SINGAPORE, April 22  — From midnight on April 26, all vaccinated travellers and non-fully vaccinated children aged 12 and below arriving via air or sea checkpoints will no longer be required to take a pre-departure test before departing for Singapore.

With this move, fully vaccinated and well travellers will no longer require any tests to enter Singapore, a Ministry of Health (MOH) statement said today.

The entry requirements for non-fully vaccinated travellers remain unchanged, it added.

MOH also announced that from July 1, all long-term pass holders aged 13 travelling to Singapore will be required to be fully vaccinated prior to their entry into Singapore, unless they are medically ineligible for vaccines.

This is a change from the present rule, which states that long-term pass holders aged between 13 and 17 can travel into Singapore if they are not fully vaccinated.

MOH said it is now requiring vaccinations for this group "given the increased availability of vaccines globally for those aged between 13 and 17".

All non-fully vaccinated travellers, who aged 13 and above and who are allowed to enter Singapore, are still required to take a pre-departure test within two days before departure for Singapore.

Such tests are also required for vaccinated travellers for now, until the new rules kick in.

In addition, unvaccinated travellers will also have to undergo a seven-day Stay Home Notice period, and take a polymerase chain reaction Covid-19 test at the end of their isolation period, said MOH.

Border rules for work permit holders

For those travelling through the land checkpoints of Malaysia and Singapore, pre-departure or on-arrival Covid-19 tests are also not needed if the traveller is fully vaccinated.

From May 1, fully vaccinated non-Malaysian work permit holders who have an In-Principle Approval (IPA) document for them to work in the construction, marine shipyard and process sectors no longer need to apply for entry approvals to come into Singapore, MOH said.

Instead, they will need to book a slot at the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) Onboard centre to undergo onboarding upon arrival.

These workers are also required to undergo a two-day Pre-Departure Preparatory Programme if it is available in their home countries — namely Bangladesh, India and Myanmar — before they can enter Singapore from May 1.

At present, non-Malaysian work permit holders with an IPA have to obtain entry approvals from the MOM. — TODAY