The Land Transport Authority (LTA) in Singapore has announced on Thursday (June 11) to further extend the validity period of Vehicle Entry Permits (VEPs) for Malaysia-registered vehicles, until the end of September. LTA said the extension will be applied automatically.

The decision added another three months to the initial extension till June 30. The move was first announced for Malaysian workers who had chosen to stay in Singapore after the Movement Control Order (MCO), in a bid to limit the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

Foreign vehicles drivers in Singapore are usually required to have VEPs with a time limit. They would also have to pay daily fees, but that was waived for Malaysian vehicles from March 18 to April 14.

Mr. Khaw Boon Wan, Transport Minister of Singapore, said in his post on social media that the further automatic extension of VEP was in response to Malaysia extending its Recovery Movement Control order (RMCO) to the end of August.

He added, “This avoids the Malaysian motorists crowding into LTA office to extend their VEPs. Many Malaysian motorists have decided to send their vehicles home to save on VEP fees. This is the sensible thing to do.”

The Land Transport Authority also said that VEP fees incurred before March 18 and after April 14 will continue to apply. It has suggested that motorists who do not want to pay VEP fees and who are unable to drive their vehicles out of Singapore may engage cross-border towing/transport services to transport their vehicles back to Malaysia.

On the other hand, motorists who want to continue staying in Singapore are reminded to update their Malaysia road tax and vehicle insurance validity dates on LTA’s OneMotoring website.

Mr. Lawrence Wong, National Development Minister, said on Tuesday (June 9) that the Singapore authorities are still working with their Malaysian counterparts on how travel between both countries can be safely resumed.