What It's Like Travelling to UK this Covid Season (on the VTL)

UpdateS as at 17 Feb 2022:

Since we came back, omnicron dominated the Covid newsfront. There’s been more rules and restrictions in place, with 7 days of testing for VTL flights back to Singapore, some supervised and additional PCR test, if travelling to the UK.

However UK and Singapore has eased some restrictions since, and in light of our upcoming travel to the UK in Feb, I decided to post updates here whenever we do travel back to see family.

Travelling to The UK

From 11th Feb 2022 onwards, if you are fully vaccinated you will not need to take a COVID-19 test before you travel to England or after you arrive. Neither will you need to quarantine.

Masks will also not be legally required in any setting, except for enclosed or private spaces, but this will be a personal judgement. Masks will remain mandatory on all TfL services including the Tube.

Only travel requirement is to complete a passenger locator form 48 hours before you travel to England and get your vaccination certificate notarised.

Plus purchase COVID travel insurance for a peace of mind.

Returning to SG via VTL

From 21 Feb 2022, 2359h (SGT).

  • Long-Term Pass holders (excluding Work Permit holders) are no longer required to apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP).

  • Assessed travel history will be reduced from 14 days to 7 days

  • On-arrival PCR test at the airport will be replaced with a supervised self-administered ART at a Quick Test Centre (QTC) or Combined Test Centre (CTC), to be completed within 24 hours of arrival in Singapore.

  • Unsupervised self-administered ARTs will no longer be required on Days 2 to 7 of arrival in Singapore.

  • Pre-departure test is exempted if below the age of three in this calendar year; OR recently recovered from COVID-19 and are eligible for pre-departure test waiver based on criteria outlined in this self-checker tool, and can show relevant proof of recovery outlined at Stage 1F.

Steps:

  1. Take a pre-departure PCR test or a professionally-administered Antigen Rapid Test (ART) within 2 days before departure for Singapore, unless exempted. We used Express Test, and paid GBP50 each for the Fit to fly ART (You get the result on the spot, with confirmation QR code emailed within 40 min).

  2. Submit the SG Arrival Card health and travel history declaration up to 3 days before arriving in Singapore.

  3. Do a professionally administered ART test within 24 hours of arrival from Singapore. Click here to search for the nearest test centre.

Reference:

Gov.Uk Travel Guidance

Latest Rules for Face Coverings in UK

SG VTL (air) Checklist

Continue reading below for my first COVID travel experience.

Photo by Heidi Fin on Unsplash

If you didn't know this, I've been to UK and arrived safely back in Singapore. One moment we were bleary-eyed boarding the 1am flight and 13 hours later, we were breathing in cool crispy London air.

It's been about 21 months since we were on a plane and 3 years since my husband saw his parents in person.  So this was a much needed and long awaited visit.

I know some countries have opened their borders despite the pandemic. Singapore has been very conservative in terms of its COVID measures. Mask -wearing is strictly mandatory and you must be double-vaccinated in order to dine and to enter shopping centres. 

For more 3 months, we were only allowed to be gathered in groups of twos and finally as at  22 November -  it's been increased to 5.

Quarantine-Free Travel finally

During the pandemic, it was possible to travel out of Singapore, but troublesome. You would need to be quarantined for up to 2-3 weeks depending on where you travelled from and the COVID situation. That means you’d need to fork out additional S$2K + for the hotel accommodations.

Then the VTL was announced.

VTL is a vaccinated travel lane, which allows fully vaccinated passengers to travel to Singapore without quarantine, provided they undergo several Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

The VTL started off with Germany and Brunei in August, and then I believe US Vice-President Kamala Harris's visit in Aug 2021 was the catalyst that saw the implementation of the VTL flights for more countries, including the UK.

travel anxiety

This, being our first time travelling during COVID, did put my anxiety on an all time high.

Before COVID, all we have to worry about when we travel is that we have enough baggage allowance, we have wifi where we are going and our luggage (plus ourselves) arrive safely at our destination.

Now, in addition, I worried about

  • possibly getting COVID (touch wood, otherwise trip will have to be deferred)

  • being refused from boarding for some reason, or refused entry

  • Filling up the forms wrong

  • Not being able to breathe with the mask , on the plane

  • Doing the wrong thing

  • Rules changing at the last minute causing us to be quarantine on either side

Maybe it's just me.

Lao Tze did say this - “If you realise that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve.”

the TRIP

FLYING OFF

The process for the UK flight was fairly simple. We only had to do 2 things -

(1) a COVID test, on or before the end of day 2, which you need to book in advance, as the booking reference is required in order to complete -

(2) a passenger locator form  (due 48 hours before departure).

At midnight, Changi Airport was a ghost town compared to pre-COVID, which just means you need to give up the idea of duty-free shopping.

We were on the new SQ350, which flew beautifully and it helped that we were in business, courtesy of my husband’s passion for collecting miles. And despite my worries, it was not a problem at all, wearing a mask on the plane. (My husband swears by the Under armour mask and I prefer the Korean KN95 disposable masks.)

HEATHROW AIRPORT

Heathrow was almost fully functioning as there was a super long queue at UK immigration, but thankfully, with a Singapore passport, I was able to use the e-Gate, which means I could be with my UK-passport-totting husband .

We chose to do the PCR test upon arrival (day 0) at the airport, rather than wait for day 2, which was well within the rules to get tested. It was more expensive than doing your own test at home but we did it for 2 reasons.

One was for convenience, as we were already there, and what’s another queue since we were already in queues from the moment we landed. Secondly, we wanted his parents to feel safe, as we were living with them and they are in their 70s and have underlying conditions. We didn’t even remove our masks until we got our negative PCR test - that’s how careful we were.

BEING IN THE UK IS LIKE..

If you ask me how was it like to be in the UK, it felt surreal. We both felt blessed that our family is healthy and that we are able to travel.

We didn’t do any sight seeing or meet with people because our main purpose goal was to be with family and to just test the ground, so to speak. We had dinner at the infamous Emperor (which is really good chinese) and found a new local pub. We did a Starbucks drive at 730am every morning without fail. What we enjoyed most was being able to breath in fresh air while walking in the park without masks.

But being typical Singaporean, and having the mask-wearing habit ingrained, we wore our masks unless we are eating or there’s not many people around us. We did notice that half the peeps we see on the streets and in shops were not wearing masks. My sister in law mentioned that the local sentiment is most people want to forget COVID ever happened and want things to go back to normal.

2 things we didn’t miss was scanning our trace together app and looking over our shoulder for the social distancing ambassadors!

GOING HOME

The preparation to go home takes place 48 hours before.

There were 3 things we needed to check off our list:

(1) Pre-departure COVID test, which we pre-booked before we left for the UK.  All we had to do was show up at the centre with a QR code.

(2) On-Arrival COVID test, booked via the Changi Safe Travel Concierge

(3) SG Arrival and Health Declaration card, which needs to be completed 3 days before arrival date either via Changi Safe Travel Concierge or ICA site

With a blink of an eye, we were home.

Singapore immigration was a breeze and we only had follow the signs to the COVID testing centre which was located outside of the terminal. There was a line, but it moved fairly quickly considered we were herded like sheep.

Side note: if you are booking a Grab home from terminal 3, make sure that you tell them to wait at Door 1, ours was at Door 5, and unfortunately, being the “sheep” that we are, the rest of the doors were blocked off.

WHAT IT COST US

In case you are interested, we paid additional S$1209.34, on top of the flights to fly to the UK:

  • AIG Insurance (which covers both of us and COVID-related medical) S$344

  • Day 2 COVID-19 PCR test with Express Test @ Heathrow T2 Arrivals GBP69 x 2

  • Pre-departure COVID Test (Fit to Fly PCR test) with Express Test @ Croydon Centrale GBP80 x 2

  • On-Arrival COVID-19 PCR Test S$160 x 2 (includes GST)

What to take note of when travelling during Covid

So that’s it! That was my experience travelling to the UK in the November of2021. There’s always the fear of travel rules changing and as I’m writing this, there’s a new COVID variant emerging called Omnicron.

In light of that, from Dec 2 2021, travellers to Singapore will have to do 4 COVID tests - the pre departure test 48 hours prior, an on-arrival COVID test and 2 ART test on Day 3 and Day 7.

We don’t know yet what’s the impact this will have on future travelling, and if there are going to be more changes. So the information might be out of date soon.

I suggest your ears on the ground for the latest and check out the resources below for a more updated travel advice. I can recommend that you read Milelion ‘s blog - he seems to have a grip on latest COVID travel happenings.

I really feel for those who’s travelling these holidays to be with family, with these uncertainties looming over their heads.

I remember having to double check and triple check information just in case - it was so stressful. And so I can imagine how you must feel.

I pray that everything will work out as it should.

Twenty years from now

You’ll be more disappointed

By the things you didn’t do

Than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines.

Sail away from the harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore.

Dream.

Discover.

– H. Jackson Brown

IMPORTANT LINKS

Notarise (for the authentication of your SG vaccination cert and health certifcate)

Express Test UK (There’s a lot of accredited COVID test provided but the hubby chose Express Test as they had a service at the airport and we used the same chain to do the return testing for convenience and because it’s close to London)

UK Passenger Locator Form (remember to book your COVID test first as a booking reference is required to complete the form)

SG On-Arrival COVID Test

SG Arrival and Health Declaration Card

AIG COVID Travel Insurance (Travel insurance is not compulsory, but it was something we did pre-COVID, so why skip it right? Click here for a list of other insurers)

Sophie Sanders

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