Australia Keen for Singapore Travel Lane, Trade Minister Says

(Bloomberg) -- Australia is eager to start quarantine-free travel with Singapore as soon as possible, Trade and Tourism Minister Dan Tehan said. 

“We are very keen to see that laneway open as soon as we possibly can,” Tehan said in a Bloomberg Television interview Tuesday. “I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure we get that lane open.” 

Hopes of quarantine-free travel between the two nations were raised last week when Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he expected borders to open more quickly. 

Singapore allows fully-vaccinated visitors from a handful of countries including the U.S., the U.K. and Germany to enter quarantine-free via designated travel lanes. Transport Minister S. Iswaran said earlier this month the city-state is considering more vaccinated travel lanes with regional neighbors including New Zealand and Japan.

Australia, meanwhile, will start to reopen its borders to returning citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family members from Nov. 1, ending more than 18 months of near-isolation from the rest of the world. 

Tehan said international students, working-holiday visa holders, and agricultural workers may be welcomed back before Christmas. 

“Ultimately we want to make international travel happen as seamlessly as possible globally, because that’s the best way we can ensure the global economy continues to thrive,” he said.    

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