or more of the VTL countries in the last 14 consecutive days prior to departure to Singapore.

CAAS also advised travellers to check the prevailing entry requirements imposed by the countries they are travelling to, including any restrictions on the age of travellers and vaccination status.

For example, South Korea will allow general travel into the country under the VTL, but this does not include children who do not qualify for vaccination or persons who are medically unfit to be vaccinated.

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